So I've been watching what happened with Celsius Holdings over the past year and honestly, it's one of those comeback stories that feels almost too good to be true. Most investors basically gave up on CELH in 2024, but here we are with the stock up nearly 100% over the past twelve months. The latest earnings drop on Thursday just proved the skeptics wrong again.

The whole turnaround hinges on one smart move: acquiring Alani Nu for $1.65 billion about a year ago. At the time, Celsius was bleeding revenue - three quarters of declining sales in a row. The company needed a hit, and Alani Nu was exactly that. What's wild is the valuation they locked in. They were buying at 3x trailing sales and 12x EBITDA while the market was pricing Celsius itself at 4.4x sales and 37x EBITDA. Basically, they got a massive discount on a growing brand.

Fast forward to now and the numbers are actually ridiculous. Alani Nu alone is running at an annualized $1.3 billion in sales after generating $1 billion in revenue across the last three quarters of 2025. That means Celsius paid less than 1.3x forward sales for this acquisition. Their flagship Celsius brand also finally turned the corner after struggling in late 2024 and early 2025 - now posting 8% growth and hitting $1.5 billion in annual revenue.

What really caught my attention though is the profitability story. Adjusted earnings nearly doubled to $1.34 per share for the full year. More impressively, they've crushed earnings estimates by 93%, 52%, and then 37% in each of the three quarters since closing on Alani Nu. That's the kind of consistency that gets analysts excited. They're already revising price targets higher, now expecting $1.84 per share for this year versus the $1.55 they were calling just days ago.

The momentum indicators are still flashing green. Alani Nu is still seeing triple-digit growth in shelf space, and their main brand is gaining 17% more retail space in 2026. They've also got the Rockstar Energy distribution rights from PepsiCo adding another revenue stream. So we're looking at two $1 billion brands now, both with room to run.

Here's the thing that makes this interesting as an investment angle: despite nearly doubling, you can still grab this stock at less than 30x forward earnings. For a beverage company actually executing at this level and beating projections consistently, that's not an unreasonable entry point. The growth story is real, the brands are performing, and they've got expansion room both domestically and internationally. In a sector full of slow-growers, Celsius is definitely standing out.