Uncategorized
calendar_month Aug 06, 2026

Celsius Flagship Brand Falters, Sales Drop 11.7%, Margin Contracts

Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH) reported Thursday that second-quarter revenue rose 10.6% to $817.9 million from $739.3 million, but missed the $870.027 million analyst estimate.

Adjusted diluted earnings fell to 36 cents from 47 cents and missed the 42-cent estimate. GAAP diluted EPS declined to 14 cents from 33 cents, while net income fell 44.6% to $55.3 million.

Shares fell after the results as revenue and adjusted earnings missed estimates, while margin compression and an 11.7% decline in CELSIUS brand revenue added to investor concerns.

Margins and Operating Leverage

Gross profit increased 3.4% to $393.7 million, while gross margin narrowed to 48.1% from 51.5%.

Higher promotional and incentive activity and channel mix pressured margins. Acquisition-integration improvements, lower outbound freight costs and the absence of Alani Nu inventory step-up expense partly offset those effects.

Commodity inflation, primarily aluminum, remained a headwind.

North America revenue rose 11% to $790.7 million. International revenue increased 10% to $27.2 million.

Portfolio Performance

Alani Nu generated $364.4 million in sales, driven by strong demand, higher orders during its PepsiCo distribution transition and the Purple Cotton Candy launch.

Rockstar Energy contributed $66.5 million, while CELSIUS brand revenue fell 11.7% on higher trade spending, inventory rebalancing, club-channel softness and SKU optimization.

U.S. tracked-channel portfolio retail sales rose 31%, lifting dollar share to about 20.1%.

Alani Nu retail sales increased 55.7%, while CELSIUS fell 2% and Rockstar declined 13%. Despite about 7% fewer distribution points, CELSIUS dollars per point improved about 16% from the first quarter.

Costs and Capital Allocation

Selling, general and administrative expenses were nearly unchanged at $237.6 million but improved to 29% of revenue from 32.2%. Adjusted SG&A was 28.6% of revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA declined 12.4% to $184.2 million, with margin falling to 22.5% from 28.4%.

Results included an $80.9 million distributor termination expense and $3.8 million of acquisition and integration costs. Cash and equivalents totaled $631.2 million, long-term debt was $667.9 million, and quarterly share repurchases totaled $100.4 million.

Outlook

Management expects freight optimization, raw-material alignment, revenue-growth management and price-pack architecture initiatives to support margin expansion over the remainder of the year, though rising commodity costs are partially offsetting those benefits.

The company expects revenue generated outside the U.S. to exceed 15% of total revenue by 2031.

CELH Stock Price Activity: Celsius Holdings shares were down 15.92% at $24.51 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo: MDV Edwards via Shutterstock