Are the Biggest Beer Companies Also the Most Successful?

In 2023, beer brewers around the world produced around 1.8 trillion hectoliters of the alcoholic beverage, down one percent compared to the year prior, according to the most recent annual report from hops supplier BarthHaas. While craft breweries and smaller companies have been on the rise in recent years, 55 percent of the market is controlled by five brewing conglomerates. But does market dominance in terms of output also translate to a successful business?

Our chart based on BarthHaas data shows that AB InBev, the Belgian group home to brands like Budweiser, Corona, Beck's and Stella Artois, generated around $7 billion in net profit out of revenues of $59 billion in 2023, according to its latest annual financial report. The conglomerate's brand Bud Light took a popularity hit in North America this past June due to a marketing campaign involving trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, making the region the only one to drop in revenue and profit compared to 2022.

Second in terms of beer production volume is conglomerate Heineken from the Netherlands, which owns brands like Tecate and Amstel in addition to its own beer. The revenue and profit after tax in 2023 match the difference in volume market share compared to AB InBev, hitting $34 billion and $3 billion, respectively. When it comes to the relation between revenues and actual profit, the Chinese company China Resources Beer, which is mainly known for its Snow brand and was responsible for around six percent of the beer production volume in 2023, takes first place. In absolute numbers, the group comes last in the top 5 with its profit of $700 million, which was up almost 20 percent year-over-year, on revenues of $6 billion.

Rounding out the top five beer conglomerates in terms of production volume are Carlsberg, which is responsible for brands like Holsten and Tuborg, with revenues of $11 billion and a net profit of $1.2 billion and the U.S.-Canadian joint venture Molson Coors, home to well-known beer brands like Miller and Coors, with $1 billion in profit on $14 billion of annual revenue.