Rockstar Energy founder builds Celsius stake, wants to become CEO

Key Points:

• Billionaire Russ Savage, founder of Rockstar Energy, has acquired over 12 million shares of Celsius Holdings, representing about 4.7% of the company, and is calling for the removal of Celsius' CEO and other top executives following a disappointing earnings report.
• Celsius shares dropped 18% after missing second-quarter earnings expectations, with revenue and net income falling short, partly due to product rationalization and integration challenges from recent acquisitions including Alani Nu and Rockstar brands.
• Savage criticized Celsius' management structure as overly complex and costly, advocating for a single decisive leader to drive accountability and efficiency, and has publicly offered to take over as CEO to turn the company around.
• Celsius responded by emphasizing ongoing demand and engagement with Savage over several years, expressing openness to shareholder ideas while focusing on long-term growth through its energy drink portfolio.
• Savage began increasing his Celsius stake in March, viewing the stock as undervalued, but attributes continued share price declines to management errors and is actively pushing for strategic changes to restore value.