Down 50%, Is Celsius Stock a Buy as Alani Nu Shines?

Celsius (NASDAQ: CELH) stock has struggled over the past year, down roughly 50%, even as the energy drink maker has repeatedly delivered strong revenue growth, led by its Alani Nu brand, which it acquired in April of 2025.

With Alani Nu continuing to generate strong revenue growth and the company looking to ramp up international expansion, now could be the time to buy the stock. Let's dive into its Q3 earnings report and prospects to see why the stock could be poised to rebound.

Alani Nu brews up some impressive results

Alani Nu was once again the biggest bright spot for Celsius in the third quarter. Alani Nu revenue soared 24% year over year to $410.1 million, while retail sales and track channels surged roughly 58% year over year. Meanwhile, its market share rose nearly 300 basis points to 9.8%.

The company credited the strong growth to its popular Witch's Brew limited-time offering (LTO). Witch's Brew sales came in at $130 million, and sales of its core 12-ounce cans climbed 80% year over year. At its peak week, Witch's Brew would have been the fifth-largest energy drink if it were its own brand.

Importantly, Alani Nu's strength wasn't only due to Witch's Brew. Excluding the popular LTO, Alani Nu sales and tracked channels climbed 50%. Meanwhile, the company believes the brand remains underpenetrated, giving it strong room to grow next year.

The Celsius brand wasn't nearly as strong, with sales falling 6% to $356.8 million, largely due to product optimization. Retail sales and track channels, meanwhile, declined by approximately 7%. The company said the brand lacked innovation this year, as it delayed it to focus on integrating Alani Nu and Rockstar into its portfolio.

Moving forward, the company expects innovation to help return the brand to growth in 2027. It noted that its Celsius Spritz Vibe Sparkling Shirley Temple is already on shelves, and the company will add two more SKUs around Thanksgiving. It also plans to ramp up international sales, with international markets projected to grow to 15% of its total revenue within the next five years.

The company's Rockstar brand, which it acquired shortly after Alani Nu, saw sales of $80.3 million, with retail sales down 13% as it exited some products. Celsius continues to work to stabilize the brand, and said that it is seeing an improvement in productivity as distribution has declined. It said the building blocks are there to eventually start to regrow the brand.

Total company sales jumped 17% to $847.2 million, soaring past analyst expectations for revenue of $800 million. Notably, the company saw $20 million to $25 million in shipment timing benefits, but it would have still topped the consensus even without that pull forward of orders. Meanwhile, retail sales grew 15% and it held an overall 21% dollar share of the energy drink category in the U.S.

North America sales increased by 15% to $806.2 million, while international sales surged 78% to $41 million. It said brand awareness is growing, doubling in the U.K. and France since early last year. Meanwhile, it plans to launch Alani Nu in select international markets next year.

While sales were strong, profitability was impacted by higher aluminum and fuel costs as gross margin fell 450 basis points to 46.8%. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) fell 2% to $0.41, but topped the $0.34 analyst consensus. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), meanwhile, dropped 3% to $198.63 million.

Looking ahead, the company will reorganize its structure based on its three brands to give each the attention they deserve.

Image source: The Motely Fool

Is it time to buy the stock?

Alani Nu is proving to be the true rockstar of Celsius's portfolio, and it looks like it has more room to run next year. The $1.65 billion acquisition is less than two years old and already looking like a steal, as the brand's sales are now more than the Celsius brand.

Meanwhile, the company is leaning back into innovation with its namesake brand, which could help reinvigorate growth. At the same time, Celsius has a big opportunity to continue to expand both the Celsius and Alani Nu brands into international markets

Turning to valuation, the stock now trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of under 18 times 2027 analyst estimates, which is a very reasonable valuation for what is still a fast-growing consumer products stock. With solid growth potential still ahead, I would be a buyer of this growth stock.

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Celsius Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.