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Michelob Ultra solidifies itself as top beer as A-B reports declining volumes

Hannah Wyman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on

Published in Business News

Anheuser-Busch InBev reported that its Michelob Ultra is now the top brand by volume in the industry, after months of steady growth this year.

This comes more than two years after sales of former top beer, Bud Light, fell amid backlash over the company’s campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

In 2023, Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light for the first time in more than two decades as the best-selling beer in the U.S.

Since then, the company's sales have been buoyed, in part, by Michelob Ultra and Busch Light. This quarter, Belgium-based A-B InBev said that Michelob Ultra and Busch Light were the No. 1 and No. 2 volume share gainers in the U.S. market.

Michel Doukeris, A-B InBev CEO, told investors that Michelob Ultra gained market share in all 50 states.

During a Thursday morning call with investors, A-B leadership said global revenue was up about 1% to $15 million, for the quarter ending Sept. 30. However, volumes were down by 3.7% as a result of weak performance in China and unseasonably cold weather in Brazil.

Doukeris said volumes improved in August and September, making him optimistic for the next quarter. Plus, he said the company has been adjusting to make up for the loss in cost-management strategies.

“We often say here, in house, that our strategies are just like beer — it can be used in many different occasions,” Doukeris said. “So we've been adapting the execution. We are very agile in relocating resources. Our portfolio has breadth that is useful for us in this moment."

 

Company leaders also highlighted the continued success of A-B’s non-beer and low-alcohol brands.

The company’s Beyond Beer portfolio, which includes cocktails in a can, hard seltzers, spritzers and more, saw percentage revenue growth in the mid-forties. This increase was led by Cutwater, A-B’s canned cocktail brand, which grew revenue by triple digits.

Doukeris said that although Beyond Beer brands make up only 2% of the company’s portfolio, it's growing quickly.

“It's all about the consumers, so there is a group of consumers that indulge in different occasions with different liquid profiles and we've been learning a lot about that,” Doukeris said on the earnings call. “We've been having some very successful launches and scale-ups of products in this area.”

On Thursday, the company also announced a new $6 billion share buyback program to be executed within the next two years.

A-B shares closed Thursday at $60.01, down 2.35%.


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