‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary shot down his co-star Mark Cuban’s claim that ‘waking up’ benefits business and argued that the role of corporations is ‘not to educate society about the social issue of the day’.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, O’Leary stressed that companies like Target and Anheuser-Busch that engage in politics could potentially alienate some of their customer base.
Shark Tank star and NBA owner Mark Cuban had advised that “waking up is good for business” and refuted the idea that companies that embrace the “wake up” ideology face financial consequences, according to an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday.
Cuban told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the ongoing backlash would abate despite both companies suffering massive losses worth billions of dollars as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation battle backlash from LGBTQ+ marketing programs.
Since their partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney in April, AB-InBev has seen a market cap drop of $22.6 billion. Bud Light also lost its top-selling beer award to Modelo Especial in May.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary (left) shot down his co-star Mark Cuban’s claim that “waking up” benefits business, arguing that the role of companies is to ‘not educate society about the social issue of the day’
Cuban addressed the backlash Anheuser-Busch and the Target Corporation faced for their promotion of LGBTQ+ ideologies, but argued that the perceived losses these companies suffered were not due to their embrace of wakefulness.
Cuban cited the success of several leading US companies, which he considers “awakened,” as evidence that it is, in fact, good for business, despite the evidence and experts to the contrary.
But O’Leary argued that companies should not get involved in divisive political issues — and should be respectful of their audiences, who may have different views.
“If you’re Disney or a beer company or Target, you have all kinds of customers. Republicans, Democrats, Gender Specific or Gender Neutral. It doesn’t matter,” he said.
If companies take sides, they could essentially lose half their customer base, he explained.
“You want to sell everyone everything all the time. If you get involved in partisan issues, you basically lose 50% of your constituency,” O’Leary said. “Why you’d do that if you’re a consumer goods or services company, everyone learns, doesn’t make any sense.”
O’Leary advocates for companies to stay in their jobs — and essentially focus on what they offer consumers.
O’Leary argues that companies should not get involved in divisive political issues – and should be respectful of their audiences, who may hold different views
Shark Tank star Mark Cuban (pictured) has advised that ‘waking up is good for business’ as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation battle backlash from LGBTQ+ marketing programs
“The role of a company, a company in America for the last 200 years, has been to serve customers, their employees and their shareholders. Their role is not to inform society about the social issue of the day, he added.
“They learn that very quickly. And in the case of business, you can measure it by the second if they’re public, by the share price.’
Just yesterday, reports showed that Bud Light sales plummeted again, this time down 24.4 percent over the past week, while rival brand Modelo Especial boomed.
Bud Light sales continue to fall amid the ongoing backlash over its disastrous partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The beer giant lost its place as America’s number one beer brand to Modelo Especial over the controversy, a position it held for more than 22 years.
In the week ending June 3, Bud Light sales fell a whopping 24.4 percent, worse than the previous week’s 23.9 percent drop.
Bartenders have even claimed that “nobody wants Bud Light at their event anymore” since the company was dethroned as America’s best-selling beer after the controversy.
Target is another company that has proven that waking up means going out of business.
After the decision to stock “tuck-friendly” transgender swimsuits and Pride merchandise grows, Target lost $12 billion in 14 days.
Since their partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney on April 1, AB-InBev has seen a market cap drop of $22.6 billion
Meanwhile, Target Corporation saw a $10 billion drop from $74.11 billion within 10 days of promoting Pride merchandise
Bud Light lost its best-selling beer award to Modelo Especial in May.
The retail giant’s market cap plummeted after its longest streak of losses in five years as shares fell to a one-year low.
Target lost $15 billion from its market cap as outrage grew amid the controversy over Pride’s “tuck-in-friendly” swimsuits.
Last week, shares of the Minneapolis-based company fell another 3.26 percent by close of trading. Target’s share price is now $126.99 per share, down from a high of nearly $162 per share last month.
Before being engulfed in controversy, Target’s market value was more than $74 billion, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group. The market capitalization – calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the price per share – is now just $54 billion.
“When you lose nine, 10, 11, $12 billion in market cap, you know you’ve offended someone and that person is your customer. That’s a bad thing. Really bad business,” said O’Leary.