After March showed a promise of recovery for Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the parent company of Bud Light, which suffered a significant stock price decline due to a boycott triggered by a controversial marketing campaign, its newest earnings report has sparked optimism.
Specifically, Anheuser-Busch InBev has published strong first-quarter performance results that saw a 2.6% increase in revenues and a better-than-expected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and volumes, as per a report on May 8.
Indeed, its EBITDA grew 5.4%, as opposed to the 1.9% predicted by analysts. Interestingly, the Bud Light beer maker has reported impressive results in North America, its largest region by revenues, despite the boycott originating among the North American consumers of its flagship beverage.
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That said, BUD’s revenues in the United States did drop 9.1% during the first quarter, with Bud Light sales to retailers recording a 13.7% decline, but the volumes in the North American region declined less than analysts had forecast, and the company’s performance improved greatly.
Notably, commenting on these results, Laurence Whyatt, an analyst at Barclays, the multinational universal banking giant headquartered in London, said that:
“[Anheuser-Busch InBev] has got its (likely) hardest quarter of 2024 out of the way with little to no bruises. (…) Bud Light continues to weigh on results, but this is the last quarter to face a significant impact.”
BUD stock price history
Following the remarkable results, the price of BUD shares expectedly rose, gaining 4.59% and hitting $63.35 in pre-market, adding up to the weekly increase of 1.32% and the advance of 0.61% on its monthly chart, according to the most recent chart data obtained by Finbold.
As a reminder, the Bud Light boycott, set off by the conservative backlash against a social media promotion of the beverage featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, started roughly one year ago, but the outrage now seems to be finally weakening, as reflected in the company’s earnings.
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