Anheuser-Busch has lost a staggering $15.7 BILLION in value since Bud Light controversy began – as rivals add $3.2b to their value and experts warn of beer SHORTAGE

Molson Coors, which owns Coors Lite, has seen an increase of $2.2billion market value
There have been warnings that competitors of Anheuser-Busch are running the risk of a beer shortage because of the high demand for Memorial Day
Analysts say sales of Bud Light are down more than 23 percent as of the week ending May 6

Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch has seen its market value plunge $15.7billion since the disastrous campaign with transgender-influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Since April 1, the company has consistently been dropping down the rankings, with experts saying it ‘just keeps getting a little worse each week’.

But their competitors have added $3.2billion in market value to their brands in the same time.

Molson Coors, which owns Coors Lite, has seen an increase of $2.2billion market value, around 20 percent, while Heineken has a spike of $1billion – an increase of 1.7 percent.

Sales of Bud Light are down more than 23 percent as of the week ending May 6, according to JPMorgan beverage analyst Jared Dinges.

Since April 1, when Mulvaney posted the ad with Bud Light, the company has consistently been dropping down the rankings, with experts saying it ‘just keeps getting a little worse each week’

He said the bank expects a 12 to 13 percent volume decline over the course of a year in the US.’We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,’ the analysts said on Tuesday.

He added: ‘Shares have underperformed EU Beer peers by 15% since the start of April.

‘We believe this is due to U.S. uncertainty, as investor focus has shifted squarely to the potential impact from the Bud Light controversy.’

The expected decline in earnings, before interest and tax, will follow a 12 percent drop in volume and a 10 percent decline in sales.

In the company’s latest attempts to deal with the backlash, Anheuser-Busch has told wholesalers it will buy back unsold cases of Bud Light that are past their expiration date.

Mulvaney posted the content to coincide with the NCAA March Madness tournament, before joking she didn’t know what sport she was promoting.

Experts are also warning that there is a risk of competitor beers running into a shortage, because of the high demand. Beer Business Daily editor Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital that the ‘whole industry is in shock’.

He claims that the newfound demand for lagers not owned by Anheuser-Bush could result in a trickle-down effect on the industry.

He said: ‘Even Bud’s competitors aren’t really dancing on the grave because they know it could have happened to them.

‘You can’t just flip a switch and make beer. You know, beer is brewed. It takes, you know, at least a couple of weeks to make.

‘So, they haven’t had major supply issues yet, but we’re about to hit Memorial Day and we could probably see some supply shortages there.’

Schuhmacher even claimed that Molson Coors might not be able to give Americans enough beer for Memorial Day weekend.

The Mulvaney deal came after the brand’s ousted marketing chief Alissa Heinerscheid said she planned to update the ‘fratty’ and ‘out of touch’ branding.

Industry analysts have warned that unless something drastic changes, the negative volume trends will continue into the summer.