It is the season of enjoying a cold beer under the scorching sun. Most NASCAR fans would agree, and so would their beloved sport’s long-time partner. Anheuser-Busch and NASCAR’s partnership dates back to 1978, when the beverage brand sponsored the Busch Pole Award. Early in 2025, this old bond got a reboot with a multi-year agreement fixing Busch as the Premier Partner of the Cup Series. Ross Chastain also sports Busch colors on his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Presently, things have just turned a little brighter for the beer brand.
The global economic landscape at present does not sport a very promising look. The stock market has taken a sharp turn after two years of blockbuster gains. Growth stocks sputtered amid a new wave of tariffs rattling global trade. Despite this chaotic situation, Anheuser-Busch achieved a massive milestone.
A golden time for NASCAR’s comrade
Anheuser-Busch is a global producer, distributor, and marketer of beer, alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks. It has an extensive portfolio of brands including Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, Beck’s, and many others. Despite its huge presence in the country of NASCAR, Busch has actually seen a drastic fall. Beer sales declined in the U.S., Europe, and China by 2.2%. The company attributed this to “calendar-related factors such as cycling the leap year selling-day benefit in 1Q24 and Easter shipment phasing.” Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha estimated a profit of $1.66 billion, not far off from last year’s earnings. But in a shocking twist, the beer brand registered a huge growth.
Total beer and non-beer sales actually took an upward trajectory in Latin America and South Africa. As a result, this year’s first-quarter net profit was $2.15 billion. NASCAR journalist Adam Stern updated the news about Ross Chastain‘s primary sponsor. He wrote on X: “@AnheuserBusch in its Q1 earnings today highlighted @BuschBeer as a top performer in its U.S. group, saying Busch Light was the No. 2 volume share gainer in the industry. It said Q1 was hurt by “adverse weather and calendar-related factors but trends have improved in April.”
.@AnheuserBusch in its Q1 earnings today highlighted @BuschBeer as a top performer in its U.S. group, saying Busch Light was the No. 2 volume share gainer in the industry.
It said Q1 was hurt by “adverse weather and calendar-related factors but trends have improved in April.” pic.twitter.com/3azfN30cO8
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 8, 2025
Additionally, Anheuser-Busch’s selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) decreased nearly 6% to $4.19 billion. The company listed a number of reasons for this improvement. They include disciplined resource allocation, overhead management, and optimization of capital expenditures. Following this report of growth, U.S.-listed shares of AB InBev rose about 2.5% to trade, marking a 2025 high. According to CEO Michel Doukeris, the consistent execution of AB InBev’s strategy “drove a solid start to the year and reinforces our confidence in delivering on our outlook for 2025.”
Clearly, NASCAR’s primary partner is riding the waves of sweet profits. In the meantime, Anheuser-Busch is also leaving a special mark in its old motorsports arena.
Making a blast each weekend
The summer season spells a perfect combination for NASCAR fans. Country music and cold, smooth Busch Light – these two have been long-standing passions of diehard stock car racing fans. In 2025, the iconic partnership launched the annual Busch Light summer music series to reach peak levels of fan engagement. The summer series includes five pre-race performances throughout the season, as per Busch Light’s ongoing efforts in bringing fans closer to the artists they love. The five events will be open and accessible to race fans in attendance. The series has already kicked off at Texas Motor Speedway, where Grammy-nominated, top-selling singer-songwriter Ernest Smith came. The concerts will return to Michigan International Speedway, Chicago Street Race, Iowa Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway.
Michelle Byron, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Partnership and Licensing Officer, observed how this cultural initiative is helpful. “The partnership between NASCAR and Busch Light is consistently noted as one of the most recognized in all of sports each and every year. Anheuser-Busch’s longstanding relationships at multiple levels across our sport have been paramount in cultivating new fans and driving fan loyalty for decades, and our partners at Busch Light are leading by example to find new ways to drive deeper fan engagement.”
Evidently, Anheuser-Busch is ready to slay this season at racetracks and beyond. As the 2025 Cup Series rolls ahead with its schedule, more exciting Busch-sponsored races are on the way.
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