Russ Savage, the billionaire founder of Rockstar Energy, has accumulated more than 12 million shares of Celsius Holdings, representing approximately 4.7% of the company and valued at roughly $300 million at current market prices. Savage founded Rockstar in 2001 and sold the brand to PepsiCo in 2020 for a final purchase price exceeding $4 billion. His significant investment comes in the wake of Celsius missing earnings expectations, with the company’s stock declining 18% on Thursday.
Celsius reported second-quarter earnings of 36 cents per share against analyst expectations of 43 cents, while revenue of $817.9 million fell short of the anticipated $870 million. Net income attributable to common shareholders declined by more than half compared to the prior year’s second quarter. CEO John Fieldly attributed the shortfall to a product rationalization program and a deliberate pause in innovation, citing integration challenges related to the company’s acquisitions of Alani Nu and the Rockstar brand from PepsiCo.
Savage is calling for the removal of Celsius’s CEO, COO, brand manager, and marketing manager, citing what he characterizes as management missteps and excessive organizational layers. He claims to have offered strategic advice to the company over the past year, but says his recommendations were largely disregarded. According to Savage, Celsius faces particular risk from surrendering shelf space in a highly competitive market where regaining retail placement is extremely difficult once lost.
In response to Savage’s demands, Celsius stated that it welcomes value-creating ideas from shareholders and noted that board members and management have engaged with Savage multiple times in recent years. CEO Fieldly emphasized that Celsius holds a leading market position, controlling one of every five energy drinks sold in the U.S., and maintains that the broader energy drink sector remains strong. Savage has publicly volunteered to assume the CEO role, arguing that the company requires a single decision-maker focused on operational details rather than a distributed leadership structure. He began accumulating his current stake in March when the stock traded in the low $30 range.
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