Beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev sees operating profits rise for 2023 despite backlash over Bud Light

abcnews.go.com:

Multinational beer and beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Corona, has reported a 7% increase in operating profit for last year, even as as sales sagged in the United States due to a decline in demand...

FRANKFURT, Germany — 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 17.3% in the fourth quarter, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light,” the company said in an earnings news release.

The Leuven, Belgium-based company is facing declining beer sales in the U.S., where drinkers are increasingly opting for spirits, hard seltzers and alcohol-free beverages. Bud Light, its best-selling brand there, faced a conservative backlash last year after it sent a commemorative can to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.

Transgender rights supporters also deserted the brand, saying it didn’t do