Bud Light Sales Continue to Decline in US in Wake of Dylan Mulvaney Controversy

Bud Light, made by Anheuser-Busch, on a store shelf in Miami on July 27, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light brand appears to still be reeling from the backlash over its controversial decision to partner with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who identifies as transgender, last year.

In its first-quarter earnings results, published on May 8, the beverage maker—which also produces Stella Artois and Corona beer—reported a 2.6 percent increase in global revenues, largely because of sales of Corona, which grew by 15.5 percent outside of its home market of Mexico.

Revenue rose to $14.5 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $14.3 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Yet although Anheuser-Busch’s earnings were better than expected, the Belgium-based company also reported a 9.1 percent decrease in revenues in the United States.

Sales to retailers in the United States were down by 13.7 percent, primarily driven by a drop in Bud Light volume, according to the company.

That’s less of a hit than the 17 percent decline in revenues in the United States that it reported in the final quarter of last year, which it also said was “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”

Elsewhere in its May 8 earnings report, Anheuser-Busch stated that revenue had increased in other key markets—including Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia—during the quarter.

Excluding one-time items, net income grew by 15 percent for the quarter, to $1.5 billion, or 75 cents per share, compared with $1.31 billion in the same period last year. That surpassed Wall Street’s expectation of a 65-cent profit.

Anheuser-Busch Still Confident

Anheuser-Busch also reported a 5.4 percent increase in normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to nearly $5 billion.

The Budweiser parent company also noted that it expects full-year EBITDA to grow in line with its medium-term outlook of between 4 percent and 8 percent.

“The strength of the beer category, our diversified global footprint and the continued momentum of our megabrands delivered another quarter of broad-based top-and bottom-line growth,” CEO Michel Doukeris said in a statement. “We are encouraged by our results to start the year, and the consistent execution by our teams and partners reinforces our confidence in delivering on our 2024 growth ambitions.”

Consumers began boycotting Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light last year after the company sent Mr. Mulvaney a pack of beers with his face emblazoned on them to celebrate both the TikTok star’s first 365 days of identifying as a woman and to promote the company’s “March Madness” contest.

Anheuser-Busch lost up to $6.5 billion in stock value within days, and the firm issued an apology.

In the wake of the boycott, the Budweiser parent company sought to brush up its image and win over U.S. customers again. Bud Light had been the top-selling beer in the United States for decades.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 7, 2024. Curtis Means/Getty Images

Trump Says Beer Maker Deserves Second Chance

The company has since become the “official beer partner” of the UFC, a mixed martial arts league—it signed a multiyear deal late last year—and Corona Cero, a zero-alcohol beer of AB InBev’s, will be the global beer sponsor of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Anheuser-Busch also signed a sponsorship deal last month with the U.S. Olympic team for its Michelob Ultra light beer brand.

The company’s latest earnings report comes after former President Donald Trump said Anheuser-Busch deserves a second chance.

Taking to social media platform Truth Social in February, President Trump—the Republican party’s presumptive presidential nominee—said he believes the beer maker made a “mistake of epic proportions” but had paid a “very big price” for that mistake.

“Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company,” President Trump wrote. “Anheuser-Busch spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ[s] 65 thousand Americans, of which 1,500 are Veterans, and is a Founding Corporate Partner of Folds of Honor, which provides Scholarships for families of fallen Servicemen & Women. They’ve raised over $30,000,000 and given 44,000 Scholarships.”

Frank Fang, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.