Celsius pops premarket as Alani Nu powers record quarter

Alani Nu does the heavy lifting

Celsius said Thursday its third-quarter revenue reached a record $847.2 million, beating analyst estimates of $799.9 million and sending the stock higher ahead of the bell. The outperformance leaned on Alani Nu, the social-media-savvy label known for limited-time flavors that Celsius acquired last year in a $1.8 billion deal.

Alani Nu's quarter landed at $410.1 million in net sales, up about 24% from a year earlier, with the fall Witches Brew flavor doing much of the pulling. Data referenced for the quarter used Bloomberg figures, with dates reflecting the end of the period.

Core brand stalls, Costco looms

While Alani Nu surged, the namesake Celsius line fell around 6% to $356.8 million. Management tied the drop to an ongoing reset of packages and flavors and to weaker results at club retailers.

Back in August, Celsius warned that Costco Wholesale's launch of a private-label energy drink similar to its offerings had dented sales, and shares slid on that update. Chief Executive Officer John Fieldly said the company is collaborating with Costco and other partners on fresh package-and-flavor combo offerings meant to jump-start growth.

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What leadership and strategy say next

Fieldly's message to retailers was clear: "They see energy has gone mainstream," adding, "They see Celsius as really a crossover on bringing new consumers in. And we're working really closely with them." On the analyst call he said the Celsius brand is "expected to return to growth in 2027," and later noted, "2027 will look very different." He also said, "We purposely delayed innovation on brand Celsius this year while we brought Alani Nu and Rockstar into the system, and that is now behind us."

Celsius plans to debut a hydration-focused line later this year and is ramping outreach to younger, active consumers via an ESPN College GameDay tie-up and a pop-up connected to the New York City Marathon.

Street read and investor takeaway

Analysts largely looked through the core-brand softness. "Enterprise growth was solid and above expectations. In the long run, this matters more," wrote Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala. At William Blair, Jon Andersen and his team said the Celsius brand overhaul signals that organic growth could improve as store-level updates make their way to shelves.

Additionally, the company, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, unveiled leadership changes: Alex Zigliara, a former Fiji Water executive, is taking charge of the Celsius brand, and Chief Marketing Officer Rishi Daing will oversee Rockstar Energy & Emerging Growth. Fieldly said Alani Nu will get a new leader soon. The bottom line: momentum sits with Alani Nu today, but if the 2027 turnaround for the core label arrives on schedule, your read on Celsius shifts from one hot brand to a broader growth story.

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