Celsius Revenue Jumps to $847.2 Million in Third Quarter Despite Margin Pressure
Key Facts
Celsius Holdings posted record revenue of $847.2 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 17% year over year from $725.1 million and above analysts’ estimate of $800.03 million, according to earnings data reported by Investing.com. Results showed a divergence between sales growth and profitability pressure: the company reported adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share, above the $0.34 estimate, while gross margin fell to 46.8% from 51.3% a year earlier. That puts record revenue growth alongside an operating challenge: converting demand into stronger margins. The results focus on differing performance among the group’s brands, as well as input costs and distribution mix.
Alani Nu drove much of the sales growth, with revenue rising about 24% to $410.1 million for the quarter. By contrast, revenue at the CELSIUS brand itself fell about 6% to $356.8 million, while Rockstar Energy contributed revenue of $80.3 million. The divergence reflects overall momentum’s reliance on brands with differing performance, with rapid growth at Alani Nu offset by contraction at the brand bearing the company’s name. Independent coverage linked Alani Nu’s growth to expanded distribution through PepsiCo’s direct-store-delivery network, as well as the success of limited-edition flavors. It attributed weakness at the CELSIUS brand to product lineup optimization, shipment timing and soft sales at club stores.
Commodity costs weighed on gross margin, particularly aluminum and fuel, according to Investing.com’s analysis, which also cited the effect of a higher share of sales through direct-store distribution. The decline in margin from 51.3% to 46.8% represents a material year-over-year change, despite revenue growth and a beat on estimates. The quarter’s performance therefore involves more than sales volume; it also reflects the company’s ability to manage production and distribution costs as its brands expand. The earnings analysis said direct-store distribution mix was among the factors associated with margin pressure, alongside commodity cost inflation. This performance puts aluminum and fuel costs, as well as the sales channel mix, among the factors investors will watch in upcoming results.
At the net income level, the company swung to net income of $127 million in the third quarter, after posting a loss of $61 million in the year-earlier period, according to Investing.com. The swing presents a different picture from the decline in gross margin, with the annual bottom-line result improving as this operating metric contracted. The CELSIUS brand had also shown weakness in the first half of 2026, with revenue of $735.0 million, compared with $767.3 million a year earlier, a decline of 4.2%, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The brand’s third-quarter decline followed that first-half drop, while revenue from Alani Nu and Rockstar lifted the group’s total growth. These figures show the core brand moving in a different direction from the company’s overall business during the periods cited.
Before the results, investors focused on whether the CELSIUS brand had bottomed out after two consecutive quarters of double-digit declines, while the timing of a margin recovery remained unclear, according to Investing.com’s pre-earnings coverage. After the figures were released, attention shifted to Alani Nu’s ability to keep driving growth and whether the core brand’s decline had run its course, according to a later analysis by the site. The analysis said the stock was down 31.76% over the previous twelve months through November 5, 2026. The results thus combine year-over-year revenue growth that exceeded expectations, strong performance at Alani Nu, a decline at the CELSIUS brand and gross margin below its year-earlier level. The sustainability of growth at the other brands and the trajectory of the core brand will remain among the issues the market follows after this quarter.