Bud Light owner AB InBev has seen its volumes drop for 7 quarters in a row
AB InBev sold less beer for more money, and the stock is fizzing higher.
AB InBev investors are toasting the company’s health this morning after the brewing giant beat Q4 expectations and posted 2024 revenues of $59.8 billion, up 2.7% on last year’s figure.
Shares of the drinks seller, home to global brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, and Corona, surged more than they have since 2021 (up around 8% at the time of writing), as the market appears to be looking past the fact that total volumes have now fallen for the last seven quarters in a row, dropping 1.4% across the year as a whole.
Shorter measures
In the most recent quarter, the total volume that AB InBev managed to shift dropped 1.9%, with the company’s own beer division faring even worse, down 2.1%. While its non-beer brands like Mike’s Hard Lemonade looked healthier, shipments were still down 1.1% in Q4. The brewer pointed to slowing sales in China and Argentina to explain the waning volumes, while its US business may still be dealing with a hangover from the Bud Light boycott of 2023.
Whatever the reason, AB InBev isn’t the only drinking business on the rocks, as changing consumer tastes, health concerns, regulation, and looming tariffs combine to pour pressure on the business of selling booze.
