Monster Beverage (MNST) Risk Factors

Many of our bottlers/distributors are affiliated with and manufacture and/or distribute other carbonated, non-carbonated, non-alcohol, alcohol and other beverage products. In many cases, such products compete directly with our products. Unilateral decisions by bottlers/distributors, buying groups, convenience and gas chains, grocery chains, mass merchandisers, specialty chain stores, club stores, e-commerce retailers, e-commerce websites and/or other customers, including retailer disagreements with our bottlers/distributors, to discontinue carrying all or any of our products that they are carrying at any time, restrict the range of our products they carry, impose restrictions or limitations on the sale of our products and/or the sizes of containers of our products and/or devote less resources to the sale of our products could cause our business to suffer. Moreover, competitors', consumers' or others' attempts to persuade regulators, retailers, and/or customers in certain countries to reduce the permitted or maximum container sizes for our products from those currently being sold and marketed by us could negatively impact our business. In addition, possible trading disputes between our bottler/distributors and their customers or buying groups may result in the delisting of certain of the Company's products, temporarily or otherwise. Bottler/distributor consolidation may also have an adverse impact on our business. The TCCC North American Bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola Amatil, Swire Coca-Cola (China), COFCO Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and Coca-Cola Içecek are our primary domestic and international distributors of our non-alcohol products. We also sell our alcohol beverages to certain beer distributors through generally separate distribution networks for distribution to retailers. As a result, if we are unable to maintain good relationships with these bottlers/distributors, if changes in control or ownership occur within the current distribution network, or if they do not effectively focus on marketing, promoting, selling and/or distributing our products, sales of our products could be adversely affected. A decision by any large customer to decrease the amount purchased from us or to cease carrying our products could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and consolidated results of operations. The marketing efforts of our bottlers/distributors are important to our success. If our brands prove to be less attractive to our existing bottlers/distributors, if we fail to attract additional bottlers/distributors, and/or our bottlers/distributors do not market, promote and/or distribute our products effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Disruption in distribution channels and/or a decline in sales due to the termination and/or insolvency of existing or new bottlers/distributors may adversely affect our business and operating results. In particular, if we are unable to transition distribution agreements in our Alcohol Brands segment, we may face increased costs to change distributors for our alcohol beverages. No assurance can be given that we will be able to maintain our current distribution network or secure additional distributors on terms not less favorable to us than our current arrangements.

We are subject to income and other taxes in both the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. Therefore, we are subject to audits for multiple tax years in various jurisdictions at once. We are in various stages of examination with certain states and certain foreign jurisdictions. Our 2020 through 2022 U.S. federal income tax returns are subject to examination by the IRS. Our state income tax returns are subject to examination for the 2019 through 2022 tax years. The United Kingdom and Ireland income tax returns are subject to examination for the 2019 through 2022 tax years. At any given time, events may occur which change our expectation about how any such tax audits will be resolved, and thus, there could be significant variability in our quarterly and/or annual tax rates, because these events may change our plans for uncertain tax positions. Changes in U.S. tax laws as a result of any legislation proposed by a new U.S. Presidential Administration or U.S. Congress, which may include efforts to change or repeal the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the federal corporate income tax rate reduction, could adversely affect our provision for income taxes, resulting in an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, changes in the manner in which U.S. multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings, including changes in how existing tax laws are interpreted or enforced, could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. For example, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD") has recommended changes to numerous long-standing international tax principles through its base erosion and profit shifting ("BEPS") project. These changes, to the extent adopted, may increase tax uncertainty, result in higher compliance costs and adversely affect our provision for income taxes, results of operations and/or cash flow. In connection with the OECD's BEPS project, companies are required to disclose more information to tax authorities on operations around the world, which may lead to greater audit scrutiny of profits earned in various countries. Economic and political pressures to increase tax revenues in jurisdictions in which we operate, or the adoption of new or reformed tax legislation or regulation, may make resolving tax disputes more difficult, and the final resolution of tax audits and any related litigation could differ from our historical provisions and accruals, resulting in an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our business is dependent, to a large extent, upon the services of our workforce. We do not maintain key person life insurance on any members of our senior management. The loss of services of either Rodney Sacks, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Hilton Schlosberg, Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, or any other key members of our senior management could adversely affect our business until suitable replacements can be found. There may be a limited number of personnel with the requisite skills to serve in these positions, and we may be unable to locate or employ such qualified personnel on acceptable terms.

