Why Celsius (CELH) Stock Is Surging Today – August 7, 2026

Rockstar Energy founder Russ Savage has taken a roughly 4.7% stake in Celsius Holdings (CELH) and is now publicly calling for major leadership changes after the energy drink company's disappointing second-quarter results. Savage told CNBC that he owns more than 12 million Celsius shares, worth about $300 million at current prices, and believes CEO John Fieldly should be replaced. He also said that he would be willing to take over the job himself. As a result, shares surged at the time of writing.

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Unsurprisingly, Savage knows the energy drink business well. He founded Rockstar in 2001 and later sold it to PepsiCo (PEP) for more than $4 billion. According to Savage, he has been giving Celsius advice for more than a year, especially around costs and marketing. However, he now believes that the company's problems have become serious enough that new leadership is needed.

His criticism came after Celsius shares fell by 18% on Thursday. For context, second-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $0.36 per share, below the $0.43 Wall Street expected. Meanwhile, revenue reached $817.9 million, also missing the $870 million estimate.

Shelf-Space Issues

Management blamed part of the weakness on a decision to reduce the number of products on shelves while preparing for newer offerings. Celsius is also working through the integration of Alani Nu, which it bought for $1.8 billion, alongside the U.S. and Canadian Rockstar business that it acquired from Pepsi last year. Importantly, Savage sees that shelf-space issue as especially dangerous.

In his view, once an energy drink loses space in stores, competitors such as Monster (MNST) or Red Bull can quickly take it, thereby making it difficult to recover.

Celsius pushed back by saying that demand remains resilient and that management is focused on long-term growth. Still, Savage argues that the company has too many layers of management and not enough accountability. After buying his latest position when shares were around the low-$30 range, he says he still sees value in Celsius, but now believes fixing the business may require a leadership overhaul.

Is CELH Stock a Good Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on CELH stock based on 15 Buys, two Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CELH price target of $43.60 per share implies 63% upside potential. (See CELH Stock Forecast).