Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-Q
Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2022
Commission File Number 001-18761
MONSTER BEVERAGE CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
47-1809393
(State or other jurisdiction of
(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)
Identification No.)
1 Monster Way
Corona, California 92879
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
(951) 739 - 6200
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock
MNST
Nasdaq Global Select Market
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes X No __
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☒
Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐
Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes __ No X
The registrant had 521,743,612 shares of common stock, par value $0.005 per share, outstanding as of October 31, 2022.
MONSTER BEVERAGE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
INDEX
Part I.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Page No.
Item 1.
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021
3
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the Three- and Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
4
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Three- and Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
5
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Three- and Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
6
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
7
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
9
Item 2.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
35
Item 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
53
Item 4.
Controls and Procedures
Part II.
OTHER INFORMATION
Legal Proceedings
54
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Defaults Upon Senior Securities
55
Mine Safety Disclosures
Item 5.
Other Information
Item 6.
Exhibits
Signatures
56
2
PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND DECEMBER 31, 2021
(In Thousands, Except Par Value) (Unaudited)
September 30,
December 31,
2022
2021
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
1,303,048
1,326,462
Short-term investments
1,346,781
1,749,727
Accounts receivable, net
1,051,642
896,658
Inventories
862,977
593,357
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
112,294
82,668
Prepaid income taxes
19,949
33,238
Total current assets
4,696,691
4,682,110
INVESTMENTS
72,373
99,419
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net
485,550
313,753
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES, net
195,511
225,221
GOODWILL
1,412,941
1,331,643
OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net
1,225,826
1,072,386
OTHER ASSETS
115,913
80,252
Total Assets
8,204,805
7,804,784
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable
520,198
404,263
Accrued liabilities
198,692
210,964
Accrued promotional allowances
281,650
211,461
Deferred revenue
42,608
42,530
Accrued compensation
61,426
65,459
Income taxes payable
17,143
30,399
Total current liabilities
1,121,717
965,076
DEFERRED REVENUE
226,294
243,249
OTHER LIABILITIES
41,034
29,508
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 12)
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Common stock - $0.005 par value; 1,250,000 shares authorized; 641,245 shares issued and 523,965 shares outstanding as of September 30, 2022; 640,043 shares issued and 529,323 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2021
3,206
3,200
Additional paid-in capital
4,736,141
4,652,620
Retained earnings
8,699,499
7,809,549
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(224,455)
(69,165)
Common stock in treasury, at cost; 117,280 shares and 110,720 shares as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively
(6,398,631)
(5,829,253)
Total stockholders’ equity
6,815,760
6,566,951
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
FOR THE THREE- AND NINE- MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND 2021
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) (Unaudited)
Three-Months Ended
Nine-Months Ended
NET SALES
1,624,286
1,410,557
4,798,119
4,116,308
COST OF SALES
790,561
621,399
2,407,867
1,775,375
GROSS PROFIT
833,725
789,158
2,390,252
2,340,933
OPERATING EXPENSES
415,795
344,694
1,199,883
956,346
OPERATING INCOME
417,930
444,464
1,190,369
1,384,587
INTEREST and OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), net
2,149
(2,290)
(11,932)
(2,179)
INCOME BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
420,079
442,174
1,178,437
1,382,408
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
97,692
104,969
288,487
326,247
NET INCOME
322,387
337,205
889,950
1,056,161
NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE:
Basic
0.61
0.64
1.68
2.00
Diluted
0.60
0.63
1.66
1.97
WEIGHTED AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK AND COMMON STOCK EQUIVALENTS:
526,797
528,997
528,263
528,618
533,300
535,915
534,599
535,554
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In Thousands) (Unaudited)
Net income, as reported
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Change in foreign currency translation adjustment
(68,822)
(26,716)
(147,450)
(46,412)
Available-for-sale investments:
Change in net unrealized (losses) gains
(2,675)
43
(7,840)
(117)
Reclassification adjustment for net gains included in net income
—
Net change in available-for-sale investments
Other comprehensive income (loss)
(71,497)
(26,673)
(155,290)
(46,529)
Comprehensive income
250,890
310,532
734,660
1,009,632
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE THREE- AND NINE-MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND 2021
Accumulated Other
Total
Common stock
Additional
Retained
Comprehensive (Loss)
Treasury stock
Stockholders’
Shares
Amount
Paid-in Capital
Earnings
Income
Equity
Balance, December 31, 2021
640,043
(110,720)
Stock-based compensation
16,175
Exercise of stock options
485
4,507
4,510
Unrealized loss, net on available-for-sale securities
(4,059)
Repurchase of common stock
(166)
(12,187)
Foreign currency translation
1,079
Net income
294,203
Balance, March 31, 2022
640,528
3,203
4,673,302
8,103,752
(72,145)
(110,886)
(5,841,440)
6,866,672
16,157
416
18,110
18,112
(1,106)
(3,286)
(284,311)
(79,707)
273,360
Balance, June 30, 2022
640,944
3,205
4,707,569
8,377,112
(152,958)
(114,172)
(6,125,751)
6,809,177
16,436
301
1
12,136
12,137
(3,108)
(272,880)
Balance, September 30, 2022
641,245
(117,280)
Balance, December 31, 2020
638,662
3,193
4,537,982
6,432,074
3,034
(110,565)
(5,815,423)
5,160,860
17,949
492
6,758
6,761
Unrealized gain, net on available-for-sale securities
24
(150)
(13,419)
(27,932)
315,194
Balance, March 31, 2021
639,154
3,196
4,562,689
6,747,268
(24,874)
(110,715)
(5,828,842)
5,459,437
16,921
422
17,723
17,725
(183)
(4)
(399)
8,235
403,762
Balance, June 30, 2021
639,576
3,198
4,597,333
7,151,030
(16,822)
(110,719)
(5,829,241)
5,905,498
16,293
275
12,673
12,674
Balance, September 30, 2021
639,851
3,199
4,626,299
7,488,235
(43,495)
6,244,997
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE NINE-MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 AND 2021
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
46,040
37,854
Non-cash lease expense
5,180
2,862
Gain on disposal of property and equipment
(253)
(984)
49,167
52,391
Deferred income taxes
29,710
353
Effect on cash of changes in operating assets and liabilities net of acquisition:
Accounts receivable
(202,447)
(199,481)
(297,140)
(149,414)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(39,204)
(41,162)
7,867
(7,365)
52,663
106,570
(2,572)
39,387
89,236
51,022
(6,636)
(2,888)
(12,823)
(114)
Other liabilities
(3,492)
574
(16,060)
(17,784)
Net cash provided by operating activities
589,186
927,982
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Sales of available-for-sale investments
1,823,943
1,016,556
Purchases of available-for-sale investments
(1,393,910)
(1,343,351)
Acquisition of CANarchy, net of cash
(329,472)
Purchases of property and equipment
(136,158)
(28,131)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment
603
1,246
Additions to intangibles
(3,578)
(5,211)
Increase in other assets
(19,171)
(22,809)
Net cash used in investing activities
(57,743)
(381,700)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Payments on debt
(719)
(1,814)
Issuance of common stock
34,759
37,160
Purchases of common stock held in treasury
(493,315)
(13,818)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
(459,275)
21,528
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(95,582)
(35,552)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
(23,414)
532,258
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period
1,180,413
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period
1,712,671
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest
359
99
Income taxes
297,526
338,584
(In Thousands) (Unaudited) (Continued)
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF NON-CASH ITEMS
Included in accrued liabilities as of September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $14.4 million and $13.0 million, respectively, related to net additions to other intangible assets.
Included in accounts payable as of September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $2.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively, related to equipment purchases.
Included in accounts payable as of September 30, 2021 were $2.0 million related to additions to other intangible assets.
Included in accounts payable as of September 30, 2022 were available-for-sale short-term investment purchases of $7.9 million.
Included in accounts payable as of September 30, 2022 were purchases of common stock held in treasury of $76.1 million.
8
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) (Unaudited)
1.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Reference is made to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, in Monster Beverage Corporation and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 for a summary of significant accounting policies utilized by the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and other disclosures, which should be read in conjunction with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“Form 10-Q”).
The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-Q have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and regulations applicable to interim financial reporting. They do not include all the information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The information set forth in these interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, is unaudited and reflects all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments and which in the opinion of management are necessary to make the interim condensed consolidated financial statements not misleading. Results of operations for periods covered by this report may not necessarily be indicative of results of operations for the full year.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP necessarily requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
There have been no changes in recently issued or adopted accounting pronouncements that would materially impact the Company from those disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
2.
ACQUISITIONS
On February 17, 2022, the Company completed its acquisition of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC (“CANarchy”), a craft beer and hard seltzer company, for $330.4 million in cash, subject to adjustments (the “CANarchy Transaction”). The CANarchy Transaction facilitates the Company’s entry into the alcohol beverage sector and brings the Cigar CityTM family of brands including Jai Alai® IPA and Florida ManTM IPA, the Oskar BluesTM family of brands including Dale’s Pale Ale® and Wild BasinTM Hard Seltzers, the Deep EllumTM family of brands including Dallas Blonde® and Deep EllumTM IPA, the Perrin BrewingTM family of brands including Black Ale, the Squatters® family of brands including Hop Rising® Double IPA and Juicy IPA, the Wasatch® family of brands including Apricot Hefeweizen, as well as certain other brands (collectively the “CANarchy Brands”) to the Company’s beverage portfolio. The transaction did not include CANarchy’s stand-alone restaurants. The Company’s organizational structure for its existing energy beverage business remains unchanged. CANarchy is functioning independently, retaining its own organizational structure and team.
The Company accounted for the CANarchy Transaction in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805 “Business Combinations”.
