MNST: Shares Will Likely Trade Sideways As Profit Margins Improve

The analyst price target for Monster Beverage has increased from $68.64 to $72.23, as analysts cite stronger than expected third quarter results, resilient profit margins, and continued innovation, which has offset broader category normalization.

Analyst Commentary

Street research following Monster Beverage’s recent earnings has led to a slew of price target increases, with analysts weighing the company's strengths and ongoing challenges. Below are the prevailing views.

Bullish Takeaways

Bullish analysts highlight that Monster Beverage delivered another quarter of strong growth, with Q3 results surpassing expectations across sales, profit margins, and adjusted EBITDA.
Innovation and effective revenue growth management are seen as key factors driving incremental gains and helping to offset industry-wide cost pressures, which supports further business expansion.
The company’s resilient execution in the energy drink segment continues to stand out. Retail sales growth remains robust and pricing actions are contributing positively to profitability.
Multiple price target increases reflect confidence in Monster’s capacity to outperform peers within the beverages sector. This holds even as broader industry categories normalize.

Bearish Takeaways

Bearish analysts maintain Neutral stances and caution that much of Monster’s recent strength is already reflected in the current share price, especially after a substantial year-to-date rally.
There is concern that despite outperformance, growth in the energy drink category is beginning to ease back toward more typical levels. This could potentially limit upside from this point.
The competitive landscape, particularly relative to growing brands like Celsius and established players such as Red Bull, is viewed as a point of ongoing market share debate.
Some analysts note that while the company continues to execute well, the valuation may be approaching fair territory. Recent scanner data suggests a moderation in category growth rates.

What's in the News

Monster Beverage reported no shares repurchased for $0 million during the tranche from July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025, under its buyback program announced on August 19, 2024 (Key Developments).
No new buyback activity indicates the company has completed no repurchases in the latest reporting window (Key Developments).

Valuation Changes

Consensus Analyst Price Target has risen from $68.64 to $72.23. This reflects increased confidence in future growth and performance.
Discount Rate has increased slightly, moving from 6.78% to 6.96%. This may indicate a marginally higher risk perception or changing macroeconomic conditions.
Revenue Growth projection has edged down slightly, from 8.86% to 8.75%. This suggests expectations have moderated modestly for future sales expansion.
Net Profit Margin is forecast to improve, rising from 24.98% to 25.88%. This points to stronger expected profitability.
Future P/E ratio has fallen slightly, from 33.45x to 32.89x. This indicates a minor downward adjustment in valuation multiples for projected earnings.

Expanding its zero-sugar portfolio and innovating with new products positions Monster to capitalize on shifting consumer preferences and global beverage demand.
International growth, cost optimization, and strong partnerships enhance its market share, margin stability, and long-term earnings resilience in a competitive sector.
Margin and earnings growth face risks from lower-margin international expansion, cost and regulatory pressures, rising expenses, unpredictable markets, and uncertainty about sustained energy drink category growth.

Catalysts

About Monster Beverage

Through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally.What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?

Monster is capitalizing on increasing global demand for functional beverages by rapidly expanding its portfolio of low
and zero-sugar offerings (e.g., Ultra line, Lando Norris Zero Sugar) and growing household penetration, which positions the company to benefit from shifting consumer preferences and drive topline revenue growth.
Strong double-digit category growth in emerging markets (APAC and EMEA), coupled with local production strategies and leveraging Coca-Cola's distribution, is fueling international expansion and should significantly increase global sales and revenue diversification over the next several years.
Ongoing product innovation-including new functional energy drinks, affordable brand rollouts, and premium SKU introductions-enhances Monster's ability to capture share in both developed and developing markets, supporting sustained revenue and market share growth.
Recent and planned supply chain optimization and cost controls, including a balanced co-packing model and pricing initiatives, are expected to deliver further gross margin gains and improved operating leverage, positively impacting net margins and earnings.
The competitive position afforded by Monster's brand strength, robust marketing, global distribution partnerships, and scale enables it to navigate regulatory and commodity cost pressures better than smaller rivals, supporting long-term margin stability and earnings resilience.

Monster Beverage Earnings and Revenue Growth

Monster Beverage Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?

Analysts are assuming Monster Beverage's revenue will grow by 8.5% annually over the next 3 years.
Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 20.5% today to 25.3% in 3 years time.
Analysts expect earnings to reach $2.5 billion (and earnings per share of $2.58) by about September 2028, up from $1.6 billion today.
In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 32.6x on those 2028 earnings, down from 39.3x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Beverage industry at 24.4x.
Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 0.4% per year for the next 3 years.
To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.78%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Monster Beverage Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?

The company's international revenue mix is increasing (41% of total sales), with rapid growth in lower-margin affordable and strategic brands outside the US, which has already reduced average price per case and gross margins in select regions; this trend could lead to further margin pressure and lower long-term earnings growth if premiumization and mix shift stall or reverse.
Gross profit margin improvements in recent quarters stem from temporary cost tailwinds and supply chain optimization, but management highlighted looming pressures from tariffs (notably on aluminum) and announced price increases that may not fully offset rising input costs or could face consumer resistance, risking pressure on net margins and future earnings.
Sales and profitability are increasingly exposed to foreign exchange volatility and unpredictable local dynamics (such as production challenges, operating model changes, and adverse weather in Latin America and Argentina), which have already caused regional sales declines and may contribute to greater revenue and earnings unpredictability over time.
Higher litigation provisions ($13.8 million this quarter), increased general and administrative costs, and stock-based compensation expenses have begun to meaningfully pressure operating expenses and could become recurring if regulatory, legal, or marketing risks escalate, thus compressing net income and margin expansion.
While current category growth is strong, the long-term sustainability of double-digit expansion in energy drinks remains uncertain; sector history points to cyclical slowdowns and the company's management itself notes reliance on innovation, household penetration, and favorable consumer trends-if any of these drivers weaken (due to health trends, regulation on sugar/caffeine, aging demographics, or competition), Monster's revenue and EPS growth could materially decelerate.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?

The analysts have a consensus price target of $66.909 for Monster Beverage based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $75.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $50.0.
In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $9.8 billion, earnings will come to $2.5 billion, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 32.6x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.8%.
Given the current share price of $63.35, the analyst price target of $66.91 is 5.3% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

How well do narratives help inform your perspective?

Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

Analysts Lift Monster Beverage Price Targets Amid Strong Results and Competitive Sector Outlook