Bud Light received some good news on Friday following months of criticism and boycotts.
The beer, part of its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, dominated headlines for various reasons starting in April after it partnered with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney for a promotion. It was the first of a number of boycotts organized by those on the political right.
The Mulvaney decision led to nearly immediate and fierce blowback that included conservatives like Kid Rock shooting at cans with an assault rifle, drastic drops in stock prices, full shelves of the product at stores, and even some businesses trying to give the beer away altogether.
But those days may be behind the historic company. Barron's reported that margins for Anheuser-Busch InBev are improving, with a BofA Securities analyst upgrading shares from "neutral" to "buy" as part of a stock raising to $68.93—a 29 percent increase from the company's closing price on Thursday.
The company's stock fell 11 percent in 2023 while revenue dropped nearly just as much. Bud Light's superiority in the beer market dwindled, allowing competitors like Modelo to make major gains in the market.
BofA Securities analyst Andrea Pistachhi wrote in a research note on Friday that the company is "in a good position to leverage its strong market positions, particularly Latin America, into better profit growth going forward."
Mulvaney, who became somewhat of a household name following her partnership with Bud Light, has excoriated the brand in interviews and social media posts since the boycotts made national headlines.
She has accused them of partnering with her to perhaps fill a quota with the LGBTQ+ community, claiming they never reached out to her during the public backlash and that she was even afraid to leave her house.
But aside from the public shaming from certain segments of the population, the TikTok star with over 10 million followers has continued to thrive.
Mulvaney has scored partnership deals with major brands such as Nike, Kate Spade and Ulta Beauty.
She has worked with Lady Gaga's Haus Labs cosmetics company, skincare line CeraVe, MAC, KIND Snacks, KitchenAid, Ole Henriksen, Instacart, K18, Aritzia and Rent the Runway.
She has been featured on the covers of Them and The Cut magazines. Allure magazine named her on its A-list for 2023.
In August, Mulvaney won her first Streamy Award for best breakout content creator.
"You know who came through for me these last few months? It was trans people and queer people. A lot of [whom] saw all of this coming, because they knew what it was like to be burned and I didn't," she wrote on Instagram about the year she's had.
"I gave myself and my identity to people who didn't deserve it. Then the trans and queer community was there to pick me back up without pity. Thank god for that."
Newsweek reached out to Anheuser-Busch via email for comment.