The following table summarizes the fair value allocations of the CANarchy Transaction:
Identifiable
Assets Acquired
and Liabilities
Consideration
Assumed
Transferred
Intangibles - trademarks (non-amortizing)
94,500
Intangibles - customer relationships (amortizing)
54,500
Intangibles - permits (non-amortizing)
6,000
Property and equipment, net
81,285
Inventory
18,300
Right-of -use assets
12,836
Operating lease liabilities
(12,836)
Working capital (excluding inventory)
(5,640)
Other
(770)
Goodwill
81,298
Cash
3,248
332,721
The Company determined the fair values as follows:
The book value of the working capital (excluding inventory) approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of the accounts.
The Company has determined goodwill in accordance with ASC 805, which requires the recognition of goodwill for the excess of the aggregate consideration over the net amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date.
For tax purposes, the CANarchy Transaction was recorded as an asset purchase. As such, the Company received a step-up in tax basis of the CANarchy assets, net, equal to the purchase price.
In accordance with Regulation S-X, pro forma unaudited condensed financial information for the CANarchy Transaction has not been provided as the impact of the transaction on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and liquidity was not material.
On May 5, 2022, the Company acquired certain real property and equipment in Norwalk, California for a purchase price of $62.5 million. The acquisition was treated as an asset acquisition for accounting purposes. The fair value allocations include $50.6 million for land, $10.0 million for building and $1.9 million for equipment. The Company intends to utilize the property as a manufacturing facility for certain of its products.
10
3.
REVENUE RECOGNITION
The Company has four operating and reportable segments: (i) Monster Energy® Drinks segment (“Monster Energy® Drinks”), which is primarily comprised of the Company’s Monster Energy® drinks, Reign Total Body Fuel® high performance energy drinks and True North® Pure Energy Seltzers, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (“Strategic Brands”), which is primarily comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (“TCCC”) in 2015 as well as the Company’s affordable energy brands, (iii) Alcohol Brands segment (“Alcohol Brands”), which is primarily comprised of the various craft beers and hard seltzers purchased as part of the CANarchy Transaction on February 17, 2022 and (iv) Other segment (“Other”), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to independent third-party customers (the “AFF Third-Party Products”).
The Company’s Monster Energy® Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage bottlers/distributors (“bottlers/distributors”). In some cases, the Company sells ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military.
The Company’s Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling “concentrates” and/or “beverage bases” to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold by such bottlers to other bottlers/distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military. To a lesser extent, the Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers/distributors.
The Company’s Alcohol Brands segment primarily generates operating revenues by selling kegged and canned beer as well as hard seltzers primarily to distributors in the United States.
The majority of the Company’s revenue is recognized when it satisfies a single performance obligation by transferring control of its products to a customer. Control is generally transferred when the Company’s products are either shipped or delivered based on the terms contained within the underlying contracts or agreements. Certain of the Company’s bottlers/distributors may also perform a separate function as a co-packer on the Company’s behalf. In such cases, control of the Company’s products passes to such bottlers/distributors when they notify the Company that they have taken possession or transferred the relevant portion of the Company’s finished goods. The Company’s general payment terms are short-term in duration. The Company does not have significant financing components or payment terms. The Company did not have any material unsatisfied performance obligations as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
The Company excludes from revenues all taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are imposed on the sale of its products and collected from customers.
Distribution expenses to transport the Company’s products, where applicable, and warehousing expense after manufacture are accounted for within operating expenses.
Promotional and other allowances (variable consideration) recorded as a reduction to net sales, primarily include consideration given to the Company’s bottlers/distributors or retail customers including, but not limited to the following:
11
The Company’s promotional allowance programs with its bottlers/distributors and/or retailers are executed through separate agreements in the ordinary course of business. These agreements generally provide for one or more of the arrangements described above and are of varying durations, typically ranging from one week to one year. The Company’s promotional and other allowances are calculated based on various programs with bottlers/distributors and retail customers, and accruals are established at the time of initial product sale for the Company’s anticipated liabilities. These accruals are based on agreed upon terms as well as the Company’s historical experience with similar programs and require management’s judgment with respect to estimating consumer participation and/or bottler/distributor and retail customer performance levels. Differences between such estimated expenses and actual expenses for promotional and other allowance costs have historically been insignificant and are recognized in earnings in the period such differences are determined.
Amounts received pursuant to new and/or amended distribution agreements entered into with certain bottlers/distributors relating to the costs associated with terminating the Company’s prior distributors, are accounted for as deferred revenue and recognized as revenue ratably over the anticipated life of the respective distribution agreements, generally over 20 years.
The Company also enters into license agreements that generate revenues associated with third-party sales of non-beverage products bearing the Company’s trademarks including, but not limited to, clothing, hats, t-shirts, jackets, helmets and automotive wheels.
Management believes that adequate provision has been made for cash discounts, returns and spoilage based on the Company’s historical experience.
12
Disaggregation of Revenue
The following tables disaggregate the Company’s revenue by geographical markets and reportable segments:
Three-Months Ended September 30, 2022
Latin
America
U.S. and
and
Net Sales
Canada
EMEA1
Asia Pacific
Caribbean
Monster Energy® Drinks
982,952
288,077
100,288
130,902
1,502,219
Strategic Brands
44,025
32,565
8,805
3,407
88,802
Alcohol Brands
26,818
6,447
Total Net Sales
1,060,242
320,642
109,093
134,309
Three-Months Ended September 30, 2021
880,012
252,101
120,864
76,816
1,329,793
35,417
28,450
5,603
4,979
74,449
6,315
921,744
280,551
126,467
81,795
1Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”)
Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022
2,882,306
857,805
327,632
377,012
4,444,755
135,445
91,912
22,943
10,236
260,536
Alcohol Brands2
74,472
18,356
3,110,579
949,717
350,575
387,248
Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2021
2,548,873
741,208
346,545
230,536
3,867,162
122,487
76,234
21,047
9,425
229,193
19,953
2,691,313
817,442
367,592
239,961
2Effectively from February 17, 2022 to September 30, 2022
13
Contract Liabilities
Amounts received from certain bottlers/distributors at inception of their distribution contracts or at the inception of certain sales/marketing programs are accounted for as deferred revenue. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had $268.9 million of deferred revenue, which is included in current and long-term deferred revenue in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $285.8 million of deferred revenue, which is included in current and long-term deferred revenue in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. During the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, $10.0 million and $10.4 million, respectively, of deferred revenue was recognized in net sales. See Note 11. During the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, $30.0 million and $31.3 million, respectively, of deferred revenue was recognized in net sales. See Note 11.
4.
LEASES
The Company leases identified assets comprising of real estate and equipment. Real estate leases consist primarily of office and warehouse space and equipment leases consist of vehicles and warehouse equipment. At the inception of a contract, the Company assesses whether the contract is, or contains, a lease. The Company’s assessment is based on: (1) whether the contract involves the use of a distinct identified asset, (2) whether the Company obtains the right to substantially all the economic benefit from the use of the asset throughout the term, and (3) whether the Company has the right to direct the use of the asset. At inception of a lease, the Company allocates the consideration in the contract to each lease and non-lease component based on the component’s relative stand-alone price to determine the lease payments. Lease and non-lease components are accounted for separately.
Leases are classified as either finance leases or operating leases based on criteria in ASC 842, “Leases”. The Company’s operating leases are comprised of real estate and warehouse equipment, and the Company’s finance leases are comprised of vehicles.
Right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As the Company’s leases generally do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the estimated rate of interest for collateralized borrowing over a similar term of the lease payments at the commencement date. ROU assets also include any lease payments made and exclude lease incentives. Lease terms include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option.
Certain of the Company’s real estate leases contain variable lease payments, including payments based on an index or rate. Variable lease payments based on an index or rate are initially measured using the index or rate in effect at the lease commencement date. Additional payments based on the change in an index or rate, or payments based on a change in the Company’s portion of real estate taxes and insurance, are recorded as a period expense when incurred.
Lease expense for operating leases, consisting of lease payments, is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in operating expenses in the condensed consolidated statement of income. Lease expense for finance leases consists of the amortization of the ROU asset on a straight-line basis over the asset’s estimated useful life and is included in operating expenses in the condensed consolidated statement of income. Interest expense on finance leases is calculated using the amortized cost basis and is included in interest and other income (expense), net in the condensed consolidated statement of income.
The Company’s leases have remaining lease terms of less than one year to 12 years, some of which include options to extend the leases for up to five years, and some of which include options to terminate the leases within one year. The Company has elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term operating leases that have a term of 12 months or less.
14
The components of lease cost were comprised of the following:
Three-Months
Nine-Months
Ended
Operating lease cost
2,306
1,103
6,238
3,348
Short-term lease cost
1,001
1,235
2,870
3,370
Variable lease cost
189
185
567
532
Finance leases:
Amortization of ROU assets
140
138
415
394
Interest on lease liabilities
18
15
Finance lease cost
148
144
433
409
Total lease cost
3,644
2,667
10,108
7,659
Supplemental cash flow information for the following periods:
Ended September 30,
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash outflows from operating leases
5,859
3,057
Operating cash outflows from finance leases
Financing cash outflows from finance leases
1,678
1,970
ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:
Finance leases
1,654
2,767
Operating leases
20,093
251
ROU assets for operating and finance leases recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets were comprised of the following at:
September 30, 2022
Real Estate
Equipment
Balance Sheet Location
36,681
404
37,085
Other Assets
1,753
Property and Equipment, net
December 31, 2021
22,518
639
23,157
2,646
Operating and finance lease liabilities recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows at:
Operating Leases
Finance Leases
7,028
917
29,265
48
36,293
965
3,990
960
17,389
41
21,379
The weighted-average remaining lease terms and weighted-average discount rates for operating and finance leases at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 were as follows:
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)
7.1
0.8
Weighted-average discount rate
3.4
%
2.7
8.1
0.7
3.5
1.3
The following table reconciles the undiscounted future lease payments for operating and finance leases to the operating and finance leases recorded in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2022:
Undiscounted Future Lease Payments
2022 (from October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022)
2,038
410
2023
7,829
525
2024
6,473
23
2025
4,808
17
2026
3,895
2027 and thereafter
15,974
Total lease payments
41,017
977
Less imputed interest
(4,724)
(12)
As of September 30, 2022, the Company did not have any significant additional operating or finance leases that have not yet commenced.
