The backlash to Bud Light continues and now it has hit the parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company’s market value has fallen a staggering $15.7 billion since the Mulvaney stunt.
According to Investor’s Business Daily, “The market value of Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose fourth bestselling brand is Bud Light, dropped $15.7 billion since April 1, based on a conversion to U.S. dollars by Investor’s Business Daily using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“That’s the day Dylan Mulvaney, a TikTok influencer and transgender woman, pitched the Bud Light brand during the NCAA March Madness tournament.
“Meanwhile, the other major publicly traded global beer brands have added $3.2 billion in market value during the same time.”
And the future looks bleak for the brand that will go down in history because the folks turned off by the marketing stunt are not coming back.
“We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,” said Jared Dinges, beverage analyst at JPMorgan Chase.
“We believe a 12% to 13% volume decline on an annualized basis would be a reasonable assumption.”
Molson Coors Beverage shares are up more than 20% from April 1 and the company added more than $2.2 billion in market value to its stock.
“Shares of Anheuser-Busch have underperformed EU Beer peers by 15% since the start of April,” Dinges said.
“We believe this is due to U.S. uncertainty, as investor focus has shifted squarely to the potential impact from the Bud Light controversy.”
Stores are now giving away Bud Light and are having a hard time doing that.
According to Fox News:
Some Budweiser products are being sold for free in some stores thanks to a new promotional rebate from the Anheuser-Busch company, following weeks of Bud Light backlash.
Ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, Bud Light revealed a new promotion called the US Budweiser Family Memorial Day Rebate online for customers from eligible states.
The rebate promises an amount “equivalent to the purchase price of one (1) 15-pack or larger, up to $15” of Bud Light, Budweiser, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55 paid via Anheuser-Busch Digital Prepaid Mastercard.
Based on recent prices for Bud Light products, however, in some cases this would be giving packs of beer away for free.
Online searches of local beer retailers find many offers under $15 for 15-packs or larger of these Budweiser products, making the products free after rebate, excluding sales tax or any state restrictions.
Displays seen in two different stores in Wisconsin, a state known for drinking a lot of beer: pic.twitter.com/x3vMD4Tp1r
— Haz (@Michael_Haz) May 24, 2023
