Celsius shares fall Friday after Deutsche Bank downgrade to Hold

Celsius Holdings Inc. shares traded lower Friday afternoon as investors continued to weigh concerns that the energy drink maker's business recovery could take longer than expected. Here's what investors need to know.

Celsius Holdings shares are under pressure. What's dragging CELH stock lower?

Deutsche Bank downgrades stock to Hold, pushes recovery timeline to 2027

Friday's selling pressure extended Thursday's decline, following Deutsche Bank's downgrade of Celsius from Buy to Hold, while maintaining a $35 price target.

In a research note, the firm said core business trends weakened in the second quarter, with revenue and margins missing expectations, and management pushed the timeline for meaningful sales improvement to fiscal 2027.

Deutsche Bank warned that investor expectations are running ahead of tangible signs of a turnaround, after Bernstein and Maxim also cut their ratings earlier this month following weak second-quarter results.

Management commentary highlights long-term strategy amid optimization efforts

Wall Street's cautious tone followed Celsius Holdings' second-quarter earnings report, in which Chairman and CEO John Fieldly discussed the company's efforts to streamline its core product portfolio while expanding its broader beverage platform:

"In the second quarter of 2026, we made substantial progress in building Celsius Holdings into a scaled leading brand portfolio. We delivered double-digit revenue growth in the second quarter, completed the Rockstar integration, and maintained gross margins near first-quarter levels... Regarding our optimization initiatives, we remain focused on improving product portfolio productivity and strengthening execution to restore Celsius brands to sustainable growth."

CELH shares slip further Friday afternoon

CELH price action: Celsius Holdings shares were down 2.49% at $32.17 as of Friday afternoon.