16
5.
The following table summarizes the Company’s investments at:
Continuous
Gross
Unrealized
Loss Position
Amortized
Holding
Fair
less than 12
greater than 12
Cost
Gains
Losses
Value
Months
Available-for-sale
Short-term:
Commercial paper
218,573
218,566
Certificates of deposit
20,035
Municipal securities
193,567
1,142
192,429
U.S. government agency securities
88,573
851
87,722
U.S. treasuries
834,249
6,220
828,029
Long-term:
55,684
476
55,208
5,562
5,527
11,711
74
11,638
1,427,954
1,419,154
334,077
44,502
666
62,687
26
62,661
1,308,536
717
1,307,821
12,500
12,476
87,133
190
86,943
1,850,101
957
1,849,146
During the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, realized gains or losses recognized on the sale of investments were not significant.
The Company’s investments at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 carried investment grade credit ratings.
The following table summarizes the underlying contractual maturities of the Company’s investments at:
Amortized Cost
Fair Value
Less than 1 year:
Due 1 -10 years:
6.
FAIR VALUE OF CERTAIN FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, provides a framework for measuring fair value and requires disclosures regarding fair value measurements. ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received on the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC 820 also establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs, where available. The three levels of inputs required by the standard that the Company uses to measure fair value are summarized below.
ASC 820 requires the use of observable market inputs (quoted market prices) when measuring fair value and requires a Level 1 quoted price to be used to measure fair value whenever possible.
The following tables present the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, segregated among the appropriate levels within the fair value hierarchy at:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
1,113,207
Money market funds
116,952
234,310
203,159
99,361
935,178
Foreign currency derivatives
(204)
1,230,159
1,491,839
2,721,998
Amounts included in:
72,889
694
Investments
(898)
749,089
440,826
335,477
2,428
75,137
1,528,149
(278)
1,189,915
1,985,415
3,175,330
136,547
654
(932)
All of the Company’s short-term and long-term investments are classified within Level 1 or Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s valuation of its Level 1 investments is based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical securities. The Company’s valuation of its Level 2 investments is based on other observable inputs, specifically a market approach which utilizes valuation models, pricing systems, mathematical tools and other relevant information for the same or similar securities. The Company’s valuation of its Level 2 foreign currency exchange contracts is based on quoted market prices of the same or similar instruments, adjusted for counterparty risk. There were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 measurements during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, or during the year-ended December 31, 2021, and there were no changes in the Company’s valuation techniques.
19
7.
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES
The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risks related primarily to its foreign business operations. During the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and the year-ended December 31, 2021, the Company entered into forward currency exchange contracts with financial institutions to create an economic hedge to specifically manage a portion of the foreign exchange risk exposure associated with certain consolidated subsidiaries’ non-functional currency denominated assets and liabilities. All foreign currency exchange contracts of the Company that were outstanding as of September 30, 2022 have terms of one month or less. The Company does not enter into forward currency exchange contracts for speculation or trading purposes.
The Company has not designated its foreign currency exchange contracts as hedge transactions under ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Therefore, gains and losses on the Company’s foreign currency exchange contracts are recognized in interest and other income (expense), net, in the condensed consolidated statements of income, and are largely offset by the changes in the fair value of the underlying economically hedged item.
The notional amount and fair value of all outstanding foreign currency derivative instruments in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets consist of the following at:
Derivatives not designated as
hedging instruments under
Notional
ASC 815
Assets:
Foreign currency exchange contracts:
Receive USD/pay COP
11,264
298
Receive USD/pay CLP
42,139
250
Receive USD/pay NZD
3,614
81
Receive USD/pay ZAR
3,172
Receive RSD/pay USD
1,809
Receive USD/pay AUD
520
Liabilities:
Receive USD/pay GBP
12,492
(308)
Receive CAD/pay USD
20,757
(277)
Receive USD/pay CNY
11,877
(141)
Receive USD/pay EUR
16,703
(82)
Receive SGD/pay USD
16,969
(47)
Receive USD/pay MXN
20,673
(34)
Receive USD/pay DKK
1,893
(9)
20
16,544
297
9,754
296
9,837
46
Receive USD/pay RUB
7,175
29,929
(666)
2,602
(88)
12,230
(74)
2,693
(45)
3,045
(29)
4,140
(21)
1,461
The net gains (losses) on derivative instruments in the condensed consolidated statements of income were as follows:
Amount of gain (loss)
recognized in income on
derivatives
Three-months ended
Location of gain (loss)
Foreign currency exchange contracts
Interest and other income (expense), net
4,631
Nine-months ended
1,355
(5,706)
21
8.
INVENTORIES
Inventories consist of the following at:
Raw materials
450,097
349,865
Work in process
1,574
Finished goods
411,306
243,492
9.
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET
Property and equipment consist of the following at:
Land
139,248
85,455
Leasehold improvements
30,710
11,795
Furniture and fixtures
9,175
8,274
Office and computer equipment
22,642
21,601
Computer software
6,496
7,409
253,057
189,820
Buildings
162,034
148,971
Vehicles
46,715
45,088
Assets under construction
58,791
20,125
728,868
538,538
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization
(243,318)
(224,785)
Total depreciation and amortization expense recorded was $13.6 million and $11.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Total depreciation and amortization expense recorded was $40.5 million and $34.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
22
10.GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS
The following is a roll-forward of goodwill for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 by reportable segment:
Monster
Energy®
Strategic
Alcohol
Drinks
Brands
Balance at December 31, 2021
693,644
637,999
Acquisitions
Balance at September 30, 2022
Balance at December 31, 2020
Balance at September 30, 2021
Intangible assets consist of the following at:
Amortizing intangibles
121,372
66,872
Accumulated amortization
(66,781)
(61,227)
54,591
5,645
Non-amortizing intangibles
1,171,235
1,066,741
Amortizing intangibles primarily consist of customer relationships. All amortizing intangibles have been assigned an estimated finite useful life and such intangibles are amortized on a straight-line basis over the number of years that approximate their respective useful lives, generally five to fifteen years. Total amortization expense recorded was $2.0 million and $1.1 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Total amortization expense recorded was $5.6 million and $3.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The following is the future estimated amortization expense related to amortizing intangibles as of September 30, 2022:
2,010
4,745
3,647
3,646
36,896
11.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS
In the normal course of business, amounts received pursuant to new and/or amended distribution agreements entered into with certain bottlers/distributors, relating to the costs associated with terminating agreements with the Company’s prior distributors, or at the inception of certain sales/marketing programs are accounted for as deferred revenue and are recognized as revenue ratably over the anticipated life of the respective agreement, generally 20 years or program duration, as the case may be. Revenue recognized was $10.0
million and $10.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Revenue recognized was $30.0 million and $31.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
12.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Company had purchase commitments aggregating approximately $275.5 million at September 30, 2022, which represented commitments made by the Company and its subsidiaries to various suppliers of raw materials for the production of its products. These obligations vary in terms, but are generally satisfied within one year.
The Company had contractual obligations aggregating approximately $338.9 million at September 30, 2022, which related primarily to sponsorships and other marketing activities.
The Company has a credit facility with HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, Shanghai Branch, of $15.0 million. At September 30, 2022, the interest rate on borrowings under the line of credit was 5.5%. As of September 30, 2022, $6.3 million was outstanding on this line of credit.
Litigation — From time to time in the normal course of business, the Company is named in litigation, including labor and employment matters, personal injury matters, consumer class actions, intellectual property matters and claims from prior distributors. Although it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of such litigation, based on the facts known to the Company, management believes that such litigation in aggregate will likely not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
The Company evaluates, on a quarterly basis, developments in legal proceedings and other matters that could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of the liability that is accrued, if any, and any related insurance reimbursements. As of September 30, 2022, no loss contingencies were included in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet.
On September 29, 2022, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded Monster Energy Company (“MEC”) approximately $293 million in damages in its false advertising and trade secrets case against Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“VPX”), the maker of Bang Energy. The jury found VPX and its chief executive officer to have falsely advertised the “super creatine” ingredient of Bang Energy and to have acted willfully and deliberately in violating the federal Lanham Act. The jury also found that VPX stole trade secrets and interfered with the Company’s contracts over shelf space with certain key vendors. VPX may also be liable for enhanced and punitive damages as will be determined by the judge presiding over the case at a later date.
In April 2022, MEC and Orange Bang, Inc. (“Orange Bang”) filed a joint motion in the United States District Court for the Central District of California to confirm a final arbitration award against VPX that awarded MEC and Orange Bang $175.0 million and a 5% royalty on all future sales of VPX’s Bang Energy drink and other Bang-branded products as well as certain fees and costs. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement between MEC and Orange Bang, the award and future royalties will be shared equally between MEC and Orange Bang. The arbitration arose from a settlement agreement that VPX entered into in 2010 with Orange Bang, a family-owned beverage business. Pursuant to the terms of that agreement, VPX is only permitted to use the Bang mark on “creatine-based” products or on Bang products that are marketed and sold only in the vitamin and dietary supplement sections of stores. On September 29, 2022, the United States District Court for the Central District of California entered final judgment confirming the award. On October 28, 2022, VPX filed a notice of appeal of the District Court’s final judgement confirming the award.
On October 10, 2022, VPX, along with certain of its domestic subsidiaries and affiliates, filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of Florida. Per ASC 450 “Contingencies”, the Company will not recognize the September 2022 jury award or April 2022 arbitration award until the awards are realized or realizable. As of November 4, 2022, the proceedings have yet to progress to a stage where there is sufficient information for an accurate timeline of when the awards will be realized or realizable, if at all.
13.
ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss by component, after tax, for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
Currency
Losses on
Translation
Available-for-
Sale Securities
(68,209)
(956)
Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income
Net current-period other comprehensive (loss) income
(215,659)
(8,796)
Gains (Losses)
on Available-for-
2,950
84
(43,462)
(33)
14.
