A right-wing boycott campaign against Bud Light in the United States caused AB InBev‘s sales volume to drop 14 % in the region. Nevertheless, the brewer is serving better-than-expected profits.
Market share stable
In the US, AB InBev saw revenue fall 10.5 % and operating profit even 28 % in the second quarter – not unexpectedly, after the ‘culture war’ over its flagship brand Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and the subsequent reactionary boycott of the brand. As a result, sales volumes in the North America region fell 14.1 %. Still, the worst seems to be behind us for the brewer: its market share has since stabilised again.
In Europe, there is little to worry about: the company speaks of “high single-digit sales and profit growth” mainly due to price increases and a focus on premium beers. At group level, the producer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona performed better than expected. Despite a slight volume decline of 1.4 %, sales were up 7.2 % and operating profit was up 5 %. The brewer is therefore maintaining its full-year outlook.
