Anheuser-Busch has lost a whopping $15.7B in value since the Bud Light controversy began
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has seen its market capitalization drop by $15.7 billion since the disastrous campaign involving transgender-influenced Dylan Mulvaney.
Since April 1, the company has been consistently dropping down the rankings, with experts saying it’s “getting a little worse every week.”
But their competitors have added $3.2 billion in market value to their brands in the same time.
Molson Coors, owner of Coors Lite, has seen a $2.2 billion market value increase, about 20 percent, while Heineken has peaked at $1 billion – up 1.7 percent.
According to JPMorgan beverage analyst Jared Dinges, Bud Light sales fell more than 23 percent in the week ending May 6.
Since April 1, when Mulvaney posted the ad to Bud Light, the company has consistently dropped down the rankings, with experts saying it’s “getting a little bit worse every week.”
He said the US bank expects a volume decline of 12 to 13 percent over the course of a year.
“We believe there is a subgroup of US consumers who will not be drinking Bud Light in the foreseeable future,” the analysts said on Tuesday.
He added: “Equities have underperformed EU Beer peers by 15% since early April.
“We believe this is due to uncertainty in the US as investor focus has completely shifted to the potential impact of the Bud Light controversy.”
The expected drop in earnings, before interest and tax, follows a 12 percent drop in volume and a 10 percent drop in sales.
In the company’s latest efforts to deal with the backlash, Anheuser Busch has told wholesalers it will buy back unsold cases of past-expired Bud Light.
Mulvany posted the content on the occasion of the NCAA March Madness tournament, before joking that she didn’t know what sport she was promoting.
Experts also warn that the high demand threatens to create a shortage of competitor beers.
Beer Business Daily editor Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital that the “entire industry is in shock” at the numbers
Mulvany posted the content on the occasion of the NCAA March Madness tournament, sparking a backlash against Bud Light
Beer Business Daily editor Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital that the “entire industry is in shock.”
He argues that the renewed demand for non-Anheuser-Bush lagers could lead to a trickle-down effect on the industry.
He said, “Even Bud’s competitors don’t really dance on the grave because they know it could have happened to them.
“You can’t just flip a switch and make beer. You know, beer is brewed. It takes, you know, at least a few weeks to make.
“So they haven’t had any major supply issues yet, but we’re about to celebrate Memorial Day and we could probably see some supply shortfalls there.”
Schuhmacher even claimed that Molson Coors might not be able to give the Americans enough beer for Memorial Day weekend.
The Mulvaney deal came after the brand’s ousted marketing chief, Alissa Heinerscheid, said she planned to update the “fratty” and “out of touch” branding.
Industry analysts have warned that unless something drastic changes, the negative volume trends will continue into the summer.
Bud Light sales have fallen significantly since the beer’s partnership with Dyland Mulvaney, and analysts at JPMorgan expect Anheuser-Busch’s revenues to fall 26% this year
A new profile of the company’s handling of PR, social media and sales responses admits the company and CEO Michel Doukeris (pictured) are trying to fix their failures
One reported move is Bud Light buying back boxes of unsold and expired beer
For the week ending May 6, Bud Light retail sales in the US were down 23.6 percent compared to the previous year. And the week before, ending April 29, sales were down 23.3 percent.
This follows sales declines for the week ending April 22, which were 21.4 percent. And seven days earlier, the dip was 17 percent, according to NielsenIQ data provided to Dailymail.com by Bump Williams Consultancy.
The data – which shows sales in the US are falling by as much as 20 percent each week – has since been described as “poor” by industry experts.
Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consultancy told DailyMail.com, “I don’t think the sales/volume declines will get any worse, but I do think their negative volume trends will continue.”
He said a 20 percent drop in sales appears to be the new “normal” for Bud Light.
But he added that experts are waiting to see what will happen to sales during Memorial Day and the summer sales season to assess whether the damage will continue.