TREASURY STOCK
On March 13, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “March 2020 Repurchase Plan”). During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company purchased approximately 1.8 million shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $87.55 per share, for a total amount of approximately $157.4 million (excluding broker commissions), which exhausted the availability under the March 2020 Repurchase Plan. Such shares are included in the common stock in treasury in the accompanying condensed balance sheet at September 30, 2022.
On June 14, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to an additional $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “June 2022 Repurchase Plan”). During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company purchased approximately 1.3 million shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $88.11 per share, for a total amount of approximately $115.5 million (excluding broker commissions), under the June 2022 Repurchase Plan. As of November 4, 2022, $182.8 million remained available for repurchase under the June 2022 Repurchase Plan.
During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, no shares of common stock were purchased from employees in lieu of cash payments for options exercised or withholding taxes due.
15.
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
The Company has two stock-based compensation plans under which shares were available for grant at September 30, 2022: (i) the Monster Beverage Corporation 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, including the Monster Beverage Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan as a sub-plan thereunder, and (ii) the Monster Beverage Corporation 2017 Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors as Amended and Restated on February 23, 2022, including the Monster Beverage Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors as a sub-plan thereunder.
25
The Company recorded $16.6 million and $16.7 million of compensation expense relating to outstanding options, restricted stock units, performance share units and other share-based awards during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company recorded $49.2 million and $52.4 million of compensation expense relating to outstanding options, restricted stock units, performance share units and other share-based awards during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The tax benefit for tax deductions from non-qualified stock option exercises, disqualifying dispositions of incentive stock options and vesting of restricted stock units and performance share units for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $2.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively. The tax benefit for tax deductions from non-qualified stock option exercises, disqualifying dispositions of incentive stock options and vesting of restricted stock units and performance share units for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $4.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively.
Stock Options
Under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, all stock options granted as of September 30, 2022 were granted at prices based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The Company records compensation expense for stock options based on the estimated fair value of the options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula with the assumptions included in the table below. The Company uses historical data to determine the exercise behavior, volatility and forfeiture rate of the options.
The following weighted-average assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of options granted during:
Three-Months Ended September 30,
Nine-Months Ended September 30,
Dividend yield
0.0
Expected volatility
27.6
28.3
27.7
28.9
Risk-free interest rate
2.8
2.1
Expected term
6.2 years
5.8 years
6.1 years
Expected Volatility: The Company uses historical volatility as it provides a reasonable estimate of the expected volatility. Historical volatility is based on the most recent volatility of the stock price over a period of time equivalent to the expected term of the option.
Risk-Free Interest Rate: The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. treasury zero-coupon yield curve in effect at the time of grant for the expected term of the option.
Expected Term: The Company’s expected term represents the weighted-average period that the Company’s stock options are expected to be outstanding. The expected term is based on the expected time to post-vesting exercise of options by employees. The Company uses historical exercise patterns of previously granted options to derive employee behavioral patterns used to forecast expected exercise patterns.
The following table summarizes the Company’s activities with respect to its stock option plans as follows:
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Number of
Exercise
Contractual
Price Per
Term
Aggregate
Options
(in thousands)
Share
(in years)
Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2022
13,860
48.19
5.1
663,148
Granted 01/01/22 - 03/31/22
2,489
73.96
Granted 04/01/22 - 06/30/22
88.05
Granted 07/01/22 - 09/30/22
34
95.72
Exercised
(813)
42.74
Cancelled or forfeited
(143)
72.26
Outstanding at September 30, 2022
15,435
52.54
5.2
533,680
Vested and expected to vest in the future at September 30, 2022
15,043
51.97
528,586
Exercisable at September 30, 2022
10,287
43.06
3.7
451,963
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $31.94 per share and $26.90 per share, respectively. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $23.35 per share and $25.81 per share, respectively.
The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $15.3 million and $14.0 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $38.2 million and $42.2 million, respectively.
Cash received from option exercises under all plans for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $12.1 million and $12.7 million, respectively. Cash received from option exercises under all plans for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $34.8 million and $37.2 million, respectively.
At September 30, 2022, there was $77.5 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested options granted to employees under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.9 years.
Restricted Stock Units and Performance Share Units
The cost of stock-based compensation for restricted stock units and performance share units is measured based on the closing fair market value of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. In the event that the Company has the option and intent to settle a restricted stock unit or performance share unit in cash, the award is classified as a liability and revalued at each balance sheet date.
27
The following table summarizes the Company’s activities with respect to non-vested restricted stock units and performance share units as follows:
Weighted
Shares (in
Grant-Date
thousands)
Non-vested at January 1, 2022
910
69.02
Granted 01/01/22 - 03/31/221
484
71.88
87.52
95.17
Vested
(388)
64.56
Forfeited/cancelled
(13)
68.77
Non-vested at September 30, 2022
1,014
72.52
1The grant activity for performance share units is recorded based on the target performance level earning 100% of target performance share units. The actual number of performance share units earned could range from 0% to 200% of target depending on the achievement of pre-established performance goals.
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of restricted stock units and/or performance share units granted during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $95.17 and $89.84 per share, respectively. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of restricted stock units and/or performance share units granted during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $74.23 and $89.12 per share, respectively.
As of September 30, 2022, 1.0 million of restricted stock units and performance share units are expected to vest over their respective terms.
At September 30, 2022, total unrecognized compensation expense relating to non-vested restricted stock units and performance share units was $43.8 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.9 years.
Other Share-Based Awards
The Company has granted other share-based awards to certain employees that are payable in cash. These awards are classified as liabilities and are valued based on the fair value of the award at the grant date and are remeasured at each reporting date until settlement, with compensation expense being recognized in proportion to the completed requisite service period up until date of settlement. At September 30, 2022, other share-based awards outstanding included grants that vest over three years payable in the first quarters of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
At September 30, 2022, there was $0.2 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to nonvested other share-based awards granted to employees under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.3 years.
28
16.
INCOME TAXES
The following is a roll-forward of the Company’s total gross unrecognized tax benefits, not including interest and penalties, for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022:
Gross Unrecognized
Tax Benefits
Additions for tax positions related to the current year
Additions for tax positions related to the prior years
2,008
Increases for tax positions related to the prior years
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had approximately $0.4 million in accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits. If the Company were to prevail on all uncertain tax positions, the resultant impact on the Company’s effective tax rate would not be significant. It is expected that any change in the amount of unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months will not be significant.
The Company is subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as to income tax in multiple state and foreign jurisdictions.
The Company is in various stages of examination with certain states and certain foreign jurisdictions. The Company’s 2018 through 2021 U.S. federal income tax returns are subject to examination by the IRS. The Company’s state income tax returns are subject to examination for the 2017 through 2021 tax years.
17.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
A reconciliation of the weighted-average shares used in the basic and diluted earnings per common share computations is presented below (in thousands):
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Dilutive
6,503
6,918
6,336
6,936
For the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, options and awards outstanding totaling 3.5 million shares and 1.0 million shares, respectively, were excluded from the calculations as their effect would have been antidilutive. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, options and awards outstanding totaling 2.9 million shares and 0.8 million shares, respectively, were excluded from the calculations as their effect would have been antidilutive.
18.
SEGMENT INFORMATION
The Company has four operating and reportable segments: (i) Monster Energy® Drinks segment, which is primarily comprised of the Company’s Monster Energy® drinks, Reign Total Body Fuel® high performance energy drinks and True North® Pure Energy Seltzers, (ii) Strategic Brands segment, which is primarily comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from TCCC in 2015 as well as the Company’s affordable energy brands, (iii) Alcohol Brands segment, which is primarily comprised of the various craft beers and hard seltzers purchased as part of the CANarchy Transaction on February 17, 2022 and (iv) Other segment, which is comprised of the AFF Third-Party Products.
29
The Company’s Monster Energy® Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged drinks primarily to bottlers/distributors. In some cases, the Company sells ready-to-drink packaged drinks directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military.
Generally, the Monster Energy® Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment.
Generally, the Alcohol Brands segment will have lower gross profit margin percentages than the Monster Energy® Drinks segment.
Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to “Corporate & Unallocated.” No asset information, other than goodwill and other intangible assets, has been provided in the Company’s reportable segments, as management does not measure or allocate such assets on a segment basis.
30
The net revenues derived from the Company’s reportable segments and other financial information related thereto for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
Net sales:
Monster Energy® Drinks1
Corporate and unallocated
Operating Income:
492,534
500,641
1,388,815
1,512,633
47,282
40,184
145,977
139,398
(10,262)
(19,873)
1,146
3,138
5,266
(112,601)
(97,507)
(327,688)
(272,710)
Income before tax:
493,486
500,929
1,391,026
1,513,421
47,319
40,198
146,082
139,419
(10,124)
(19,620)
1,144
3,139
5,264
(111,579)
(100,097)
(342,190)
(275,696)
Depreciation and amortization:
7,773
8,477
24,035
26,315
234
283
709
832
3,713
9,679
1,121
1,122
3,345
3,373
2,768
2,474
8,272
7,334
15,609
12,356
31
Corporate and unallocated expenses for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 include $69.4 million of payroll costs, of which $16.2 million was attributable to stock-based compensation expenses (see Note 15 “Stock-Based Compensation”), as well as $26.0 million attributable to professional service expenses, including accounting and legal costs, and $17.2 million of other operating expenses.
Corporate and unallocated expenses for the three-months ended September 30, 2021 include $63.4 million of payroll costs, of which $16.7 million was attributable to stock-based compensation expenses (see Note 15 “Stock-Based Compensation”), as well as $19.3 million attributable to professional service expenses, including accounting and legal costs, and $14.8 million of other operating expenses.
Corporate and unallocated expenses for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 include $207.6 million of payroll costs, of which $48.5 million was attributable to stock-based compensation expenses (see Note 15 “Stock-Based Compensation”), as well as $69.3 million attributable to professional service expenses, including accounting and legal costs, and $50.8 million of other operating expenses.
