Anheuser-Busch Gets Good News From Bud Light Drinkers

There is evidence that customers are willing to go back to drinking its Bud Light beer after Anheuser-Busch InBev faced boycotts this year from some conservative consumers who were upset over its work with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the company said Tuesday.

The world’s largest brewer with brands that include Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, saw total revenue jump by 5 percent to nearly $16 billion in the three months up to September, despite continuing struggles in the U.S. market on the back of the boycotts.

Revenue in the U.S. fell 13.5 percent, hurt by the drop of volume of its Bud Light sales. Sales to wholesalers fell 17.6 percent, while sales to retailers were down 16.6 percent on the back of a volume decline of Bud Light, the company said.

The company has been the subject of boycotts of Bud Light from some right-wing groups who were upset that Mulvaney shared a video with her social media audience drinking a customized can of the beer.

On Tuesday, the company said that since the fall in sales in April following the initial outcry, its share of the U.S. market has leveled off.

“Our total beer market share has remained stable since the last week of April through the end of September,” Anheuser-Busch said in a statement.

A survey conducted by the company showed that 40 percent of “lapsed buyers” of Bud Light were ready to come back, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris said in a call with investors.

“This gives us some certainty that we are moving in the right direction,” he said, according to a transcript of the call.

Customers want Bud Light to concentrate on platforms that all consumers love, he said, which is why they are concentrating on the National Football League, college football and the recent partnership with the mixed martial arts outfit Ultimate Fighting Championship, where Bud Light will be the official beer partner.

He also said that customers want Bud Light to focus on beer and their beer without a debate.

“We are taking the feedback and working hard toward our consumers’ business every day across the world,” Doukeris said.

In the U.S., the Beyond Beer segment of the business was thriving.

“In Beyond Beer, our spirits-based ready-to-drink portfolio continued to grow volume by strong double digits, outperforming the industry,” the company said.

The decline of volume in the U.S. impacted its overall business as it saw a volume drop of 3.4 percent as growth in the Middle Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific markets was offset by a weak performance in the U.S. and a soft industry in Europe, the company said.

The company also said that it would issue a $3 billion tender for outstanding bonds and share buyback to be realized over the next year with the aim of maximizing value to shareholders.

Investors appear to have responded positively to the company’s earnings. As of 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, shares of the company on the Nasdaq exchange jumped more than 5 percent.

Newsweek reached out to Anheuser-Busch InBev by email for comment.