In 2023, we continued to outsource manufacturing of most of our non-alcohol finished goods to bottlers and other contract packers. As a result, in the event of a disruption and/or delay, and/or demand exceeding forecasted demand, we may be unable to procure alternative packing facilities at commercially reasonable rates and/or within a reasonably short time period. In addition, there are limited alternative packing facilities in our domestic and international markets with adequate capacity and/or suitable equipment for many of our products. For example, in 2022, sales of many of our product lines continued to be adversely impacted by production capacity constraints as a result of above forecast consumer demand. A lengthy disruption or delay in the production of any of our products could significantly adversely affect, and has adversely affected, our revenues from and/or costs of such products, because alternative co-packing facilities in the United States and abroad with adequate long-term capacity may not be available for such products either at commercially reasonable rates and/or costs, within a reasonably short time period and/or within a geographically cost effective distance, if at all. In addition, in recent years, there has been a consolidation of co-packers, leading us to increasingly rely on fewer co-packing groups, certain of which account for a large percentage of our co-packing capacity for our Monster Energy drinks. If we are unable to maintain good relationships with our largest co-packers, or if our costs of co-packing increase, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Global economic uncertainties, including highly inflationary economies and foreign currency exchange rates and rising interest rates, affect businesses such as ours in a number of ways, making it difficult to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities. There can be no assurance that economic improvements will occur, or that they would be sustainable, or that they would enhance conditions in markets relevant to us. In addition, we cannot predict the duration and severity of disruptions in any of our markets or the impact they may have on our customers or business, as our expansion outside of the United States has increased our exposure to any developments or crises in African, Asian, Central and South American, European, Middle Eastern and other international markets. Unfavorable economic conditions and financial uncertainties in our major international markets, including economic slowdowns and recessions, and unstable political conditions, including civil unrest and governmental changes, in certain of our other international markets could undermine global consumer confidence and reduce consumers' purchasing power, thereby reducing demand for our products. The foregoing also includes the military conflicts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza as well as tensions in the Middle East in general and tensions across the Taiwan Straits and any increased economic uncertainty and volatility in commodity prices that it poses.

We have continued expanding our energy drink operations internationally into a variety of new markets. Our net sales to customers outside of the United States were approximately 38%, 37% and 37% of consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As our growth strategy includes further expanding our international business, if we are unable to continue to expand distribution of our products or maintain consumer demand outside the United States, our growth rate could be adversely affected. In many international markets, we have limited operating experience and in some international markets we have no operating experience. It is costly to establish, develop and maintain international operations and develop and promote our brands in international markets. Our percentage gross profit margins in many international markets are expected to be less than the comparable percentage gross profit margins obtained in the United States. We face and will continue to face substantial risks associated with having foreign operations, including, but not limited to: economic and/or political instability in our international markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; restrictions on or costs relating to the repatriation of foreign profits to the United States, including possible taxes and/or withholding obligations on any repatriations; and tariffs and/or trade restrictions. These risks could have a significant impact on our ability to sell our products on a competitive basis in international markets and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, our operations outside of the United States are subject to risks relating to appropriate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in local jurisdictions, potential difficulties in staffing and managing local operations, higher rates of product damages, particularly when products are shipped long distances, potentially higher incidence of fraud and/or corruption, credit risk of local customers and distributors and potentially adverse tax consequences.

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to our sales, expenses, profits, assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We enter 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. We have not used instruments to hedge against all foreign currency risks and are therefore not protected against all foreign currency fluctuations. As a result, our reported earnings may be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Moreover, any favorable impacts to profit margins or financial results from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates are likely to be unsustainable over time. The current relative strength of the U.S. dollar has impacted our results of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, aggregate foreign currency transaction gains (losses), including the gains or losses on forward currency exchange contracts, amounted to ($60.2) million, ($37.9) million and $0.3 million, respectively.

