Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Issues Earnings Results

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%.The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Monster Beverage’s conference call:

• Record quarterly sales and earnings growth: Net sales rose 20.2% to $2.54 billion, while adjusted operating income increased 13.3% and adjusted diluted EPS grew 15.2% to $0.60. Sales increased double digits across every geographic region.
• Broad-based international momentum: Foreign-currency-adjusted sales increased 29% internationally, led by LATAM at 40.4%, APAC at 36.7%, and EMEA at 22.2%. Management cited share gains, innovation, stronger Coca-Cola bottler execution, and particularly strong growth in Brazil, China, and India.
• Innovation and distribution are supporting recruitment: U.S. market share for the Monster brand family increased 70 basis points, with Ultra sales up 19% and Juice Monster up 26%; the limited-time Ultra Red, White, and Blue offering reached 5% of scanner sales after its national launch. The company is also expanding food-service and on-premise distribution through opportunities such as Marriott.
• Higher operating costs pressured profitability: Distribution expenses rose sharply due to freight and fuel, while selling expenses increased substantially because of expanded marketing, sponsorships, and digital campaigns. Aluminum costs are expected to rise modestly through at least the end of 2026, although management plans to offset inflation through selective pricing and hedging.
• Near-term sales trends and pricing remain favorable: July sales excluding alcohol increased approximately 13.9% on a foreign-currency-adjusted basis, and the company is pursuing selective U.S. pricing actions in the fourth quarter alongside additional pricing in certain international markets. Management also said approximately $900 million remains available under its share-repurchase authorization, though no shares were repurchased during the quarter.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.40. The stock had a trading volume of 696,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,362,329. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.26. Monster Beverage has a 52-week low of $31.35 and a 52-week high of $50.17. The stock has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.50 price objective (down from $97.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, June 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $47.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $48.50 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,021,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,915,120,000 after buying an additional 302,557 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,675,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,885,000 after acquiring an additional 692,192 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,676,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,577 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 133.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,499,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,858,109 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,867,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,551,000 after acquiring an additional 95,919 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation is a beverage company headquartered in Corona, California. It develops, markets and distributes energy drinks and other alternative beverages through a portfolio of brands that includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn and Bang Energy.

The company offers energy drinks in a variety of flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday use. Monster also participates in the alcoholic beverage category through products marketed under the Monster Brewing Company name, including flavored malt beverages and beers.

Monster Beverage traces its roots to Hansen’s, a juice and natural beverage business founded in the 1930s.