Rising operating costs, particularly in areas like packaging and transportation, are taking a toll on the beer industry.
CNBC’s Stefan Sykes explains that companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors have raised prices on many of their popular beers and seen bigger profits, “with consumers footing the bill.”
For example, in Anheuser-Busch InBev’s latest quarterly earnings report, the world’s largest brewer underscored a jump in profit “driven by price increases and getting consumers to spend more on premium offerings,” Sykes explains. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Sykes writes that according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics the price of beer bought at retail locations such as grocery stores “rose 5.9% for the 12 months through April 2023 compared with the prior year.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics adds that the rate topped the overall 4.9% inflation for the same period.
“Since 2000, retail beer consumed at home has increased more than 72%,” Sykes reports. “The cost of beer has climbed even more for people drinking outside the home, jumping 102% during that time.”
Beer drinkers may have felt the impact of inflation on their wallets, but Sykes adds that the past year’s price increases helped some of the world’s largest beer makers see significantly bigger profits.
For example, in Anheuser-Busch InBev’s latest quarterly earnings report, the world’s largest brewer underscored a jump in profit “driven by price increases and getting consumers to spend more on premium offerings,” Sykes explains. “As a result, the brewing giant saw its core profit increase by 13.6% year over year to $4.76 billion.
“At the same time, beer sales increased only 0.4% from a year ago.”
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