Corporate and unallocated expenses for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021 include $189.7 million of payroll costs, of which $52.2 million was attributable to stock-based compensation expenses (see Note 15 “Stock-Based Compensation”), as well as $60.6 million attributable to professional service expenses, including accounting and legal costs, and $22.4 million of other operating expenses. Corporate and unallocated expenses for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021, were partially offset by $16.9 million due to the reversal of amounts previously accrued in connection with an intellectual property claim.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (formerly Coca-Cola European Partners) accounted for approximately 12% of the Company’s net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners accounted for approximately 13% and 12% of the Company’s net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. accounted for approximately 11% of the Company’s net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. accounted for approximately 10% and 11% of the Company’s net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC accounted for approximately 10% of the Company’s net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC accounted for approximately 10% of the Company’s net sales for both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.
Net sales to customers outside the United States amounted to $610.6 million and $527.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Such sales were approximately 38% and 37% of net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Net sales to customers outside the United States amounted to $1.81 billion and $1.53 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Such sales were approximately 38% and 37% of net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Goodwill and other intangible assets for the Company’s reportable segments as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are as follows:
Goodwill and other intangible assets:
1,424,667
1,420,503
977,851
978,032
234,049
2,200
5,494
2,638,767
2,404,029
32
19.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
TCCC controls approximately 19.6% of the voting interests of the Company. The TCCC Subsidiaries, the TCCC Related Parties and certain TCCC independent bottlers/distributors purchase and distribute the Company’s products in domestic and certain international markets. The Company also pays TCCC a commission based on certain sales within the TCCC distribution network.
TCCC commissions, based on sales to the TCCC Subsidiaries and the TCCC Related Parties, were $12.8 million and $23.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included as a reduction to net sales. TCCC commissions, based on sales to the TCCC Subsidiaries and the TCCC Related Parties, were $41.3 million and $59.9 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included as a reduction to net sales.
TCCC commissions, based on sales to TCCC independent bottlers/distributors, were $5.5 million and $9.1 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included in operating expenses. TCCC commissions, based on sales to TCCC independent bottlers/distributors, were $24.4 million and $22.6 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included in operating expenses.
Net sales to the TCCC Subsidiaries for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $36.6 million and $30.3 million, respectively. Net sales to the TCCC Subsidiaries for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $95.0 million and $84.4 million, respectively.
The Company also purchases concentrates from TCCC which are then sold to certain of the Company’s bottlers/distributors. Concentrate purchases from TCCC were $6.5 million and $7.1 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Concentrate purchases from TCCC were $21.5 million and $21.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Certain TCCC Subsidiaries also contract manufacture certain of the Company’s energy drinks. Such contract manufacturing expenses were $9.1 million and $6.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Such contract manufacturing expenses were $23.1 million and $20.8 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued promotional allowances and accrued liabilities related to the TCCC Subsidiaries are as follows at:
86,180
94,647
(37,613)
(35,248)
(5,308)
(4,536)
(40,117)
(26,616)
In 2021, TCCC exercised its contract rights for a third-party public accounting firm to conduct an examination relating to commissions and fees payable to TCCC and marketing contributions payable to the Company, for the years ended December 31, 2015 through December 31, 2020. During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company was informed by TCCC that there would be no material adjustments as a result of this examination.
One director of the Company through certain trusts, and a family member of one director are the principal owners of a company that provides promotional materials to the Company. Expenses incurred with such company in connection with promotional materials purchased during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $1.3 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Expenses incurred with such company in connection with promotional materials purchased during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $4.7 million and $2.7 million, respectively.
33
During the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company occasionally chartered a private aircraft that is indirectly owned by Mr. Rodney C. Sacks, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. On certain occasions, Mr. Sacks was accompanied by guests and other Company personnel when using such aircraft for business travel. During the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred costs of $0.08 million, amounts the Company believes are commensurate with market rates for comparable travel. No amounts were incurred by the Company during the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
In December 2018, the Company and a director of the Company entered into a 50-50 partnership that purchased land, and real property thereon, in Kona, Hawaii for the purpose of producing coffee products. This partnership meets the definition of a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) for which the Company has determined that it is the primary beneficiary. Therefore, the Company consolidates the VIE in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. The aggregate carrying values of the VIE’s assets and liabilities, after elimination of any intercompany transactions and balances, as well as the results of operations for all periods presented, are not material to the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.
20.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On November 2, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program for the purchase of up to an additional $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. As a result, the aggregate amount available to repurchase the Company’s common stock as of November 4, 2022 is $682.8 million.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Our Business
When this report uses the words “the Company”, “we”, “us”, and “our”, these words refer to Monster Beverage Corporation and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. Based in Corona, California, Monster Beverage Corporation is a holding company and conducts no operating business except through its consolidated subsidiaries. The Company’s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks, and to a lesser extent, craft beers and hard seltzers.
CANarchy Acquisition
On February 17, 2022, we completed our acquisition of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC (“CANarchy”), a craft beer and hard seltzer company, for $330.4 million in cash, subject to adjustments. The transaction facilitates our entry into the alcohol beverage sector and brings the Cigar CityTM family of brands including Jai Alai® IPA and Florida ManTM IPA, the Oskar BluesTM family of brands including Dale’s Pale Ale® and Wild BasinTM Hard Seltzers, the Deep EllumTM family of brands including Dallas Blonde® and Deep EllumTM IPA, the Perrin BrewingTM family of brands including Black Ale, the Squatters® family of brands including Hop Rising® Double IPA and Juicy IPA, the Wasatch® family of brands including Apricot Hefeweizen to our beverage portfolio. The transaction did not include CANarchy’s stand-alone restaurants. Our organizational structure for our existing energy beverage business remains unchanged. CANarchy is functioning independently, retaining its own organizational structure and team.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
During the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations and liquidity. Net sales in Russia and Ukraine combined were approximately 1.1% of our total net sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. We will continue to monitor future developments relative to this conflict and its potential impacts.
The COVID – 19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has directly and indirectly impacted our business. The duration and severity of this impact will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the emergence of new variants, the actions taken to limit its spread and the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. See “Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K.
Pricing Actions
In the third quarter of 2022, we continued to implement measures to mitigate our increased product and distribution costs through pricing increases and reductions in promotions (“Pricing Actions”). We implemented a price increase effective September 1, 2022 in the United States and continued to implement price increases in certain international markets where feasible, all of which positively impacted gross profit margins in the third quarter of 2022.
Distribution and Supply Chain
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increased demand for our energy drinks, we prioritized ensuring product availability for our customers and consumers. This strategic direction has remained in place throughout the global supply chain challenges and disruptions, despite adversely impacting our profitability. We continue to stand by our strategy to ensure product availability and solidify the continued long-term growth of our brands.
In the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a significant increase in cost of sales, resulting in a material decrease in both gross profit and gross profit as a percentage of net sales, relative to the comparative 2021 third quarter. The increase in cost of sales was primarily due to (i) increased ingredient and other input costs, including secondary packaging materials and increased co-packing fees, (ii) increased logistical costs, (iii) increased aluminum can costs and (iv) geographical and product sales mix. Furthermore, we experienced significant increases in distribution expenses, primarily the result of increased warehousing expenses, as well as increases in other logistical expenses, which adversely impacted operating costs.
However, in the third quarter of 2022 we began to see an improvement in our gross profit margins as compared to the second quarter of 2022. This improvement was primarily attributable to (i) Pricing Actions, (ii) our decreased reliance on imported cans and (iii) improved finished product inventory levels in closer proximity to our customers, resulting in a reduction of long-distance freight costs.
We continue to address the controllable challenges in our supply chain.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of the date of this filing, we expect to maintain sufficient liquidity as we manage through the current environment as described in the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section below.
Overview
We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names:
● Monster Energy®
● NOS®
● Monster Energy Ultra®
● Full Throttle®
● Monster Rehab®
● Burn®
● Monster Energy® Nitro
● Mother®
● Java Monster®
● Nalu®
● Muscle Monster®
● Ultra Energy®
● Espresso Monster®
● Play® and Power Play® (stylized)
● Punch Monster®
● Relentless®
● Juice Monster®
● BPM®
● Monster Hydro® Energy Water
● BU®
● Monster Hydro® Super Sport
● Gladiator®
● Monster HydroSport Super Fuel®
● Samurai®
● Monster® Super Fuel®
● Live+®
● Monster Dragon Tea®
● Predator®
● Reign Total Body Fuel®
● Fury®
● Reign Inferno® Thermogenic Fuel
● True North®
We also develop, market, sell and distribute craft beers and hard seltzers under a number of brands, including Jai Alai® IPA, Florida ManTM IPA, Dale’s Pale Ale®, Wild BasinTM Hard Seltzers, Dallas Blonde®, Deep EllumTM IPA, Perrin BrewingTM Black Ale, Hop Rising® Double IPA, Juicy IPA, Wasatch® Apricot Hefeweizen and a host of other brands.
We have four operating and reportable segments: (i) Monster Energy® Drinks segment (“Monster Energy® Drinks”), which is primarily comprised of the Company’s Monster Energy® drinks, Reign Total Body Fuel® high performance energy drinks and True North® Pure Energy Seltzers, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (“Strategic Brands”), which is primarily comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (“TCCC”) in 2015 as well as the Company’s affordable energy brands, (iii) Alcohol Brands segment (“Alcohol Brands”), which is primarily comprised of the various craft beers and hard seltzers purchased as part of the CANarchy Transaction on February 17, 2022 and (iv) Other segment (“Other”), which is comprised of the AFF Third-Party Products.
During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, we continued to expand our existing energy drink portfolio by adding additional products to our portfolio in a number of countries and further developed our distribution markets. During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, we sold the following new product to our customers:
36
In the normal course of business, we discontinue certain products and/or product lines. Those products or product lines discontinued in the three-months ended September 30, 2022, either individually or in aggregate, did not have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.
