Many of the stock market’s finest names are trading lower in 2025. As a result, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) market index is down 7% from February’s all-time high, and many investors are backing away from risky growth stocks.
But the wet blanket didn’t cover all of Wall Street. A handful of brilliant growth stocks are actually soaring this year, and you should consider picking up a few shares before they really soar.
For instance, Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) looks like a great long-term investment right now, but you may need to be patient with some potholes and bumps along the way. As of March 20, its stock is up 17.8% in 2025 and 46.8% from last summer’s distribution-based price drop.
I can’t promise that Celsius Holdings stock will be up in 2025, or next year. But the energy drink challenger seems to have hit a nerve with its health-conscious alternatives. The classic duopoly of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) and Red Bull may soon have a third serious component.
Celsius isn’t quite there yet, of course. Last year was a difficult one as distribution partner PepsiCo held back on its Celsius orders for several months. Its share of the American energy drink market dwindled from 8.1% at the end of 2023 to 7.3% in the last quarter of 2024. Total fourth-quarter revenue fell 4% year over year, despite a 39% increase in international sales.
And that’s the key to Celsius’ long-term value. International sales in the latest report stood at just 6.1% of total revenue, up from 4.2% in the year-ago period. Management has only started to nibble at the overseas opportunity. The company added the Benelux region to its distribution targets this week, following earlier introductions in France, Ireland, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. Canada has been a minor target market for years.
The company is painting the global map slowly. There are many potentially lucrative regions left unexplored, and the ones with a Celsius presence have a lot of sales growth and local marketing to do.
This company is exploring opportunities abroad from a different angle than chief rivals Red Bull and Monster.
Red Bull runs its own world-class distribution network with local production and shipping facilities in most countries.
Monster has a global partnership with Coca-Cola, leveraging the soft drink giant’s distribution expertise around the world.
Celsius’ PepsiCo deal only covers the U.S. and Canada so far. The other countries on this energy drink expert’s distribution map are handled by Japanese beverage giant Suntory Beverage and Food.
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