https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/bud-beer-boycott/2023/05/31/id/1121926/Bud Light beer parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev's stock is continuing to drop, falling Wednesday to November 2022 levels, closing at $53.40, according to CNBC.
The latest fall is well off its 52-week high of $67.09 per share in March following backlash for promoting transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in May.
According to Newsweek, the drop represents a 20% decline with the company stock losing over $18 billion in market cap over the same period.
The controversy started April 1 when Mulvaney, a biological male who made videos about transitioning into a female, posted a video on the social media platform Instagram showing a customized beer can sent to her by the company.
That video sparked a backlash and calls from conservatives to boycott the brand and included rocker Kid Rock shooting a case of the beer with a rifle.
Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement on the controversy at the time but did not apologize for the move.
"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," the statement said in part.
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris told investors that the promotion just involved the one can, and that the company was planning to invest more in the brand amid the backlash, Newsweek reported.
"This was the result of one can. It was not made for production or sale to general public," Newsweek reported him saying. "It was one post, not a formal campaign or advertisement."
The New York Post reported Tuesday that the boycott is bringing the brand's nearest rival, Modelo Especial beer, to see a sales increase of 9.2% for the week ending May 20, as Bud Light sales declined 24.6% in the same week.
"While Bud Light loses week after week, Modelo Especial gains week after week; and now Modelo outsells Bud Light on a national basis across all trade channels combined," Bump Williams, who runs a consulting firm, told the Post. "If this continues, Modelo will surpass Bud Light for the year."
The report said that Bud Light was not the only brand from the company to see sales decline that week, with Budweiser dropping 11.25%, Michelob Ultra falling 6.5%, Busch Light dropping 5.2%, and Natural Light also declining 4.9%.
Other competitors including Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Pabst Blue Ribbon have seen sales increase by double digits since the controversy began; and Pottsville, Pennsylvania-based Yuengling beer has seen a sales increase by 47%, with 32% of that coming from four weeks in May, according to the Post.
