Celsius Holdings' Market Share Surge: Key Performance Drivers Behind 31% Retail Growth in Q3 2025

Celsius Holdings’ energy drink portfolio demonstrated significant momentum in U.S. retail channels during the third quarter of 2025, with overall retail sales climbing 31% year-over-year for the 13-week period ending Sept. 28, 2025. What makes this particularly compelling is that the growth rate substantially outpaced the broader ready-to-drink energy category, driven by tangible market share gains rather than category expansion alone.

The company’s combined portfolio—comprising CELSIUS, Alani Nu, and Rockstar Energy—captured a 20.8% dollar share of the U.S. RTD energy market during the quarter. Understanding how market share calculations work reveals the story: this metric reflects the proportion of total category dollar sales each brand controls. In this case, the portfolio’s market share increased 2.1 percentage points year-over-year and advanced 1.2 points sequentially, confirming that the 31% sales acceleration translated into genuine competitive ground gained against rivals.

Diverging Brand Trajectories Within the Portfolio

Performance varied significantly across brands, illustrating different strategic positioning within the energy drink space. Alani Nu emerged as the growth leader, with retail sales surging 114% year-over-year and dollar share expanding 3.3 percentage points to 7.2%, fueled by aggressive distribution expansion. The CELSIUS brand, the portfolio’s flagship, posted more moderate 13% retail sales growth while experiencing slight headwinds, with dollar share declining 0.5 points to 11.2%. Rockstar Energy, acquired late in the period, faced near-term pressure with a 9% retail sales decline and 0.7-point market share decrease to 2.4%.

Despite brand-level variability, the combined portfolio expanded nearly twice as rapidly as the U.S. energy drink category during the quarter, underscoring the portfolio’s competitive strength in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Industry Benchmarking: How Celsius Stacks Against Larger Rivals

PepsiCo’s beverage division maintained steady retail momentum in Q3 2025, with zero-sugar and functional offerings continuing to resonate with consumers. Brands including Gatorade, Propel, and poppi contributed to shelf stability through innovation and expanded availability.

The Coca-Cola Company similarly reported solid retail execution, supported by its dominant zero-sugar portfolio and strengthened in-market presence. KO’s disciplined approach to packaging and channel management sustained retail performance across its key beverage categories, though specific market share dynamics remained more muted compared to Celsius’s aggressive expansion.

Valuation Metrics and Forward Outlook

From a valuation lens, CELH trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, substantially above the beverage industry average of 14.59. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects Celsius Holdings will deliver 81.4% year-over-year earnings growth in 2025, followed by 20.4% growth in 2026.

The durability of retail sales momentum and market share gains heading into 2026 remains a critical area for investors to monitor, particularly given the portfolio’s exposure to evolving consumer preferences and competitive intensity in the energy drink sector.