Anheuser-Busch InBev stock is now in bear market territory following a 2% drop Wednesday as the fallout from Bud Light’s ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney persists.
The beverage conglomerate’s stock is down 20% since the end of March and its $53 stock price represents an eight-month low, Forbes reported. Shares for rival conglomerate Molson Coors have gone up 19% in the same period, with sales up 15% compared to this time in 2022, according to the outlet.
If you’re doing what we’re doing today — drinking ice colds and grilling with your friends and family with an American flag nearby — do us a solid and share a pic of your local beer aisle … pic.twitter.com/9l0jVchfgl
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 29, 2023
Anheuser-Busch’s market capitalization is down to less than $109 billion, a $26 billion drop-off since the Bud Light boycott began, even as the S&P 500 continues to generate positive returns. Bud Light sales plunged 25.7% for the week ending May 20, marking the sixth straight week Bud Light sales have gone down, the New York Post reported Tuesday based on industry data.
Sales of other Anheuser-Busch offerings have seen similar declines in the wake of Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney. Budweiser sales dropped 11.2%, Michelob Ultra went down 6.5%, Busch Light fell 5.2% and Natural Light was down 4.9% for the week ending May 20, according to the NY Post. (RELATED: Anheuser-Busch’s Stock Drops By Over $6 Billion After Partnership With Transgender Influencer)
Meanwhile, Modelo sales increased 9.2% in the same week, jeopardizing Bud Light’s status as America’s top-selling beer, the NY Post reported. Modelo’s international operations are owned by Anheuser-Busch, but its U.S. operation is owned by Constellation Brands because of an 2013 antitrust settlement by the Justice Department.
Mulvaney posted videos on social media April 1 promoting Bud Light and flaunted customized beer cans sent by the brand to celebrate the trans influencer’s “365 days of girlhood.” Mulvaney is a biological male identifying as a transgender female. (RELATED: In Case You’re Having Trouble Keeping Up, Here Are The Top ‘Woke’ Brands Conservatives Are Punishing Today)
For those keeping score at home, I published a list of the biggest brands conservatives are boycotting right now @DailyCaller
Expect the list to keep growing with all of the LGBT activism happening in June: https://t.co/95EsH97w9U
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) May 31, 2023
Conservatives reacted to Mulvaney’s videos by accusing Bud Light of betraying its customer base through supporting transgender ideology. Mulvaney previously promoted transgender procedures for children in an October 2022 interview with President Joe Biden.
The boycott gained further steam when unearthed video footage showed Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, trashing the brand’s “fratty” image during a podcast interview. Heinerscheid and another marketing executive took leaves of absence in late April amid the Mulvaney partnership backlash. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Social Media Pics From Bud Light Ad Exec Who Slammed ‘Fratty’ Culture Seem Pretty Fratty)
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris downplayed the Mulvaney partnership in a May earnings call. “We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said. The company is now reportedly planning an aggressive marketing campaign to win back its lost customers.
