Boycotts' Initial Effects Hit Target's Stock Harder Than Bud Light's
Target's stock dropped nearly five times more than Bud Light's at the same point in the boycott.Bud Light's commemorative can for transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked massive backlash that prompted the company to issue rebates that rendered beer purchases free.
Conservative customers have since turned their attention to Target regarding its transgender-family swimsuit, forcing the company to pull some merchandise from certain stores.While Anheuser-Busch's stock initially responded fairly well to the boycott, Target's stock price took an almost immediate hit.
In the first nine days of the Bud Light boycott, Anheuser-Busch stock dropped 2.42 percent. From May 17 to May 26, the same amount of time into the Target boycott, the company's stock price fell 13.5 percent.Newsweek reached out to Anheuser-Busch and Target via email for comment.Calls to boycott Target began in mid-May following the release of its 2023 Pride Season collection.
The items in the collection showcased colors and wordings supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, but many claimed that they also had items geared toward children, including "tuck friendly" children's swimsuits. "Tuck friendly" clothing items are worn by transgender women to conceal private areas if they have not undergone gender-reassignment surgery.Following calls to boycott Target, the company announced that it was removing some items related to its 2023 Pride Season."Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work.
