Multinational beer and beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev — maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Corona — reported on Thursday a 7% increase in operating profit for last year, even as as sales sagged in the United States due to a decline in demand for Bud Light.
The earnings news came hours after the company avoided a strike by 5,000 of its U.S. workers as negotiators reached agreement late Wednesday.
Normalized operating earnings, which exclude financial factors such as interest and taxes, rose 7% to $19.98 billion in 2023. That's the figure the company uses to demonstrate its underlying performance.
Full-year profit declined to $6.89 billion from $7.60 billion the year before. Total revenue rose 7.8% to $59.38 billion. The company's CEO Michel Doukeris cited "another year of consistent profitable growth" in which it reduced debt and saw its credit rating upgraded.
U.S. revenue declined 9.5% for the year and More