Monster Beverage’s Sales Fall Short of Expectations, Blames Convenience Stores

Consumers are just not buzzing about energy drinks at the moment. Popular energy drink maker Monster Beverage missed sales expectations for the second quarter.

On Wednesday, Monster reported net sales of $1.90 billion, lower than the expected $2.01 billion analysts predicted. For the three months that ended on June 30, the company reported a profit of 41 cents per share versus a 45 cents per share projection. However, recent net sales beat revenues of $1.85 billion for the same time period last year.

Operating expenses went up in the second quarter compared to Q2 2023. Monster reported expenses of $492.3 million, an increase of nearly 42 million compared to last year.

With inflation pushing up prices, especially on food, consumers are wary of spending money on nonessential items. This results in fewer convenience store sales, which include expensive energy drinks.

“Retailers have reported a reduction in convenience store foot traffic and we have seen a shift at retail towards more mass and dollar channels. Other beverage and consumer packaged product companies have also seen a tighter consumer spending environment and weaker demand in the quarter,” said Co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg, per Reuters.

To make matters worse for consumers, Monster is planning a price increase for its core products. As of Nov. 1, prices on Monster drinks will go up by 5%. The increase is not an unusual move as the company has raised prices in the past alongside other food makers in an attempt to combat rising costs.

Monster’s alcoholic beverages division, which includes products like The Beast Unleashed and Nasty Beast Hard Tea, also suffered a decline. Overall sales fell nearly 32% to $41.6 million as demand for flavored malt beverages declined.

While profits remain lackluster, Monster has been investing and expanding its market share. Last year, the energy drink manufacturer entered into an agreement to buy Bang Energy’s performance beverage brands and a production factory in Arizona. Monster spent $362 million on the deal, which was completed in July 2023.