Celsius Holdings (CELH) Analysis
Investors who missed out on Monster Beverage as an investment may have a chance at redemption through Celsius, which is quickly becoming a go-to energy drink at retailers, convenience stores, and other sales channels. The company’s original product “Celsius,” marketed as a “calorie burning beverage” designed to boost metabolism thanks to natural ingredients, positioned it as a healthier, fitness oriented alternative to names like RedBull and Monster. This push coincided with a period where consumers were gravitating towards healthier options, allowing the company to grow from $75 million in annual revenue in 2019 to more than $1.3B in 2024.
This massive revenue growth was recognized by investors, allowing the stock to rally significantly during that period, but it reached a top in 2024, which was followed by a 80% correction due to slowing sales and uncertainty around new acquisitions. In Q3 and Q4 of 2024, the company’s revenue dipped 31% and 4%, then Q1 2025 saw another 7.4% decline. Net income also fell with revenue, adding further pressure to the stock.
But the company’s acquisition of Alani Nu added scale and brand diversification, allowing Celsius to move back to growth phase and post a 84% jump in revenue in Q2 2025. The big jump in revenue boost the stock higher, reigniting confidence that Celsius may not just be a fad, it could be a sports beverage that’s here to stay. As part of their acquisition of Alani, they became integrated to PepsiCo’s distribution system, allowing it to reach more retailers and foodservice channels.
What now?
The acquisition is still fresh, it became official in April of this year. The first earnings since was strong, but it may take more earnings to see whether or not the two companies will actually have the synergies promised to investors. Since both are focused on sports energy drinks, we can assume that it will be smooth sailing, but assumptions alone can’t prop a stock forever. CELH is still too young of a company to show slowing sales, so revenue growth must remain at double digit rates to keep investors attention. Even Monster Beverage, arguably a mature company, grew revenue at 11% last quarter, giving CELH a challenge.
To compare the two companies further, we see that MNST trades at a price to sales ratio of 8.65x, right around CELH’s P/S 9x, but MNST has a significantly lower price to earnings ratio of 42x compared to CELH at 158x. Both the 42x and 158x P/E ratios are extremely high compared to other beverage companies like Coca-Cola at 23.5x and PepsiCo at 25.6x. Investors may overlook CELH’s high P/E in the short term because of strong revenue projections, but the company must improve operating margins to bring down the high P/E. (The only two ways to bring down a high P/E is by either increasing profits or by a decline in the stock).
Looking back, $CELH was trading too high for its own good in 2024, likely because investors were a bit too eager about its future potential, and as soon as the company displayed weakness, the stock took a big hit. Now, at a $14.8B valuation, the stock is at a much more attractive buying point, and with 32% internal ownership, it shows that company insiders believe in the outlook.