I think there is some truth in āgo woke, go brokeā - some eg see recent Bud Light fiasco.
Made me think: which company with a large conservative or middle of the road customer base is going to go woke next? Figure that out - then invest in their rivals eg Molson Coors shares seem to be doing well.
There does need to be some tempering of corporate rainbow washing, but on the other hand watching conservatives getting their knickers in a twist and pouring their piss water down the drain is pretty funny.
Anhauser Busch are the last company Iād think of as āWokeā, whatever that word is meaning today.
I do subconsciously avoid buying products from some companies that are particularly egregious Disney, Gillette, Nike, Virgin Atlantic and the like. I wouldnāt say I do it robustly enough to call it a boycott though and I donāt encourage others to do it, itās a personal thing.
I would imagine if there are lots of people out there doing the same, it would have an impact on the bottom line. Itās hard to measure and specifically attribute to āgoing wokeā though.
My guess: itās less about woke/broke specifically and more that the world is generally less stable and more political/politicised than it was 25 years ago. And that as a consequence younger generations will want and expect the brands they choose to express more of a political position, and companies will reflect that because it is a way to position yourself distinctively.
I think the people who would actually boycott a company for being āwokeā are just a noisy minority. I donāt think most people care that much either way. I might be projecting a bit though. I donāt care and find it a bit amusing that the conservatives who delight in calling others āsnowflakesā are the ones who have a meltdown about things that donāt really matter
Most outside of the internet culture war bubble (99% of people) donāt care which is why these grandiose boycotts always fail. The recent Harry Potter game boycott is also a good example.
So if the impact on actual ongoing earnings is negligible then that just leaves the stock price shock from the extensive media coverage. $6 Billion wiped off Anheuser-Busch in the Bud Light fiasco.