Bud Light Continues to Bleed: Company Gets Horrible News After Donating $200K to LGBT Org
Anheuser-Busch InBev continues to hemorrhage cash in the months following Bud Light’s partnership with transgender social media activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Fox Business reported Wednesday that the company’s financial losses had reached a catastrophic level.
Since April, AB InBev has lost roughly $27 billion in total market value.
At the end of a brutal May for the Belgian multinational corporation, it was valued at $107.44 billion. Two months earlier, on March 31, AB InBev was worth $134.55 billion, according to the Dow Jones Market Data Group.
Meanwhile, the company is almost in bear market territory as its stock price has dropped about 20 percent since late March.
On March 31, AB InBev’s shares closed at $66.73. On Thursday, those shares were trading at $53.81.
The bad financial news came one day after Anheuser-Busch’s decision to double down on its support for the LGBT community.
In spite of the conservative boycotts the brand has faced over the Mulvaney promotion, Bud Light pledged on Wednesday to give LGBT-owned businesses $200,000 in order to “empower” them.
Rather than sit out LGBT “pride month,” it doubled down on allying itself with the movement when it committed to a major cash giveaway.
“Today, Bud Light and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the exclusive certifying body for LGBT-owned businesses, announce they are extending their partnership to continue supporting economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ+ Americans and business owners across the country,” Bud Light said in a news release.
The brand added, “This year, Bud Light will donate $200,000 to the NGLCC in support of its Communities of Color Initiative (CoCi). This initiative is designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development in an effort to create equal opportunities for the economic advancement of small businesses in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Both the brand and its parent company have shown no real strategy to win back customers after they fled in droves to other brewers whose values are more closely aligned with their own.
Not even a promotion to give free beer away has stopped the bleeding.
Bud Light has been completely silent on Twitter for more than six weeks since the Mulvaney partnership blew up in its face.
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The brand’s announcement Wednesday was just another crisis management misstep.
Marketing expert Timothy Calkins with Northwestern Kellogg told Fox Business that AB InBev continues to suffer from self-inflicted wounds.
“The problem is it just takes your brand into a space that it doesn’t need to be, and it just creates a lot of strong feelings about something that isn’t really related to the product or its brand,” Calkins said.
While experts assured viewers that these boycotts fade quickly, these companies have now lost billions. Target has reportedly lost over $10 billion. With these boycotts picking up steam, the coverage has turned from dismissive to alarmist. https://t.co/g63i6EFzjX
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) June 1, 2023
He concluded, “That’s why I think we’re going to see lots of brands be really cautious about what they do, especially related issues that aren’t directly aligned with their product or service.”
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