AB InBev Reports First Decline in Volume Since Pandemic
- US blizzards, last stage of Covid Zero dented consumption
- AB InBev forecasts 4% to 8% earnings growth this year
Bottles of Budweiser beer on conveyors at the Anheuser-Busch InBev NV brewery in Leuven, Belgium.
Photographer: Olivier Matthys/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
AB InBev SA, the world’s largest brewer, reported its first volume decline since the early days of the pandemic and gave an earnings forecast for 2023 that disappointed investors.
Beer-drinking in the US suffered from blizzards in December, while the final stage of China’s Covid Zero policy weighed on demand in Asia. That led to a surprise drop in fourth-quarter volume, while analysts had been expecting an increase. AB InBev shares dropped as much as 4.5% Thursday morning.