The boycotts of Bud Light (BUDFF) and Target (TGT) have sparked a conversation about just how involved major corporations should be in the political discourse.
The two companies' longstanding support of LGBTQ products suddenly sparked an organized backlash from the political right this year that has seldom been seen.
DON'T MISS: The Right Celebrates the Wrong Victory Over Target, Bud Light
Even as culture warriors on Twitter celebrate after making both companies bend to their will -- Bud Light disavowed its partnership with transgender spokesperson Dylan Mulvaney and Target pulled some of the clothing that offended -- billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban says corporations shouldn't be afraid to step into the deep waters of politics.
“There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the U.S. can be considered ‘woke.’ It’s good business,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an interview.
But what about the financial ramifications? The right has been celebrating the fact that Anheuser Busch InBev, Bud Light's parent company, has lost about $20 billion from its market cap due to the negative press around that came from the Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign.
“First, a dip in market cap is meaningless. You have to realize that there aren’t many individual owners of stocks — almost all ownership is via funds, and most trading is quantitative. So, it’s not like the drop is because tens of thousands of individual holders sold their stocks," Cuban said.
So companies should keep investing in the politics that they see fit, but just do so without publicizing it. But if they do choose to publicize some a political opinion that is unpopular with a certain segment of their customer base it's not the end of the world either, according to Cuban.
“Most CEOs have enough experience to know to just wait out the news cycle until they go to the next one," he said.
More Companies in Trouble:
- Bud Light Is Set to Lose a Big Chunk of Its Business Permanently
- Battle for Pride: What to Know About the Target Backlash
- While the Right Celebrates Over Bud Light, Target, They’re Cheering the Wrong Victory
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