Photos Show Bud Light With Costco 'Death Star' Amid Plummeting Sales

Photos shared on social media show that Bud Light has allegedly received Costco's so-called "star of death"—a small asterisk at the top right-hand corner of items' price tags which the retailer uses to signal a product will no longer be restocked once it is sold out.

Images shared on Twitter showed the price tags for Bud Light beer at different Costco stores, all marked with the "star of death." It's unclear where the stores are located. One of the pictures shows the beer being sold at $14.97 for a 2 x 12 pack, which a Twitter user said was Costco "practically giving away Bud Light."

The photos were shared as the boycott against Bud Light by conservative customers angered by a sponsorship deal with trans activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year continues, with a significant negative impact on the brand.

According to new sales data seen by Newsweek earlier this week, Bud Light has seen a percentage drop in revenue from sales for June, compared with the same time last year.

NielsenIQ sales data, obtained by Newsweek via industry consultancy firm Bump Williams Consulting, showed that over a four-week period ending July 1, Bud Light saw a 28 percent decrease in revenue sales. Bud Light's volume—the number of units of beer sold—was down 31.2 percent compared with the same time last year.

"COSTCO says... STAR OF DEATH for Bud Light * it will not be restocked," tweeted one user sharing a photo of a Costco store whose location was not specified.

"Even Costco is getting out of the game...," said another, sharing a similar picture.

Newsweek could not verify which Costco stores will not restock the beer brand but has contacted the retailer through the contact form available on its website on Tuesday.

Some Reddit users have pointed out that some Costco stores might only not restock 16oz cans—shown in one of the pictures shared online—but continue selling 36 packs of the 12oz cans, which is a more standard size.

It appears Bud Light has not completely recovered from finding itself in the middle of a culture war.

The controversy surrounding Mulvaney's collaboration with Bud Light has caused not only conservative customers to be upset with the brand, but also many liberals and LGBTQ supporters, as the brand was condemned for not standing by the transgender influencer.

"I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did and for months now I've been scared to leave my house," Mulvaney said in a video posted to Instagram and TikTok at the end of June after weeks of silence. "For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all."

Newsweek emailed Anheuseur-Busch for comment on Tuesday.