How Coca-Cola Saved Monster From Its Earnings

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By Chris Lange Published
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Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) reported its second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The company had $0.79 in earnings per share (EPS) on $694 million in revenue, versus consensus estimates that call for $0.91 in EPS on $756 million in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.82 in EPS on $687 million in revenue.

In the second quarter, gross sales to customers outside the United States were $187.2 million, compared with $180.2 million last year. At the same time, net sales to customers outside the United States were $151.3 million, compared with $148.4 million.

It is worth noting that Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) now owns an approximate 16.7% stake in Monster. This was the result of a long-term mutual partnership agreement enacted in mid-June. As part of this partnership, Monster transitioned the vast majority of its U.S. distribution of Monster Energy products to Coca-Cola’s distribution network and agreed on a framework for transferring additional Monster Energy distribution to Coca-Cola’s system internationally.

As a result of the transaction, Monster incurred obligations related to distributor terminations totaling $12.2 million and $218.2 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. However, as part of the transaction with Coca-Cola, Monster received a payment of $2.15 billion, which more than balances out these obligations. This is resounding clear on the balance sheet.

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At the end of the second quarter, Monster had $2.93 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments compared to $1.15 billion at the end of December 2014.

Rodney C. Sacks, chairman and CEO of Monster, commented on earnings:

We are pleased to report that the transaction with The Coca-Cola Company closed mid-June and we are making good progress working through the transition. Although we are reporting another quarter of sales growth, distributor transitions and uncertainties in portions of our international non-Coca-Cola distribution network impeded further revenue growth during the second quarter.

He continued:

As previously mentioned, The Coca-Cola Company transaction presents a unique opportunity for us. To date we have transitioned approximately 89% of our targeted distribution rights in the United States to The Coca-Cola Company and its distribution network and we have recently transitioned our distribution in Germany to this network. We are actively engaged in implementing our strategic alignment with The Coca-Cola Company and have commenced discussions with Coca-Cola bottlers in many countries around the world.

Shares of Monster closed Thursday down nearly 6%, at $144.87 in its 52-week trading range of $68.49 to $155.83. After the earnings report was released, shares were up 3.2% at $149.49 in early trading indications Friday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $151.73.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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