What changed
Celsius Q3 2026: Alani Nu $410.1M, Celsius brand $356.8M
When
Reported November 5, 2026, quarter ended September 30
Who it affects
Celsius Holdings (Celsius, Alani Nu, Rockstar Energy)
What to do
Plan limited-time variants and prune weak SKUs with data

Key takeaways

  • Alani Nu ($410.1M, +23.5%) now outsells the Celsius brand ($356.8M, -6.3%).
  • One limited-time flavor, Witch's Brew, drove more than $130M in retail sales.
  • About 28% of gross sales went to promotions; set variant break-even before launch.

Celsius Holdings Q3 2026 by brand

$410.1MAlani Nu, up 23.5%
$356.8MCelsius brand, down 6.3%
$80.3MRockstar Energy
46.8%Gross margin, was 51.3%
Source: Celsius Holdings Q3 2026 release and 10-Q

What Celsius reported

Celsius Holdings, the energy drink company behind Celsius, Alani Nu and the US and Canadian Rockstar Energy business, posted record quarterly revenue of $847.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up from $725.1 million a year earlier, according to its Business Wire release and its 10-Q filed with the SEC. Net income was $127.0 million against a loss of $61.0 million a year earlier, but adjusted EBITDA slipped 3% to $198.6 million and gross margin fell from 51.3% to 46.8%.

The headline number hides a reversal inside the portfolio. The Celsius brand lost $24.2 million of revenue, while Alani Nu added $78.1 million. Rockstar brought in $80.3 million against $12.2 million a year earlier, but that mostly reflects a full quarter of a business acquired in August 2025, plus order timing in Canada.

  • Alani Nu revenue: $410.1M, up 23.5% (retail sales in tracked channels up 57.9%)
  • Celsius brand revenue: $356.8M, down 6.3% (retail sales down 7.0%)
  • Rockstar Energy revenue: $80.3M (retail sales down 13.2%)
  • International revenue: $41.0M, up 78%
  • Gross margin: 46.8%, down 450 basis points

Why the namesake brand shrank

Celsius gave three reasons in its 10-Q: SKU optimization, lower orders from its largest distributor as it rebalanced inventory, and softness in the club channel. In plain terms, the company cut slow flavors and shelf space on purpose, and its distributor bought less stock than a year ago. Management told analysts the brand performed in line with the plan it set in August and expects it to return to growth across 2027.

On the call, CEO John Fieldly said part of the choppy month-to-month trend in the quarter came from order timing at Amazon, plus last year's limited-time flavor timing. Celsius does not break out Amazon revenue, but the 10-Q shows Amazon owed it 13.6% of net accounts receivable on September 30, 2026, up from 9.3% at the end of 2025. That is a receivables share, not a sales share, but it shows Amazon is now a larger counterparty.

The flavor that did the work

Alani Nu's growth came from wider distribution in PepsiCo's direct store delivery system and from Witch's Brew, a seasonal limited-time flavor. Celsius said it was the largest limited-time offer in the history of its portfolio, with more than $130 million in retail sales across traditional retail and club. In its peak week, Fieldly said, Witch's Brew alone would have ranked as the fifth largest energy drink in tracked channels.

The surprise is that the company's growth engine is not its namesake. A brand bought in 2025 now outsells the brand on the stock ticker, and its single biggest week came from a flavor that is only sold for part of the year. The combined portfolio held about 21% dollar share of US energy drinks in tracked channels, according to the call.

How Alani Nu overtook Celsius

  1. Celsius buys Rockstar US rights, deepens PepsiCo deal

  2. Celsius brand cuts SKUs and shelf space

  3. Witch's Brew passes $130M in retail sales

  4. Alani Nu $410.1M vs Celsius $356.8M

  5. Celsius brand targeted to grow again

So what: the margin bill behind the growth

Growth through distributors and promotions is not free. The 10-Q shows $326.8 million of promotional allowances deducted from revenue in the quarter. Added back, gross sales were about $1.17 billion, so roughly 28 cents of every gross sales dollar went to trade and promotion (our calculation from the filing). Celsius also blamed higher aluminum and diesel costs for the margin drop, and CFO Jarrod Langhans warned that fourth quarter growth will be below the first three quarters because $20 million to $25 million of orders were pulled forward into the third quarter.

For Amazon and marketplace brands, the lesson is that a hit variant can carry a portfolio, but the discounts and fees attached to it decide whether it pays. Celsius says a revenue growth management program and new price-pack architecture should cut trade spend as a share of gross sales through 2027 and 2028.

A worked example, with illustrative numbers

For example, take a beverage brand selling $150,000 a month on Amazon across 12 flavors, where four flavors make up 75% of sales. Cutting the six weakest flavors, which sell $15,000 a month together, frees inventory cash and ad budget. If $10,000 of that ad and promo money funds a seasonal flavor that sells $40,000 a month for three months at a 25% total ad and coupon cost, it brings in $120,000 of sales for $30,000 of spend. If it sells only $15,000 a month, the same spend buys $45,000 of sales, a 67% cost of sale. These numbers are illustrative; the point is to set the break-even before launch, not after.

Variant playbook for Amazon brands

  • Rank child ASINs by margin
  • Cut the bottom 20% of SKUs
  • Add seasonal flavor to the family
  • Separate capped ad campaign
  • Cap coupon plus deal discount
  • Track orders vs sell-through

What sellers and brands should do

Use the quarter as a checklist for your own catalog. Our guides on Amazon variations and Amazon product launch cover the listing side.

  • Brand manager: rank every child ASIN by 90-day sales and contribution margin in Business Reports. Cut or merge the bottom 20% of SKUs that add under 5% of sales. Metric: sessions per remaining ASIN and inventory turns.
  • Product lead: plan one limited-time variant for a seasonal moment, added to the existing variation family so it inherits reviews. Metric: units per session and new-to-brand orders in Brand Analytics.
  • Ads manager: give the limited-time variant its own Sponsored Products campaign with a daily budget cap and a target ACoS set from margin after fees. Metric: ACoS against break-even ACoS.
  • Promotions owner: cap total coupon plus deal discount per variant before launch. Metric: net price paid, not gross sales.
  • Finance: watch distributor or Vendor Central order timing separately from sell-through, as Celsius had to. Metric: shipped units versus customer orders.

When this does not apply

Limited-time flavors work in categories with repeat buyers who like variety, such as drinks, snacks, coffee and supplements. They rarely help a single-hero product such as a tool or appliance, where a new variant can split reviews and rankings. Celsius also had PepsiCo's store network behind Alani Nu; a small brand cannot buy that distribution, so test on Amazon with a small inventory buy first.

If you want help pruning a catalog or launching a seasonal variant without overspending, see our Amazon PPC management service, follow the ecommerce marketplace news channel, or get a free Amazon audit of your SKUs and ad spend.

Sources

Get the next change before your competitors do

We send the marketplace changes that matter each week, with what to do next.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. Unsubscribe any time.
Want this done for your account?

We run these playbooks on client accounts every day. Start with a free audit.

Get a free audit