Anheuser-Busch InBev on Thursday reported a big drop in profit for the second quarter, coming on the back of poor Bud Light sales and the backlash over a shared campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
AP reports the world’s largest brewer said revenue in the United States declined by 10.5 percent in the April-to-June period year-on-year, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”
In dollar terms, revenue fell $395 million in North America during the period, compared to the same time a year ago, and came after the company initially tried to downplay the hit it took by associating with Mulvaney.
Michel Doukeris, CEO of the global brand Anheuser-Busch InBev, sought to downplay the impact the Dylan Mulvaney partnership has had on Bud Light. https://t.co/L0D9Vgb21N
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 21, 2023
That figure included sales in Canada, where revenue rose, suggesting the slump was isolated to the United States and the subsequent losses on Bud Light may have been even greater.
As a consequence it lost its place as America’s best-selling beer after more than two decades, slipping into second place in June behind Modelo Especial.
FLASHBACK : Video Shows NO ONE at Bud Light Stand at Red Sox Game
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The company faced a national backlash in April after sending a commemorative Bud Light can to Mulvaney, a former gay man who now claims to be a woman, who posted it to millions of social media followers, as Breitbart News reported.
The move quickly became a public relations meltdown — and sales fiasco — for the brand and its various other partners.
A glass bottling company has reportedly laid off over 600 employees in the wake of the fallout over Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney partnership. https://t.co/u8ek6xmWhF
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 3, 2023
The beer giant said overall revenue rose 7.2 percent in the second quarter, to $15.1 billion, from the same period a year ago as global brands such as Stella Artois and Corona made up for the loss in Bud Light sales, the company said in a statement.
It confirmed normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose five percent to $4.9 billion.
The profit drop announcement came just 48-hours after Anheuser-Busch revealed it has laid off almost two percent of its U.S. workforce, eliminating 360 jobs, as Breitbart News reported.
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