Bud Light, Target stocks continue falling amid boycotts while Miller Light stocks rise

Publish date: 2024-05-06

Stock in popular light beer Bud Light's parent company and stock in retail giant Target both reportedly continue to fall as critics call for boycotts of the brands.

Bud Light is facing heavy criticism and calls for boycotts after it partnered with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney for a social media promotion at the beginning of April.

Shares of the light beer brand's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, are currently down more than 20% in just two months, according to Forbes.

On Wednesday, stock in Anheuser-Busch was at about $53 per share, which is reportedly an eight-month low.

Anheuser-Busch has lost $26 billion in market capitalization over the last two months, Forbes says. NielsenIQ data cited by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday says that Anheuser-Busch sales have fallen by 10% or more each week for the last four weeks when compared to the same weeks last year.

Target has recently been the focus of criticism for stocking LGBTQ-themed children’s merchandise. Workers at stores have reportedly received threats over the merchandise, which critics call inappropriate for children. Many of those same critics have been calling for boycotts of Target over the controversy.

On Wednesday, shares of the retail giant dropped for the ninth day in a row, TheDailyMail.com reports. Target's market value also reportedly plummeted $13 billion that same day.

As stock in Bud Light's parent company falls, the stock of a rival light beer company has reportedly been on the rise.

Shares in Molson Coors, which is the parent company of both Coors Light and Miller Light, have increased by 19% over the last two months, according to Forbes. Sales for Molson Coors are also reportedly up more than 15% over the last year.

It should be noted that Miller Lite has also been heavily criticized recently for what some called a "woke" commercial, but that backlash apparently didn't gather as much steam as Bud Light's controversy.

While Anheuser-Busch stocks have noticeably slid recently, Forbes reports that "Wall Street remains fairly bullish" on the company. Bernstein analysts reportedly say market share losses experienced by Bud Light are apparently "stabilizing," adding that the company's woes have unexpectedly "officially become a microcosm of U.S. politics."

Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris said in an interview with the Financial Times that the backlash his company is experiencing is rooted in "misinformation," as the partnership with Mulvaney "was not an advertisement."

The reality is no longer what the fact is, but is more [about] what the comments were," Doukeris said.

Mulvaney's partnership with Bud Light consisted of the social media personality sharing with nearly 2 million followers that the beer company was celebrating her first anniversary of transitioning genders by creating a beer can with her face on it. It was apparently part of Bud Light's more extensive Pride campaign: "Celebrat[ing] everyone's identity."

The transgender activist and social media personality also shared a few other posts featuring her promoting Bud Light. One was for March Madness, and another featured her soaking in a bathtub while drinking the beer brand.

Backlash towards the partnership was fierce. Calls to boycott the light beer brand spread like wildfire, with a poll showing that more than half of Americans supported boycotting Bud Light.

Some social media videos have gone viral for showing the apparent effects of the boycott, including empty lines for Bud Light vendors at baseball games. People have also allegedly been attacked by others who thought they broke the boycott.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Bud Light has begun giving away its product for free to distributors following the backlash. Bud Light has also reportedly hired consultants who have experience within conservative circles of Washington D.C. to advise the beer brand as it attempts to move forward.

The National Desk has reached out to both Bud Light and Target for comment, but has yet to hear back.

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