Here's How AB InBev, The World's 'Megabrew", Makes Its Money

Here’s something we don’t do very often at Latinometrics: talk about a Belgian company.

Yes, this week let’s look at the last 15 years of revenue for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV – commonly known as AB InBev – around the world. As the largest brewer in the world, AB InBev is more than just a point of pride for Flemings; it’s also the owner of 630 beer brands in over 150 countries, with regional headquarters in both São Paulo and Mexico City.

Now, while AB InBev has had explosive growth in worldwide sales since 2006, those profits are far from evenly distributed. In the first half of this year, the Americas saw the lion’s share – over 70% – of total earnings for the multinational brewer.

Both the North and Middle Americas divisions of the brewery have seen higher revenue than the entirety of the “old world” (Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East), reflecting the importance of these regions when it comes to the firm’s bottom line. It also always helps when Grupo Modelo forms part of your business model.

Meanwhile, part of the significant success seen by the South America section likely derives from one of AB InBev’s key predecessor companies and subsidiaries, AmBev, which merged with its Belgian counterpart in 2004. Today, AmBev not only produces classic Brazilian beer brands like Brahma and soft drinks such as Guaraná Antarctica, but also serves as the Latin American distributor for PepsiCo products.

So, not to worry – this story may be on a nominally Belgian brewery, but in truth it’s the story of Latin America powering global firms through high demand and diverse product selection.