Our net sales of $1.62 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 represented record sales for our third fiscal quarter. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $71.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
The vast majority of our net sales are derived from our Monster Energy® Drinks segment. Net sales of our Monster Energy® Drinks segment were $1.50 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales of our Strategic Brands segment were $88.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales of our Alcohol Brands segment were $26.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales of our Other segment were $6.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Our Monster Energy® Drinks segment represented 92.5% and 94.3% of our net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our Strategic Brands segment represented 5.5% and 5.3% of our net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our Alcohol Segment represented 1.7% of our net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Our Other segment represented 0.3% and 0.4% of our net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Our growth strategy includes further developing our domestic markets, expanding our international business and growing our business into new sectors, such as the alcohol beverage sector. Net sales to customers outside the United States were $610.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $83.2 million, or 15.8% higher than net sales to customers outside of the United States of $527.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Such sales were approximately 38% and 37% of net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales to customers outside of the United States of approximately $71.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales to customers outside the United States, on a foreign currency adjusted basis, increased 29.3% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. On February 17, 2022, the Company completed the CANarchy Transaction which facilitates the Company’s entry into the alcohol beverage sector.
Our customers are primarily full service beverage bottlers/distributors, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military. Percentages of our gross billings to our various customer types for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are reflected below. Such information includes sales made by us directly to the customer types concerned, which include our full service beverage bottlers/distributors in the United States. Such full service beverage bottlers/distributors in turn sell certain of our products to some of the same customer types listed below. We limit our description of our customer types to include only our sales to our full service bottlers/distributors without reference to such bottlers/distributors’ sales to their own customers.
U.S. full service bottlers/distributors
51
International full service bottlers/distributors
39
Club stores and e-commerce retailers
Retail grocery, direct convenience, specialty chains and wholesalers
Direct value stores and other
0
Our customers include Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages LLC, The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England, Inc., Swire Pacific Holdings, Inc. (USA), Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, LLC, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (formerly Coca-Cola European Partners and Coca-Cola Amatil), Coca-Cola Hellenic, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Swire Coca-Cola (China), COFCO Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, Coca-Cola İçecek and certain other TCCC network bottlers, Asahi Soft Drinks, Co., Ltd., Wal-Mart, Inc. (including Sam’s Club), Costco Wholesale Corporation and Amazon.com, Inc. A decision by any large customer to decrease amounts purchased from us or to cease carrying our products could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
37
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (formerly Coca-Cola European Partners) accounted for approximately 12% of our net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners accounted for approximately 13% and 12% of our net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. accounted for approximately 11% of our net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. accounted for approximately 10% and 11% of our net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC accounted for approximately 10% of our net sales for both the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC accounted for approximately 10% of our net sales for both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth key statistics for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.
Percentage
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Change
22 vs. 21
Net sales1
15.2
16.6
Cost of sales
27.2
35.6
Gross profit*1
5.6
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales
51.3
55.9
49.8
56.9
Operating expenses
20.6
25.5
Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales
25.6
24.4
25.0
23.2
Operating income1
(6.0)
(14.0)
Operating income as a percentage of net sales
25.7
31.5
24.8
33.6
(193.8)
447.6
Income before provision for income taxes1
(5.0)
(14.8)
Provision for income taxes
(6.9)
(11.6)
Income taxes as a percentage of income before taxes
23.3
23.7
24.5
23.6
(4.4)
(15.7)
Net income as a percentage of net sales
19.8
23.9
18.5
Net income per common share:
(4.0)
(3.9)
(15.6)
Case sales (in thousands) (in 192‑ounce case equivalents)
182,460
159,975
14.1
535,451
459,991
16.4
¹Includes $10.0 million and $10.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to the recognition of deferred revenue. Includes $30.0 million and $31.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to the recognition of deferred revenue.
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*Gross profit may not be comparable to that of other entities since some entities include all costs associated with their distribution process in cost of sales, whereas others exclude certain costs and instead include such costs within another line item such as operating expenses. We include out-bound freight and warehouse costs in operating expenses rather than in cost of sales.
Three-Months Ended September 30, 2022 Compared to the Three-Months Ended September 30, 2021.
Net Sales. Net sales were $1.62 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $213.7 million, or 15.2% higher than net sales of $1.41 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $71.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 20.2% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales were $564.0 million and $488.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment were $1.50 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $172.4 million, or 13.0% higher than net sales of $1.33 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment increased primarily due to increased worldwide sales by volume of our Monster Energy® brand energy drinks as a result of increased consumer demand as well as due to pricing actions and reductions in promotions in certain markets. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment of approximately $66.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 18.0% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment were $88.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $14.4 million, or 19.3% higher than net sales of $74.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment increased primarily due to increased sales by volume of our Predator® and NOS® brands energy drinks. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $5.0 million for the Strategic Brands segment for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 25.9% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales for the Alcohol Brands segment were $26.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. There were no comparative 2021 net sales for the Alcohol Brands segment as the Company completed its acquisition of CANarchy in February 2022.
Net sales for the Other segment were $6.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $0.1 million, or 2.1% higher than net sales of $6.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021.
Case sales for our energy drink products, in 192-ounce case equivalents, were 182.5 million cases for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately 22.5 million cases or 14.1% higher than case sales of 160.0 million cases for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The overall average net sales per case decreased to $8.72 for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, which was 0.7% lower than the average net sales per case of $8.78 for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on the overall average net sales per case for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Barrel sales for our craft beers and hard seltzers, in 31 U.S. gallon equivalents, were 0.1 million barrels for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross Profit
Gross profit was $833.7 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $44.6 million, or 5.6% higher than the gross profit of $789.2 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in gross profit dollars was primarily the result of the $213.7 million increase in net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 51.3% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 from 55.9% for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 was primarily the result of
increased ingredient and other input costs, including secondary packaging materials and increased co-packing fees, increased logistical costs, increased aluminum can costs and geographical and product sales mix.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses were $415.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $71.1 million, or 20.6% higher than total operating expenses of $344.7 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021.
The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to increased general and administrative expenses of $22.2 million, including travel and entertainment and professional service fees (including legal and accounting), increased selling and marketing expenses of $20.5 million, including sponsorships and endorsements, social media and digital marketing, commissions, point of sale, premiums and allocated trade development, increased warehouse, out-bound fuel and freight costs of $17.7 million, as well as increased payroll expenses of $15.9 million (of which $6.6 million was related to CANarchy). CANarchy related depreciation and amortization was $2.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. The increase in operating expenses was partially offset by a decrease in distributor termination expenses of $5.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 were 25.6% as compared to 24.4% for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the three-months ended September 30, 2019 (pre COVID-19) were 24.5%.
Operating Income
Operating income was $417.9 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $26.5 million, or 6.0% lower than operating income of $444.5 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating income as a percentage of net sales decreased to 25.7% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 from 31.5% for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating income for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 decreased primarily as a result of the increase in operating expenses as well as the decrease in the gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Operating income was $89.9 million and $105.9 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, for our operations in EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Operating income for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $492.5 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $8.1 million, or 1.6% lower than operating income of $500.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in operating income for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment was primarily the result of an increase in operating expenses as well as a decrease in gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Operating income for the Strategic Brands segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $47.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $7.1 million, or 17.7% higher than operating income of $40.2 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in operating income for the Strategic Brands segment was primarily the result of an increase in gross profit.
Operating loss for the Alcohol Brands segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $10.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Operating income for the Other segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $1.0 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $0.2 million, or 14.7% lower than operating income of $1.1 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), net
Interest and other non-operating income (expense), net, was $2.1 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to interest and other non-operating income (expense), net, of ($2.3) million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Foreign currency transaction losses were $6.2 million and $2.9 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Interest income was $9.6 million and $0.8 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Provision for Income Taxes
Provision for income taxes was $97.7 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of $7.3 million, or 6.9% lower than the provision for income taxes of $105.0 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The effective combined federal, state and foreign tax rate decreased to 23.3% from 23.7% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Net Income
Net income was $322.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of $14.8 million, or 4.4% lower than net income of $337.2 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in net income for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 was primarily due to the decrease in the gross profit percentage of net sales as well as the increase in operating expenses.
Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2022 Compared to the Nine-Months Ended September 30, 2021.
Net Sales. Net sales were $4.80 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $681.8 million, or 16.6% higher than net sales of $4.12 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $157.6 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 20.4% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales were $1.69 billion and $1.42 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment were $4.44 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $577.6 million, or 14.9% higher than net sales of $3.87 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment increased primarily due to increased worldwide sales by volume of our Monster Energy® brand energy drinks as a result of increased consumer demand as well as due to pricing actions and reductions in promotions in certain markets. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment of approximately $145.4 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 18.7% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment were $260.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $31.3 million, or 13.7% higher than net sales of $229.2 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment increased primarily due to increased worldwide sales by volume of our Predator® and NOS® brand energy drinks as a result of increased consumer demand. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $12.2 million for the Strategic Brands segment for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. Net sales for the Strategic Brands segment on a foreign currency adjusted basis increased 19.0% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Net sales for the Alcohol Brands segment were $74.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 (effectively from February 17 to September 30, 2022).
Net sales for the Other segment were $18.4 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $1.6 million, or 8.0% lower than net sales of $20.0 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
Case sales for our energy drink products, in 192-ounce case equivalents, were 535.5 million cases for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately 75.5 million cases or 16.4% higher than case sales of 460.0 million cases for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The overall average net sales per case decreased to $8.79 for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, which was 1.3% lower than the average net sales per case of $8.91 for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on the overall average net sales per case for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Barrel sales for our craft beers and hard seltzers, in 31 US gallon equivalents, were 0.2 million barrels for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross profit was $2.39 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $49.3 million, or 2.1% higher than gross profit of $2.34 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 49.8% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 from 56.9% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 was primarily the result of increased freight rates and fuel costs, including costs relating to the importation of aluminum cans, increased ingredient and other input costs, including secondary packaging materials, increased aluminum can costs attributable to higher aluminum commodity pricing, increased co-packing fees, production inefficiencies and geographical sales mix.
