Amid the ongoing boycott over Bud Light’s partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year, one billionaire investor who's long been the subject of conservatives' ire is now betting on a comeback.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has reportedly purchased 1.7 million shares from Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev via his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. According to TipRanks, the shares have a market value of about $95 million.
The latest buy comes after Gates, who is "not a big beer drinker," invested $939.87 million in Heineken stock at the beginning of the Mulvaney controversy, which has led to double digit declines in U.S. sales for Anheuser-Busch.
Despite the challenges, analysts say the company's successes elsewhere soften the blow of the U.S. boycott.
“After successful execution through Covid, 2023 has seen ABI suffer substantial market share loss in the US, driven primarily by consumer boycotts of its Bud Light brand,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Sarah Simon, reports TipRanks. “While this makes for very negative headlines, ABI’s exposure to emerging markets limits the impact of the US share loss. After one-off costs in 2023, we see profitability growth resuming in 2024, with strong cash flow growth driving leverage to the target 2.0x, allowing for both an increase in the payout ratio as well as the resumption of share buybacks from 2026. Current valuation fails to reflect this upside, in our view.”
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While the Bud Light boycott shows no signs of letting up (if how they were received at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is any indication), Anheuser-Busch is spending big to bring customers back, recently announcing one of their "biggest NFL campaigns ever."
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