Celsius and the $25B Energy Drink Market: Bubble or Entry Point?
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on November 13, 2026.
Guzzle Velocity: Celsius and the Energy Drink Explosion
- Hough: Q3 earnings growth of 34%, with 20x earnings 'not extravagantly expensive'
- Energy drinks now a $25B US market; Celsius rose 28,000% then gave back two-thirds
- Franklin Templeton's Kate Lakin calls Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher AI winners at low-teens EBITDA multiples
- Lakin backs Microsoft on ~50% Azure growth and Royal Caribbean on cruise underpenetration
The energy drink debate lands on whether Celsius's two-thirds drawdown from a 28,000% run is a broken story or a reset entry into a $25 billion category. On the picks side, Lakin's contrarian read is that insurance brokers stand to gain from AI, and that only 35 million people cruise versus 100 million visiting Disney World and Vegas.
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Jack Hough of Barron's Streetwise spent the episode dissecting the energy drink category, now a $25 billion market in the United States, and asking whether Celsius's steep pullback from its historic run changes the investment thesis or simply resets the entry price. The stock climbed roughly 28,000% at its peak, then gave back two-thirds of that gain, which is the kind of drawdown that splits investors sharply between those who see a broken story and those who see a discounted position in a durable category.
On the valuation side, Hough noted Q3 earnings growth of 34% and described a 20x earnings multiple as not extravagantly expensive, framing the case that the selloff may reflect sentiment more than fundamentals. That growth rate, set against a category still expanding, is the central tension the episode works through.
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Franklin Templeton's Kate Lakin brought picks from outside the energy drink space entirely. She highlighted insurance brokers Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher as quiet beneficiaries of AI adoption, with both names trading at low-teens EBITDA multiples, a valuation she considers attractive for businesses that stand to gain from automation in a data-heavy industry.
Lakin also backed Microsoft, citing roughly 50% growth in Azure, and Royal Caribbean, where she made a scale argument: only 35 million people cruise annually compared with 100 million visiting Disney World and Las Vegas, suggesting the cruise industry still has significant room to penetrate its addressable market.
