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AB InBev reported tanking US sales in its Q2 earnings report released on Thursday, after battling a months-long conservative boycott of Bud Light.
The company’s US revenue declined 10.5% during the second quarter of 2023. Wholesale revenue fell 15% and retail sales dropped 14%, which AB InBev attributed to the “volume decline of Bud Light.”
Despite not explicitly mentioning the Bud Light boycott, AB InBev mentioned that it has surveyed more than 170,000 US consumers since April, about 80% of whom had a “favorable or neutral” view toward Bud Light.
Overall, the company reported a 7.2% YoY spike in organic revenue, in part due to growth in AB InBev’s international markets. Its performance beat analyst expectations; it maintained its guidance from last quarter, forecasting 4%–8% growth.
AB InBev plans to lean on its partnerships to help strengthen its US performance. “As part of our long-term plan, we increased investments in our key brands, invested in measures to support our wholesalers and continued key initiatives such as partnerships with NFL, NBA, Folds of Honor and Farm Rescue,” the company shared in the earnings report.
The beer giant has ramped up advertising for Bud Light specifically since conservatives boycotted the brand for its partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. It kicked off a summer marketing blitz encompassing weekly $10,000 giveaways, rebates over the July 4th weekend, and a campaign featuring NFL athletes like Travis Kelce and Dak Prescott. The campaign marks Bud Light’s largest media spend to date.
However, the fallout has continued. Last month, AB InBev announced layoffs affecting hundreds of its corporate employees, and Modelo recently became the top-selling beer in the US, dethroning Bud Light. Mulvaney also criticized the brand for its response to the boycott.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all, because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community,” Mulvaney said last month.
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