New York (CNN) � is benefiting one of its biggest rivals.
Molson Coors, brewer of Miller Lite and Coors Light beers, reported Tuesday its single best quarter of revenue since its , as drinkers continue to shift their allegiance away from the Anheuser Busch-made beer.
In a release, Molson Coors said that combined US sales of its two flagship beers outsold Bud Light by 50% in the second quarter and were 30% higher than Modelo Especial, which overtook Bud Light sales in May and June. That’s a drastic change from the same quarter a year ago, when Bud Light sales were higher than Coors Light and Miller Lite sales combined.
Net income for the second quarter grew to $342 million, up from $47 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales also rose 11.8% to $3.3 billion, but that came in slightly below analysts� expectations, resulting in shares sliding more than 2% in premarket trading.
Molson Coors also hiked its full-year guidance to “reflect the continued strength we are seeing in our core brands in the US.�
Changes in the beer industry
have been completely upended following Bud Light’s decision to send a customized can to a transgender influencer, which sparked transphobic backlash and alienated the company’s core customer base. But A-B’s lack of response to the hate also drew criticism from .
Since then, sales of Bud Light have been consistently falling by more than 20% every week (compared to the same week prior) since April. In May, the seemingly unthinkable happened: Modelo Especial displaced Bud Light from its top-selling spot in the United States for the first time, ending a roughly two-decade run for Bud Light. The trend
Modelo’s parent company, Constellation Brands , also recently reported strong earnings. Its beer business, which also includes Corona, posted an 11% increase in sales for the first quarter.
Last week, , amounting to just under 2% of its employee count. The beer giant is set to announce earnings � which will fully cover the Bud Light sales slide � on Thursday.
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