Posted by The parent company of Bud Light has experienced a significant decrease in market capitalization, amounting to over $6 billion, ever since it announced its partnership with a controversial internet personality who is transgender. The alliance with 26-year-old Dylan Mulvaney, which was revealed on April 2, has triggered widespread outrage and calls for a boycott, ultimately impacting Anheuser-Busch’s financial performance.
Anheuser-Bush InBev’s Shares Soar to Pre-Pandemic Highs at $66 Before Mulvaney Partnership
Beer Giant’s Stock Sinks to $63 as Market Capitalization Drops Over 4%: Anheuser-Bush InBev’s Recent Share Value Decline
Just six days ago, the market capitalization of the company stood at $132.38 billion, but it has currently declined to $125.73 billion. This decline followed a brief uptick in Anheuser-Bush InBev’s stock price in March, which had been slowly climbing back to its pre-March 2020 level of $80-plus share prices. The company’s brass continues to support their deal with Mulvaney, who has over 10 million social media followers and is an outspoken activist.
Shares had been hovering around the $60 resistance marker since January of this year, but on March 31, the stock peaked at $66.73, which had not been seen in three years.
The shares initially saw an increase but have since dropped. This drop happened around the same time as the announcement of the partnership between Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light and Mulvaney, who is a well-known influencer with a significant social media following. Bud Light sent Mulvaney custom cans with her face and pro-LGBTQ language to celebrate her transition from male to female in 2021. Bud Light is the top-selling beer brand in the US.
The partnership between Mulvaney and Anheuser-Bush InBev was officially announced after the star promoted a gift in a series of sponsored posts.
The gift served as the beginning of the partnership, which was further solidified by a subsequent video that featured Mulvaney in the nude
Mulvaney, with her 11 million followers, created a stir on social media when she appeared in a bathtub, drinking a can of Bud Light. However, her actions also sparked a backlash, with some people vowing to boycott the brand in protest of the partnership. Celebrities like Kid Rock, who filmed himself shooting several cases of the beer in defiance, are among those who are critical of the brand for allegedly pandering to the progressive left. Despite the criticism, Bud Light remains one of the top-selling beer brands in the US.
The debate over Anheuser-Busch’s value drop and Mulvaney’s brand ambassadorship
As the controversy continued, Bud Light’s parent company had to release a statement expressing their support for the brand’s decision to collaborate with Mulvaney. Mulvaney gained popularity on the internet by sharing her journey of transitioning to a woman through a series of videos. “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” the rep said in a statement shared with several outlets last week.
It added: “From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
Anheuser-Busch’s decision to stand by its collaboration with Mulvaney only fueled the outrage of customers, which could have contributed to the company’s recent decline in the market. The downward trend started at the beginning of the month, but it coincided with the announcement of the Mulvaney partnership, which was made on April 2, the day before the first trading day in April. Mulvaney addressed the intense response to the partnership during a podcast appearance, stating that her critics were targeting an easy scapegoat.
On the popular comedy podcast, “Onward with Rosie O’Donnell,” Mulvaney explained that she believed she was an easy target for criticism due to her relative newness in the industry.
They added: “I think going after a trans woman that’s been doing this for like 20 years is a lot more difficult. I think maybe they think that there’s some sort of chance with me… But what is their goal? These people, they don’t understand me, and anything that I do or say then somehow gets taken out of context and is used against me and it’s so sad because everything I try to put out is positive.”
Mulvaney continued: “It’s trying to connect with others that maybe don’t understand me. It’s to make people laugh or to make a kid feel seen.”
Shortly before facing backlash, Mulvaney spoke to reporters in Hollywood and stated that she was thriving and doing well, having earned over a million dollars from various brands like Kate Spade, Crest, and InstaCart. When asked about the recent controversy and whether transgender influencers are the future, the TikTok star, who had been working as the beer’s brand ambassador for approximately a week, confidently replied with a ‘yes’.