'Their Role Isn't To Educate Society': Kevin O'Leary Rips Mark Cuban's Claim That 'Going Woke Is Good For Business,' Warns That You Risk Alienating 50% Of Your Customers

“Shark Tank” reality TV stars Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary are both successful businessmen and investors, but they don’t agree on every subject.

For instance, Cuban recently said it makes good business sense for companies to embrace “woke” ideology.

“There is a reason almost all the top 10 market cap companies in the U.S. can be considered ‘woke.’ It’s good business,” the Dallas Mavericks owner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

O’Leary disagrees.

“When you're Disney or you're a beer company or you’re Target, you have customers of every kind. Republicans, Democrats, gender-specific or gender-neutral. It doesn’t matter. You want to sell everybody everything all of the time,” he said on “Fox & Friends.”

“When you get involved in partisan issues, you basically lose 50% of your constituency. Why you would do that when you’re a consumer goods or service company, everybody’s learning, makes absolutely no sense.”

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O’Leary then emphasized that in America, the role of a corporation is to serve its customers, employees and shareholders.

“Their role is not to educate society on the social issue of the day,” he said.

Here’s a look at two companies that have been in the headlines for allegedly going “woke.”

Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA BUD

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the multinational brewing company behind Bud Light.

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In April, Bud Light partnered with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who has 10.7 million followers on TikTok. The collaboration triggered a backlash on social media and led to a boycott by some beer drinkers.

Bud Light sales in the U.S. dropped 28% in the week ended June 24 compared to the previous year, according to consulting company Bump Williams using data from NielsenIQ.

Bud Light is no longer America’s top-selling beer. The top spot now belongs to Modelo Especial, brewed by Constellation Brands Inc.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s share price has also taken a hit. Since April 1, when Mulvaney first promoted the beer on social media, BUD stock has tumbled 13%.

Target Corp. TGT

In a backdrop of sluggish economic growth, Target was already fighting an uphill battle. In the first quarter, the big-box retailer reported net income of $950 million, down 5.8% from the $1.01 billion it earned in the year-ago period.

Now the company has to deal with the backlash from its Pride Month merchandise, including children’s items and “tuck-friendly” swimsuits. 

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,” Target said in a statement.

“Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Similar to Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Target stock hasn’t been a hot commodity. Shares have declined by about 17% over the two months, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in market cap.

“When you lose nine, 10, 11, 12 billion dollars of market cap, you know that you’ve offended somebody and that person is your customer,” O’Leary said. “That’s bad business. Really bad business.”

O’Leary’s Investment Strategy

As a “Shark Tank” star, O’Leary has invested plenty in startups. But he’s also an advocate for investing in dividend stocks.

“Over the last 40 years, 71% of the stock market’s return came from dividends, not capital appreciation,” he said in a Forbes interview. “So rule one for me is I’ll never own stuff that doesn’t pay a dividend. Ever.”

Dividends can be a source of passive income for investors. However, it’s important to remember that dividend stocks can still fluctuate. 

In fact, both Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Target are large-cap, dividend-paying companies. And their shares have been volatile, to say the least.

If you don’t like that kind of volatility, you might want to look into reliable income plays outside the stock market.

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