Bank Downgrades Rating After Bud Light Disaster

(RightWing.org) – The collapse of the nation’s economy under President Joe Biden and the rise of the so-called “woke” movement has led some companies off a cliff as they increasingly turn to social media campaigns to boost their product sales. However, Bud Light’s partnership with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked nationwide controversy after a video was posted of her promoting the brand on April 1. A recent report indicated that the managing director of a major international bank downgraded Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch’s, investment rating.

On May 10, HSBC Holdings PLC Global Beverage Sector Head, Carlos Laboy, downgraded Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI) stock to hold, telling investors there were “deeper problems” with the company than officials were willing to concede. CNBC reported that Laboy issued a brief statement noting ABI’s effort to jump aboard the “brand culture transformation train, or “woke trend,” failed — at least in the United States.

HSBC downgrades Anheuser-Busch InBev as it deals with a 'Bud Light crisis' https://t.co/4xd5R1YZpI

— CNBC (@CNBC) May 10, 2023

A hold rating, or recommendation, means that analysts expect a company’s stock to perform roughly in line with current stock market risk-adjusted trends, plus or minus 10%, over the next year. Broadly speaking, a hold rating is a non-committal suggestion that individuals shouldn’t sell any shares they own in a company or purchase new ones.

The Financial Times recently reported that the latest figures from ABI show the company’s sales volume for the week ending April 22 dropped 26% year-on-year from 2022. ABI CEO Michel Doukeris readily conceded that the conservative-led boycott of Bud Light sparked the backlash that has been negatively impacting the company’s bottom line.

Doukeris told investors that the drop in US sales drove down the company’s global volume by roughly 1%. However, he said it was “too early” to determine the full impact of the boycott and the resulting backlash. For those unfamiliar with ABI’s total reach, it also owns other brands like Corona and Stella Artois. It caters to markets in North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.