Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban Says “Wake Up Is Good for Work”

• Mark Cuban says companies that espouse a “wake up” ideology are “good for business” despite the backlash against companies like Anheuser-Busch and Target Corp.
• Cuban advised organizations that they should ‘wait for the news cycle’ as AB-InBev sees its market capitalization drop from $132.06 billion to $109.4 billion.
• He said the ‘drop’ was ‘meaningless’ and unlikely due to individual shareholders after the company went into partnership with Dylan Mulvaney on April 1.

“Wake up is good for business,” Shark Tank star and NBA owner Mark Cuban advised as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation battle a dogfight of LGBTQ+ marketing schemes.

Cuban told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the ongoing backlash will subside even though both companies have incurred billions of dollars in losses.

Since their partnership with TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney in April, AB-InBev has seen a $22.6 billion drop in market capitalization, Charts registered. Bud Light also lost the distinction of best-selling beer to Modelo Especial in May.

Meanwhile, Target Corporation saw a $10 billion decrease from $74.11 billion within 10 days of its promotion of Pride-themed merchandise. It has since seen a slight uptick – trading at $59.41 billion as of June 13th.

Both companies have seen widespread boycotts in recent months over their decisions. Target has pulled its LGBTQ line — including “tuck-friendly” apparel — from some stores due to criticism.

While experts attributed the decline to invoking politics within these brands, Cuban insisted that embracing wake-up is a positive for other companies.

“There’s a reason almost all of the top 10 companies in the market in the United States can be considered ‘awake.'” Good business, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Most CEOs are experienced enough to know if they are waiting for the news cycle to move on to the next.”

Since revealing the Mulvaney partnership in April, AB-InBev has seen a 23.9 percent decline in its sales on a dollar basis compared to a year ago.

Meanwhile, Target Corporation’s market value has lost billions of dollars as products, including “tend-friendly” women’s swimwear, hit shelves.

Target stock is down 3.1 percent on Friday in the span of five days and an estimated 18.5 percent in the past month.

Cuban insisted that the decline was “nonsensical” and that shareholders were unlikely to take action following the backlash.

“First, it doesn’t make sense that there was a decline in market value,” Cuban said.

Realize that there are not many stock owners – almost all ownership is via funds, and most trading is quantitative.

“So it’s not like it’s going down because tens of thousands of shareholders have sold their shares.”

The Dallas Mavericks owner said that “people want to do business with companies that care about their customers,” a quality that “is an American trait that he says reflects who we are as a country.”

Last week, analysts at global asset management firm Bernstein said AB-InBev could see a permanent 15 percent drop in sales amid Mulvaney’s backlash.

They expected AB-InBev to see its 2023 gross profit decline by 6.7%.

Controversy erupted after Mulvaney, 26, shared a series of Bud Light promotional posts with her People are still boycotting beer.

Musician Kid Rock responded by posting a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light, and country singers John Rich and Travis Tritt called off ties to the brand.

But media figures like Joe Rogan and Howard Stern have defended Bud Light’s decision.

“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Bud Light North America CEO Brendan Whitworth said on April 14. We’re in the business of getting people together for a beer.

Whitworth also said he will continue to focus on “building and protecting our wonderful history and heritage”.

Meanwhile, within weeks after Mulvaney’s partnership, two marketing executives at Anheuser-Busch took a leave of absence. It is unclear if they have returned to work yet.

After Anheuser-Busch tried to distance itself from Mulvaney’s promotion, Bud Light also faced backlash from the opposite direction, with LGBT+ groups accusing the company of abandoning the transgender influencer.

AB-InBev CEO Michel Docris played down the impact of the backlash, saying the decline in Bud Light sales in the US in the first three weeks of April accounted for just one percent of InBev’s global volumes.

“We believe we have the experience, the resources and the partners to manage this,” Docris said during a conference call with investors earlier this month.

AB-InBev’s other flagship beer, Budweiser, also posted a decline of 8.5 percent, while Natural Light and Stella Artois saw a drop of 1.5 percent to three percent.

Meanwhile, the company’s top competitors saw sales increase as beer drinkers switched brands.

Coors Light stock is up 26.3%, while Miller Lite is up 23.1%. Yuengling saw the largest increase, at 36.3 percent.

Modelo Especial, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, AB-InBev’s parent company, saw the smallest increase, at 9.5 percent.

Target may also see lasting damage, as Walmart is now accommodating customers who have chosen to boycott the brand.

Conservatives were already unhappy with Target’s Pride offerings, which included controversial items like “tuck-friendly” women’s swimwear.

But the situation turned from bad to worse after they stripped their goods on Pride – angering the LGBTQ+ community.

Target’s Pride collection has been linked to designer Erik Carnell of Abprallen, who has expressed support for Satanism and the incorporation of occult imagery.

Already near a three-year low, the company’s shares have been downgraded several times due to the controversy surrounding Pride products.

Citi analyst Paul Leguize downgraded Target’s stock from “buy” to “neutral” and suggested rival Wal-Mart might gain market share.

“We believe Wal-Mart is likely to continue to gain market share, and Target’s high exposure to discretionary sales will not serve it well against the current macro backdrop,” Legouise said in a note to investors.

Added legoise in a note seen by Fox Business.

Target also seems to be seeing a decrease in the number of people entering its stores.

There was a 13.9 percent decrease in store traffic during the last week of May.

The drop was attributed to inflationary pressures and reduced consumer spending over the Memorial Day weekend.