Critical Analysis: Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) and Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) and Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.4% of Monster Beverage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.5% of Molson Coors Beverage shares are held by institutional investors. 8.1% of Monster Beverage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Molson Coors Beverage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Monster Beverage and Molson Coors Beverage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Monster Beverage	23.08%	26.02%	21.21%
Molson Coors Beverage	-17.83%	9.46%	4.25%

Volatility and Risk

Monster Beverage has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Molson Coors Beverage has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Monster Beverage and Molson Coors Beverage, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Monster Beverage	0	9	13	0	2.59
Molson Coors Beverage	4	11	4	0	2.00

Monster Beverage presently has a consensus price target of $50.10, suggesting a potential upside of 15.15%. Molson Coors Beverage has a consensus price target of $43.88, suggesting a potential upside of 20.05%. Given Molson Coors Beverage’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Molson Coors Beverage is more favorable than Monster Beverage.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Monster Beverage and Molson Coors Beverage”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Monster Beverage	$8.29 billion	10.28	$1.91 billion	$1.08	40.29
Molson Coors Beverage	$13.04 billion	0.53	-$2.14 billion	($11.54)	-3.17

Monster Beverage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Molson Coors Beverage. Molson Coors Beverage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Monster Beverage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Monster Beverage beats Molson Coors Beverage on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other. It offers carbonated non-carbonated energy drinks, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages. The company sells its products to full service beverage bottlers/distributors, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers, and the military; and concentrates and/or beverage bases to authorized bottling and canning operations. It provides its products under the Monster Energy, Monster Energy Ultra, Monster Rehab, Monster Energy Nitro, Java Monster, Punch Monster, Juice Monster, Muscle Monster, Espresso Monster, Monster Tour Water, Fury, Monster MAXX, Caffe Monster, Monster Hydro, Monster HydroSport Super Fuel, Monster Dragon Tea, Reign Total Body Fuel, and Reign Inferno Thermogenic Fuel, Reign Storm, Bang Energy, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, Mother, Nalu, Ultra Energy, Play and Power Play (stylized), Relentless, BPM, BU, Gladiator, Samurai, Live+, Predator, and Fury brands. The company was formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in January 2012. Monster Beverage Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Corona, California.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages. It provides its products under Aspall Cider, Blue Moon, Coors Original, Five Trail, Hop Valley brands, Leinenkugel’s, Madri, Miller Genuine Draft, Molson Ultra, Sharp’s, Staropramen, and Vizzy Hard Seltzer above premier brands; Bergenbier, Borsodi, Carling, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Jelen, Kamenitza, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, and Niksicko, Ozujsko under the premium brands; and Branik, Icehouse, Keystone, Miller High Life, Milwaukee’s Best, and Steel Reserve under the economy brands. The company was formerly known as Molson Coors Brewing Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Beverage Company in January 2020. Molson Coors Beverage Company was founded in 1774 and is based in Golden, Colorado.