We own numerous trademarks that are very important to our business. We also own the copyright in, and to, a portion of the content on the packaging of our products. We regard our trademarks, copyrights and similar intellectual property as critical to our success and attempt to protect such intellectual property through registration and enforcement actions. However, there can be no assurance that other parties will not infringe or misappropriate our trademarks, copyrights and similar proprietary rights. We also have been, and may in the future be, unable to use our trademarks, trade names or designs and/or trade dress in certain countries, which may impact sales of the affected brands and require increased expenditures, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Information technology, including the Internet and third-party hosted services, enables us to operate efficiently, manage our procurement, supply chain and employee processes, interface with customers, maintain financial accuracy and efficiency and accurately produce our financial statements. If we do not appropriately allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology infrastructure, we could be subject to transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of customers, business disruptions, and/or the loss of and/or damage to intellectual property through security breaches, including internal and external cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity attacks may be difficult to detect for periods of time, and include, but are not limited to, malicious software (malware, ransomware and viruses), phishing and social engineering, attempts to gain unauthorized access to networks, computer systems and data, malicious or negligent actions of employees (including misuse of information they are entitled to access), cyber extortion, electronic or wire fraud, and other forms of electronic security breaches. These incidents may be caused by failures during routine operations, such as system upgrades, or by user errors, as well as network or hardware failures, malicious or disruptive software, unintentional or malicious actions of employees or contractors, cyberattacks by hackers, criminal groups or nation-state organizations (which may include social engineering, business email compromise, cyber extortion, denial of service, or attempts to exploit vulnerabilities, such as phishing), geopolitical events, natural disasters, failures or impairments of telecommunications networks, or other catastrophic events.  Such attacks could lead to disruptions in or loss of access to our data or business systems; an inability to process customer orders and/or lost customer orders; unauthorized release of confidential, proprietary or otherwise protected information belonging to us or our employees, customers, consumers, partners, or suppliers; lost revenues or other costs due to office, plant, production, warehouse or other facility disruption or shutdown; additional expenses, including the cost of remediating incidents or improving security measures, increased insurance costs, and/or ransomware payments; and corruption of data. Any such consequences could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.  We also may suffer reputational damage because of lost or misappropriated confidential or proprietary information belonging to us, or employees, customers, suppliers or other third party service providers and may become exposed to legal action and increased regulatory oversight, including governmental inquiries, investigations, enforcement actions and regulatory fines. Although we maintain insurance coverage that may, subject to the policy's terms and conditions, cover certain aspects of a breach or disruption, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses. In addition, the scope and severity of cyber threats, in particular the use of ransomware attacks, are increasing. Due to such constant evolving nature and methods of security threats, we cannot predict the form and nature of any future incident, and the cost and operational expense of implementing, maintaining and enhancing protective measures to guard against increasingly complex and sophisticated cyber threats could increase significantly. Moreover, if our data management systems, including our SAP enterprise resource planning system, do not effectively collect, store, process and report relevant data for the operation of our business (whether due to equipment malfunction or constraints, software deficiencies, cybersecurity attack and/or human error), our ability to effectively plan, forecast and execute our business plan and comply with applicable laws and regulations will be impaired, perhaps materially. Any such impairment could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and the timeliness with which we report our internal and external operating results. We rely on relationships with third parties, including suppliers, distributors, bottlers, contract packers, contractors, cloud data storage and other information technology service providers and other external business partners, for certain functions or for services in support of our operations. These third-party service providers and partners, with whom we may share data, are subject to similar risks as we are relating to cybersecurity, privacy violations, business interruption, and systems, as well as employee failures. While we have procedures in place for selecting and managing our relationships with third-party service providers and other business partners, we do not have control over their business operations or governance and compliance systems, practices and procedures, and our management of multiple third party service providers increases our operational complexity.  If we fail to adequately monitor our third party service providers' and partners' performance, including for compliance with regulatory and legal requirements, we may have to incur additional costs to correct errors, our reputation could be harmed or we could be subject to litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations.  These risks may also be present if our third party service providers and partners use separate information systems that are not integrated with our systems and suffer a cybersecurity incident. These risks are also present in acquired businesses, joint ventures or companies that we invest in or partner with that use separate information systems or have not yet been fully integrated into our information systems. Third parties may experience cybersecurity incidents that may involve data we share with them or rely on them to provide to us, and the need to coordinate with such third-parties, including with respect to timely notification and access to personnel and information concerning an incident, may complicate our efforts to resolve any issues that arise.  As a result, we are subject to the risk that the activities associated with our third party service providers and partners will adversely affect our business, even if the cyber incident does not directly impact our systems or information.