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The Conservative "Cannabis" Stock Index declined in May with its Anheuser-Busch InBev constituent (BUD) declining by 18%. Here's why that happened.

On April 1st, Budweiser, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), sent a case of its Bud Light brand of beer to a 26-year-old influencer named Dylan Mulvaney who, in turn, posted a video on Instagram to celebrate both March Madness and her first year of womanhood as part of a paid sponsorship deal and promotion. Budweiser also sent her a tallboy can with her face on it to celebrate her 365 days since transitioning. This made some people very upset because Mulvaney is transgender.

Bud Light has now found itself in the eye of the anti-trans storm with many on the right calling for a boycott of the bestselling beer in the country. As a result, Anheuser-Busch InBev stock began to decline in April (-2.6%) and then went down another 18% during the month of May. That controversy infected the 5 other companies in the munKNEE Conservative "Cannabis" Stock Index which declined 1.5%, on average, in May.

On the positive side, Anna Tuchman, associate professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, has researched boycotts and found that such efforts tend to be short-lived and don’t have a long-term effect. BUD's stock price continued to decline last week (-4%) with the primary beneficiaries of its decline being Constellation Brands (Corona and Modelo) which was +5.9 in May and a further 5.4% last week and Molson Coors which was +4.0% in May and up a further +5.3% last week confirming Tuchman's research that the effects of boycotts tend to wane over time.  

Below are the performances of the 6 constituents in the munKNEE Conservative "Cannabis" Stock Index last week, in descending order, and in the month of May:

1. Constellation Brands (STZ): UP 5.4% last week; UP 5.2% in May
   • has a 39% stake in Canopy Growth (CGC),
   • has a dividend yield of 1.5% and
   • has a projected price/earnings ratio (FWD) of 20.9
2. Molson Coors (TAP): UP 5.3% last week; UP 20.4% in May
   • has a 57.5%/42.5% joint venture, called TRUSS, with Hexo Corp. (HEXO),
   • has a dividend yield of 2.6% and
   • has a projected price/earnings ratio (FWD) of 14.7
3. Altria Group (MO): UP 1.6% last week; DOWN 6.5% in May 
   • has a 45% stake in Cronos Group (CRON),
   • has a dividend yield of 8.3% and
   • has a projected price/earnings ratio (FWD) of 9.0
4. Imperial Brands (IMBBY): UP 0.5% last week; DOWN 14.8% in May
   • has a 19.9% stake in Auxly Cannabis Group (CBWTF),
   • has a dividend yield of 7.9% and
   • has a projected PE Ratio (FWD) of 9.9
5. British American Tobacco (BTI): DOWN 1.3% last week; DOWN 14.4% in May
   • has a C$221M investment and product development partnership with Organigram Holdings (OGI),
   • has a dividend yield of 8.3% and
   • has a projected price/earnings ratio (FWD) of 7.5
6. Anheuser-Busch (BUD): DOWN 4.0% last week; DOWN 17.8% in May
   • has a $100 million joint venture with Tilray (TLRY),
   • has a dividend yield of 1.5% and
   • has a projected price/earnings ratio (FWD) of 17.3

In summary, the munKNEE Conservative "Cannabis" Stocks Index:

• was UP 3.1% last week and was DOWN 1.7% in May,
• constituents currently have an average dividend yield of 3.3%.

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