A survey by analytics firm Gallup found that 54% Americans reported drinking alcohol, compared with 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023.
Americans are drinking less alcohol than ever before, a new survey of consumption habits by an analytics firm, Gallup, published on Wednesday, showed.
The latest annual review showed that about 54% Americans reported drinking alcohol, compared with 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023. The figure is below the previous record of 55% in 1958; Gallup has been tracking the metric since Americans’ drinking behavior since 1939.
The results are the latest warning to spirit brands selling to American consumers, who are already facing weak sales as consumers tighten their purse strings due to inflation and economic uncertainty.
U.S. firms like Constellation Brands (STZ), which sells Corona beer, and The Boston Beer Company (SAM) have seen their shares slide over 20% so far this year.
Bank of America recently downgraded Molson Coors Beverage’s (TAP), another U.S. beer company, adding that it expects U.S. beer volumes to shrink by 4% next year, steeper than its earlier prediction of 1% decline.
Major foreign liquor companies are also under pressure, as the U.S. is one of their key market. U.S.-listed shares of Johnnie Walker whiskey maker Diageo (DEO) are down 11% year-to-date, heading for their fourth straight year of stock decline.
Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), which sells Budweiser beer, and the Netherlands’ Heineken (HEINY) are outliers, with their shares 24% and 15%, respectively, year-to-date.
The Gallup survey trends indicate that drinking has been falling since the pandemic-time surge in binge drinking, and as consumers have grown more health-conscious in recent years.
Fifty-three percent of Americans say moderate drinking is bad for health, up from 45% last year. Fewer U.S. drinkers are consuming alcohol regularly, with a record-low 24% saying they had a drink in the previous day and 40% reporting more than a week since their last, the highest share since 2000, the survey found.
“The declines in alcohol consumption does not appear to be caused by people shifting to other mood-altering substances — in particular, recreational marijuana, which is now legal in about half of U.S. states,” Lydia Saad, Gallup’s director of social research, said.
“Although marijuana use is higher today than a decade ago, it has been fairly steady over the past four years and thus doesn’t appear to be a factor in people choosing not to drink alcohol.”
On Stocktwits, Spirited Funds ETF Whiskey & Spirits (WSKY), which exclusively covers stocks of premium alcohol companies, was ‘neutral.’ The sentiment for AdvisorShares Vice ETF (VICE), which has one-third of its portfolio in alcohol sectors, alongside tobacco and gaming, was ‘extremely bullish.’
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