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.