It’s official: America has lost its mind. In April, rapper Kid Rock – apparently upset that Bud Light had featured a trans influencer in a social-media campaign – grabbed an automatic weapon and blasted away at cases of the beer. The singer’s stunt triggered a boycott of the brand, causing sales to plunge by double digits. Now, with cases of Bud Light piling up at stores, shares of parent Anheuser-Busch are sinking as analysts warn that its U.S. earnings will take a hit.
In the worst single-day drop since the company went public in 2001, shares of the auto-parts retailer plummeted 35 per cent after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates by a wide margin, cut its full-year guidance and slashed its dividend by 83 per cent. The company cited a litany of reasons for the results, including inflationary product and labour costs, supply chain headwinds and intense price competition in sales to professionals.