Total operating expenses were $1.20 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $243.5 million, or 25.5% higher than total operating expenses of $956.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
The comparative operating expenses for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021 included a $16.9 million reversal of amounts previously accrued in connection with an intellectual property claim. The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to increased general and administrative expenses of $80.9 million, including travel and entertainment and professional service fees (including legal and accounting), increased out-bound fuel, freight and warehouse costs of $68.0 million, increased selling and marketing expenses of $55.5 million, including sponsorships and endorsements, social media and digital marketing, point of sale, premiums and allocated trade development, and increased payroll expenses of $44.5 million (of which $15.8 million was related to CANarchy). In addition, CANarchy related depreciation and amortization was $6.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. The increase in operating expenses was partially offset by a decrease in distributor termination expenses of $5.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 were 25.0% as compared to 23.2% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the nine-months ended September 30, 2019 (pre COVID-19) were 25.8%.
Operating income was $1.19 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $194.2 million, or 14.0% lower than operating income of $1.38 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating income as a percentage of net sales decreased to 24.8% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 from 33.6% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Operating income for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 decreased primarily as a result of the increase in operating expenses as well as the decrease in the gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Operating income was $244.3 million and $325.8 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, for our operations in EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Operating income for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $1.39 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $123.8 million, or 8.2% lower than operating income of $1.51 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in operating income for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment was primarily the result of an increase in operating expenses as well as a decrease in gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
Operating income for the Strategic Brands segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $146.0 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $6.6 million, or 4.7% higher than operating income of $139.4 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in operating income for the Strategic Brands segment was primarily the result of an increase in gross profit.
Operating loss for the Alcohol Brands segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $19.9 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022. Inventory purchased as part of the CANarchy Transaction was recorded at fair value. The inventory acquired was subsequently sold in the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and was recognized through cost of goods sold
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at fair value (purchased cost), resulting in no recognized profits on the associated sales. Operating income was negatively impacted by approximately $4.0 million during the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 as a result. As of September 30, 2022, all purchased inventory recorded at fair value had been sold.
Operating income for the Other segment, exclusive of corporate and unallocated expenses, was $3.1 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of approximately $2.1 million, or 40.4% lower than operating income of $5.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
Interest and other non-operating income (expense), net, was ($11.9) million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to interest and other non-operating income (expense), net, of ($2.2) million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Foreign currency transaction losses were $22.9 million and $5.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Interest income was $14.8 million and $3.1 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Provision for income taxes was $288.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of $37.8 million, or 11.6% lower than the provision for income taxes of $326.2 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The effective combined federal, state and foreign tax rate increased to 24.5% from 23.6% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to an increase in the effective state income tax rate as well as a decrease in the net income in certain foreign jurisdictions which have lower tax rates compared to the United States.
Net income was $890.0 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of $166.2 million, or 15.7% lower than net income of $1.06 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in net income for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 was primarily due to the decrease in the gross profit percentage of net sales as well as the increase in operating expenses.
Key Business Metrics
We use certain key metrics and financial measures not prepared in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) to evaluate and manage our business. For a further discussion of how we use key metrics and certain non-GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Key Metrics.”
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Key Metrics
Gross Billings**
Gross billings were $1.87 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $218.8 million, or 13.3% higher than gross billings of $1.65 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings of approximately $85.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment were $1.73 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $180.3 million, or 11.6% higher than gross billings of $1.55 billion for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment increased primarily due to increased worldwide sales by volume of our Monster Energy® brand energy drinks as a result of increased consumer demand as well as due to price increases in certain markets. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment of approximately $80.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Strategic Brands segment were $99.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $11.1 million, or 12.6% higher than gross billings of $88.5 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in
foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings in the Strategic Brands segment of approximately $5.0 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Alcohol Brands segment were $27.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Other segment were $6.4 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $0.1 million, or 2.1% higher than gross billings of $6.3 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021.
Promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses, as described in the footnote below, were $252.6 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $4.7 million, or 1.9% higher than promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses of $247.9 million for the three-months ended September 30, 2021. Promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses as a percentage of gross billings decreased to 13.5% from 15.0% for the three-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Gross billings were $5.52 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $723.2 million, or 15.1% higher than gross billings of $4.79 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings of approximately $187.8 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment were $5.13 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of approximately $621.0 million, or 13.8% higher than gross billings of $4.51 billion for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment increased primarily due to increased worldwide sales by volume of our Monster Energy® brand energy drinks as a result of increased consumer demand, as well as due to price increases in certain markets. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings for the Monster Energy® Drinks segment of approximately $175.6 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Strategic Brands segment were $293.7 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $28.2 million, or 10.6% higher than gross billings of $265.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on gross billings in the Strategic Brands segment of approximately $12.2 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Alcohol Brands segment were $75.6 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Gross billings for the Other segment were $18.4 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of $1.6 million, or 8.0% lower than gross billings of $20.0 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
Promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses, as described in the footnote below, were $747.9 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $40.2 million, or 5.7% higher than promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses of $707.7 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. Promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses as a percentage of gross billings decreased to 13.6% from 14.8% for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
**Gross Billings represent amounts invoiced to customers net of cash discounts and returns. Gross billings are used internally by management as an indicator of and to monitor operating performance, including sales performance of particular products, salesperson performance, product growth or declines and is useful to investors in evaluating overall Company performance. The use of gross billings allows evaluation of sales performance before the effect of any promotional items, which can mask certain performance issues. We therefore believe that the presentation of gross billings provides a useful measure of our operating performance. The use of gross billings is not a measure that is recognized under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net sales, which is determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be used alone as an indicator of operating performance in place of net sales. Additionally, gross billings may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, as gross billings has been defined by our internal reporting practices. In addition, gross billings may not be realized in the form of cash receipts as promotional payments and allowances may be deducted from payments received from certain customers.
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The following table reconciles the non-GAAP financial measure of gross billings with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure of net sales:
(In thousands)
Gross Billings
1,866,888
1,648,048
13.3
5,515,964
4,792,728
15.1
Deferred Revenue
9,955
10,386
(4.1)
30,026
31,265
Less: Promotional allowances, commissions and other expenses***
252,557
247,877
1.9
747,871
707,685
5.7
*** Although the expenditures described in this line item are determined in accordance with GAAP and meet GAAP requirements, the presentation thereof does not conform to GAAP presentation requirements. Additionally, our definition of promotional and other allowances may not be comparable to similar items presented by other companies. Promotional and other allowances for our energy drink products primarily include consideration given to our non-alcohol bottlers/distributors or retail customers including, but not limited to the following: (i) discounts granted off list prices to support price promotions to end-consumers by retailers; (ii) reimbursements given to our bottlers/distributors for agreed portions of their promotional spend with retailers, including slotting, shelf space allowances and other fees for both new and existing products; (iii) our agreed share of fees given to bottlers/distributors and/or directly to retailers for advertising, in-store marketing and promotional activities; (iv) our agreed share of slotting, shelf space allowances and other fees given directly to retailers, club stores and/or wholesalers; (v) incentives given to our bottlers/distributors and/or retailers for achieving or exceeding certain predetermined sales goals; (vi) discounted or free products; (vii) contractual fees given to our bottlers/distributors related to sales made by us direct to certain customers that fall within the bottlers’/distributors’ sales territories; and (viii) certain commissions based on sales to our bottlers/distributors. The presentation of promotional and other allowances facilitates an evaluation of their impact on the determination of net sales and the spending levels incurred or correlated with such sales. Promotional and other allowances for our energy drink products constitute a material portion of our marketing activities. Our promotional allowance programs for our energy drink products with our numerous bottlers/distributors and/or retailers are executed through separate agreements in the ordinary course of business. These agreements generally provide for one or more of the arrangements described above and are of varying durations, ranging from one week to one year. The primary drivers of our promotional and other allowance activities for our energy drink products for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were (i) to increase sales volume and trial, (ii) to address market conditions, and (iii) to secure shelf and display space at retail. Promotional and other allowances for our Alcohol Brands segment primarily include price promotions where permitted.
Sales
The table below discloses selected quarterly data regarding sales for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Data from any one or more quarters or periods is not necessarily indicative of annual results or continuing trends.
Sales of our energy drinks are expressed in unit case volume. A “unit case” means a unit of measurement equal to 192 U.S. fluid ounces of finished beverage (24 eight-ounce servings). Unit case volume means the number of unit cases (or unit case equivalents) of finished products or concentrates as if converted into finished products sold by us.
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Our quarterly results of operations reflect seasonal trends that are primarily the result of increased demand in the warmer months of the year. It has been our experience that beverage sales tend to be lower during the first and fourth quarters of each calendar year. However, our experience with our energy drink products suggests they may be less seasonal than the seasonality of traditional beverages. In addition, our continued growth internationally may further reduce the impact of seasonality on our business. Quarterly fluctuations may also be affected by other factors including the introduction of new products, the opening of new markets where temperature fluctuations are more pronounced, the addition of new bottlers/distributors, changes in the sales mix of our products and changes in advertising and promotional expenses. The COVID-19 pandemic, including new variants, may also have an impact on consumer behavior and change the seasonal fluctuation of our business.
(In thousands, except average net sales per case)
Net sales
Less: Alcohol Brands segment sales
(26,818)
(74,472)
Less: Other segment sales
(6,447)
(6,316)
(18,355)
(19,953)
Adjusted net sales1
1,591,021
1,404,241
4,705,292
4,096,355
Case sales by segment:1
150,961
133,177
447,233
388,214
31,499
26,798
88,218
71,777
Total case sales
Average net sales per case - Energy Drinks
8.72
8.78
8.79
8.91
1Excludes Alcohol Brands segment (effectively from February 17, 2022 to September 30, 2022) and Other segment net sales, as these sales do not have unit case equivalents.
Net changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on the overall average net sales per case for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
Sales of our Alcohol products are expressed in barrel volume. A “Barrel” means a unit of measurement equal to 31 U.S. gallons. Barrel sales were 0.1 million and 0.2 million for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022, respectively.
See Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results of Operations” for additional information related to the increase in sales.
Cash and cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments. At September 30, 2022, we had $1.30 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $1.35 billion in short-term investments and $72.4 million in long-term investments, including certificates of deposit, commercial paper, U.S. government agency securities, municipal securities and U.S. treasuries. We maintain our investments for cash management purposes and not for purposes of speculation. Our risk management policies emphasize credit quality (primarily based on short-term ratings by nationally recognized statistical organizations) in selecting and maintaining our investments. We regularly assess market risk of our investments and believe our current policies and investment practices adequately limit those risks. However, certain of these investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. These market risks associated with our investment portfolio may have an adverse effect on our future results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
Of our $1.30 billion of cash and cash equivalents held at September 30, 2022, $584.6 million was held by our foreign subsidiaries. No short-term or long-term investments were held by our foreign subsidiaries at September 30, 2022.
We believe that cash available from operations, including our cash resources and access to credit, will be sufficient for our working capital needs, including purchase commitments for raw materials and inventory, increases in accounts receivable, payments of tax liabilities, expansion and development needs, purchases of capital assets, purchases of equipment, purchases of real property and purchases of shares of our common stock, through at least the next 12 months. Based on our current plans, at this time we estimate that capital expenditures (exclusive of common stock repurchases) are likely to be less than $200.0 million through September 30, 2023. However, future business opportunities may cause a change in this estimate.
Purchases of inventories, increases in accounts receivable and other assets, acquisition of property and equipment (including real property, personal property and coolers), leasehold improvements, advances for or the purchase of equipment for our bottlers, acquisition and maintenance of trademarks, payments of accounts payable, income taxes payable and purchases of our common stock are expected to remain our principal recurring use of cash.
The following summarizes our cash flows for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities
Investing activities
Financing activities
Cash flows provided by operating activities. Cash provided by operating activities was $589.2 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, as compared with cash provided by operating activities of $928.0 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
For the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to net income earned of $890.0 million and adjustments for certain non-cash expenses, consisting of $49.2 million of stock-based compensation and $51.2 million of depreciation and amortization and non-cash lease expense. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, cash provided by operating activities also increased due to a $52.7 million increase in accounts payable, an $89.2 million increase in accrued promotional allowances, a $29.7 million decrease in deferred income taxes and a $7.9 million decrease in prepaid income taxes. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to a $297.1 million increase in inventories, a $202.4 million increase in accounts receivable, a $39.2 million increase in prepaid expenses and other assets, a $16.1 million decrease in deferred revenue, a $12.8 million decrease in income taxes payable, a $2.6 million decrease in accrued liabilities, a $6.6 million decrease in accrued compensation and a $3.5 million decrease in other liabilities.
For the nine-months ended September 30, 2021, cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to net income earned of $1.06 billion and adjustments for certain non-cash expenses, consisting of $52.4 million of stock-based compensation and $40.7 million of depreciation and amortization and non-cash lease expense. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2021, cash provided by operating activities also increased due to a $106.6 million increase in accounts payable, a $51.0 million increase in accrued promotional allowances and a $39.4 million increase in accrued liabilities. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2021, cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to a $199.5 million increase in accounts receivable, a $149.4 million increase in inventories, a $41.2 million increase in prepaid expenses and other assets, a $17.8 million decrease in deferred revenue, a $7.4 million increase in prepaid income taxes and a $2.9 million decrease in accrued compensation.
Cash flows used in investing activities. Cash used in investing activities was $57.7 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to cash used in investing activities of $381.7 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021.
For both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, cash provided by investing activities was primarily attributable to sales of available-for-sale investments. For the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, cash used in investing activities included $329.5 million net of cash acquired, related to the CANarchy Transaction. For both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, cash used in investing activities was primarily attributable to purchases of available-for-sale investments. To a lesser extent, for both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, cash used in investing activities also included the acquisitions of fixed assets consisting of vans and promotional vehicles, coolers and other equipment to support our marketing and promotional activities, production equipment, furniture and fixtures, office and computer equipment, computer software, equipment used for sales and administrative activities, certain leasehold improvements, as well as acquisitions of and/or improvements to real property. We expect to continue to use a portion of our cash in excess of our requirements for operations for purchasing short-term and long-term investments, leasehold improvements, the acquisition of capital equipment (specifically, vans, trucks and promotional vehicles, coolers, other promotional equipment, merchandise displays, warehousing racks as well as items of production equipment required to produce certain of our existing and/or new products) to develop our brand in international markets and for other corporate purposes. From time to time, we may also use cash to purchase additional real property related to our beverage business and/or acquire compatible businesses.
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Cash flow (used in) provided by financing activities. Cash used in financing activities was $459.3 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to cash provided by financing activities of $21.5 million for the nine-months ended September 30, 2021. The cash used in financing activities for both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was primarily the result of the repurchases of our common stock. The cash provided by financing activities for both the nine-months ended September 30, 2022, and 2021 was primarily attributable to the issuance of our common stock under our stock-based compensation plans and borrowings on debt.
The following represents a summary of the Company’s contractual commitments and related scheduled maturities as of September 30, 2022:
Payments due by period (in thousands)
Less than
1‑3
3‑5
More than
Obligations
1 year
years
5 years
Contractual Obligations1
338,929
276,696
61,370
863
927
8,047
11,951
7,895
13,124
Purchase Commitments2
275,511
264,235
9,944
1,332
656,434
549,905
83,310
10,095
1Contractual obligations include our obligations related to sponsorships and other commitments.
2Purchase commitments include obligations made by us and our subsidiaries to various suppliers for raw materials used in the production of our products. These obligations vary in terms, but are generally satisfied within one year.
In addition, approximately $2.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits have been recorded as liabilities as of September 30, 2022. It is expected that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits will not significantly change within the next 12 months. As of September 30, 2022, we had $0.4 million of accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our consolidated financial statements. Critical accounting estimates are those that management believes are the most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results and require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain and that have had, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Judgments and uncertainties may result in materially different amounts being reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies or estimates from the information provided in “Part II, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Part II, Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 1 – Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“Form 10-K”).
Inflation
Inflation had a negative impact on our results of operations for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022, leading to increased cost of sales and operating expenses. To mitigate the impact of inflation, we implemented a price increase effective September 1, 2022 in the United States and continue to implement price increases in certain international markets where feasible.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this report may constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) (the “Exchange Act”) regarding the expectations of management with respect to revenues, profitability, adequacy of funds from operations and our existing credit facility, among other things. All statements containing a projection of revenues, income (loss), earnings (loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, a statement of management’s plans and objectives for future operations, or a statement of future economic performance contained in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, including statements related to new products, volume growth and statements encompassing general optimism about future operating results and non-historical information, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Exchange Act. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “thinks,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Management cautions that these statements are qualified by their terms and/or important factors, many of which are outside our control, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from the statements made including, but not limited to, the following:
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The foregoing list of important factors and other risks detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the SEC is not exhaustive. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K and in Item 1A of this Quarterly Report for a more complete discussion of these risks and uncertainties and for other risks and uncertainties. Those factors and the other risk factors described therein are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed in any of our forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could harm our results. Consequently, our actual results could be materially different from the results described or anticipated by our forward-looking statements, due to the inherent uncertainty of estimates, forecasts and projections and may be better or worse than anticipated. Given these uncertainties, you should not rely on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date that they were made. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to forward-looking statements, and the estimates and assumptions associated with them, after the date of this report, in order to reflect changes in circumstances or expectations or the occurrence of unanticipated events except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
There have been no material changes in our market risks during the three-months ended September 30, 2022 compared with the disclosures in Part II, Item 7A of our Form 10-K.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures – Under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including our Co-Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13(a)-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon this evaluation, the Co-Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are adequate and effective to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in rules and forms of the SEC and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting – There were no changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2022, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements - Note 12. Commitments and Contingencies: Litigation in Part I, Item 1, of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS
In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, you should carefully consider the risks discussed in “Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K, as updated and supplemented in “Part II, Item 1A – Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. If any of these risks occur or continue to occur, our business, reputation, financial condition and/or operating results could be materially adversely affected. We also note that the risk factors described in our Form 10-K and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 are not the only risks facing our Company, and such additional risks or uncertainties that we currently deem to be immaterial or are unknown to us could negatively impact our business, operations, or financial results.
ITEM 2.
UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
On March 13, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $500.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “March 2020 Repurchase Plan”). During the three-months ended September 30, 2022, the Company purchased approximately 1.8 million shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $87.55 per share, for a total amount of approximately $157.4 million (excluding broker commissions), which exhausted the availability under the March 2020 Repurchase Plan. Such shares are included in the common stock in treasury in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2022.
The following tabular summary reflects the Company’s repurchase activity during the quarter ended September 30, 2022:
Maximum Number (or
Total Number of
Approximate Dollar
Shares Purchased
Value) of Shares that
Total Number
as Part of Publicly
May Yet Be Purchased
of Shares
Average Price
Announced Plans
Under the Plans or Programs (In
Period
Purchased
per Share¹
or Programs
thousands)²
Jul 1 – Jul 31, 2022
657,426
Aug 1 – Aug 31, 2022
Sept 1 – Sept 30, 2022
3,108,500
87.78
384,500
¹Excluding broker commissions paid.
²Net of broker commissions paid.
ITEM 3.DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.
ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
ITEM 5.OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 6.EXHIBITS
31.1*
Certification of Co-Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*
31.3*
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1*
Certification of Co-Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2*
32.3*
Certification by Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted
101*
The following financial information from Monster Beverage Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, formatted in iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three-and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, (v) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, and (vi) the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
104*
The cover page from Monster Beverage Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, formatted in iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) and contained in Exhibit 101.
* Filed herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Registrant
Date: November 4, 2022
/s/ RODNEY C. SACKS
Rodney C. Sacks
Chairman of the Board of Directors
and Co-Chief Executive Officer
/s/ HILTON H. SCHLOSBERG
Hilton H. Schlosberg
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors