Monster Beverage

In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons sold fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles. His grandson Tim Hansen formed Hansen Foods, Inc. in 1977. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation acquired certain of its assets, including rights to the Hansen’s name, and in 1992 Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen’s natural soda and apple juice business from it.⁠[1]

Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg, who both attended the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, acquired Hansen Natural Corporation in 1990 for $1.71 million plus the assumption of $12 million in debt.⁠[2]

Hansen’s traditional business was juices and natural soft drinks, and it had launched Hansen’s Energy Drink to compete with Red BullRed BullRed Bull GmbH is an energy drink company headquartered in Fuschl am See, Austria, founded in 1984 by Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz and Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya; it has sold its namesake energy drink in Austria since 1987. The company is known for marketing through extreme sports and sports sponsorship and owns Formula One teams, football clubs, and the media company Red Bull Media House.Open the full entry. In 2002 it introduced Monster Energy Drink in a 16-ounce can with the tagline “Unleash the Beast.” Sales rose from just under $100 million in 2001 to $138 million in 2003.⁠[3]

On January 5, 2012, Hansen Natural Corporation, which traded on Nasdaq as HANS, announced that stockholders at a special meeting had approved changing its name to Monster Beverage Corporation and increasing authorized common shares from 120 million to 240 million. Its shares began trading under the new name and the symbol MNST at market open on January 9, 2012.⁠[4]

On June 21, 2012, S&P Indices announced that Monster Beverage would replace Sara Lee Corp. in the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry after the close of trading on June 28, following Sara Lee’s spin-off of its international coffee and tea business, and would leave the S&P MidCap 400. Its GICS sector was listed as Consumer Staples and its sub-industry as Soft Drinks.⁠[5]

In October 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating five deaths and one heart attack since 2004 linked to Monster Energy drinks. On May 6, 2013, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued Monster, alleging that it marketed highly caffeinated drinks to children as young as 6 in violation of California law.⁠[6]

Monster had sued Herrera on April 29, 2013, seeking to block his investigation and arguing that the issues fell under the FDA’s jurisdiction. On December 13, 2013, federal judge Virginia Phillips dismissed that suit, allowing Herrera’s state case, People v. Monster, to proceed. Monster maintained that its drinks were safe.⁠[7]

On June 12, 2015, The Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola Company is an Atlanta-based beverage company whose products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.Open the full entry and Monster closed their strategic partnership. Coca-Cola took an approximate 16.7% stake in Monster and made a net cash payment of about $2.15 billion; it transferred energy brands including NOS, Full Throttle and Burn to Monster, which transferred its non-energy business, including Hansen’s Natural Sodas, to Coca-Cola.⁠[8]

On January 14, 2021, Monster Beverage announced that its board had elected Vice Chairman Hilton Schlosberg as Co-Chief Executive Officer, with Rodney Sacks continuing as Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer. Schlosberg resigned as President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Thomas J. Kelly succeeded him as Chief Financial Officer.⁠[9]

On February 17, 2022, Monster completed its $330 million acquisition of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, whose brands included Oskar Blues, Cigar City and Deep Ellum. Rodney Sacks said the deal provided “a good base” but was “not the complete answer.”⁠[10]

The acquisition marked the company’s entry into the alcohol beverage sector. CANarchy was renamed Monster Brewing Company effective January 2024.⁠[11]

In September 2022, Monster was awarded $293 million in its false advertising suit against the maker of Bang energy drinks.⁠[12]

The jury found that Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) and its former owner and CEO Jack Owoc falsely advertised a “Super Creatine” ingredient, awarding $272 million against both and $21 million against VPX for tortious interference and trade secret theft. In April 2025 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the $311 million award.⁠[13]

On February 28, 2023, the company announced a two-for-one stock split in the form of a 100% stock dividend; the shares were issued on March 27, and split-adjusted trading began on March 28, 2023.⁠[11]

On July 31, 2023, Monster, through its subsidiary Blast Asset Acquisition LLC, completed the acquisition of substantially all assets of Vital Pharmaceuticals and certain affiliates for about $362 million, subject to adjustments, including Bang Energy beverages and a beverage production facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Rodney Sacks said, “We are enthusiastic about the opportunities this acquisition presents to us.”⁠[14]

On March 10, 2025, the company disclosed that Rodney Sacks would resign as Co-CEO on June 12, with Hilton Schlosberg serving as sole CEO from June 13. Subject to re-election, Sacks would remain Chairman and, as an employee, direct marketing, innovation and litigation strategy until retiring on December 31, 2026.⁠[15]

The change was part of Sacks’s planned retirement; he was 75 at the time. The company’s alcohol business had struggled, leading to $130 million in impairment charges that February.⁠[16]

Results released on February 26, 2026 showed 2025 net sales up 10.7% to $8.29 billion and net income of $1.91 billion, compared with $1.51 billion in 2024. CEO Hilton Schlosberg said, “The global energy drink category demonstrated solid growth in 2025.”⁠[17]

The company had 6,891 employees in 80 countries as of December 31, 2025, and as of February 13, 2026, The Coca-Cola Company owned approximately 20.9% of its common stock.⁠[18]

On August 6, 2026, the company announced second-quarter 2026 results for the period ended June 30: net sales rose 20.2% to $2.54 billion, net income increased 19.6% to $584.5 million, and diluted earnings per share were $0.59.⁠[19]