CELH Stock Heads For A Weekly Loss: Deutsche Bank Downgrades Celsius, Says 'Expectations Are Rising Faster Than Evidence'

Deutsche Bank highlighted weak second-quarter results, stalled brand recovery, and ongoing headwinds for Celsius.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Celsius to Hold from Buy, citing weaker Q2 results.
• Deutsche Bank now expects Celsius’ recovery to take until fiscal 2027, saying investors are more optimistic than the company’s current results justify. 
• Bernstein and Maxim also downgraded Celsius after weak Q2 results earlier this month. 

Celsius Holdings Inc. (CELH) is heading for a weekly decline after Deutsche Bank downgraded the energy drink maker, pointing to weaker business trends and a recovery that appears farther away than previously expected.

Celsius’ Core Business Under Pressure

Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers downgraded Celsius to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ but kept the $35 price target, which suggests about 6% upside. He said growing business problems could make it harder for Celsius to return to strong growth quickly. Deutsche Bank said Celsius’ business weakened further in Q2 2026, with revenue and earnings falling short of expectations and raising concerns about demand and profitability.  

The company has also shifted expectations for when the business can deliver a meaningful improvement, with the recovery now pushed toward fiscal 2027. That shift has made Deutsche Bank less convinced Celsius can return to stronger growth quickly.

In its note, Deutsche Bank said "expectations are rising faster than evidence," highlighting the widening gap between anticipated improvement and the results seen so far. Celsius Holdings stock inched 0.1% higher in Friday’s premarket. The stock has dropped more than 1% this week, reversing two straight weeks of gains. 

Celsius’ Brand Recovery Remains Elusive 

Earlier this month, Bernstein also downgraded Celsius to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ and cut its price target to $26 from $40, implying a 21% downside to the stock’s last closing price. The firm was surprised by Celsius’ weak Q2 results. It said Alani’s market-share gains have stalled, overall category growth remains weak, and the Celsius brand has yet to show a clear recovery, limiting the stock’s upside. 

Also, Maxim downgraded Celsius to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ and removed its price target following weaker-than-expected Q2 revenue, gross margin and EPS. The firm still sees potential in Celsius’ energy drink portfolio but expects weakness in the club channel and continued pressure on the Celsius brand. Maxim believes these challenges could continue until new products launch more fully in 2027.

CELH Stock: Retail Stance 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained in ‘bearish’ territory. The stock saw a 31.2% increase in message volume over the past month with a 2.3% rise in watchers. 

A user said, “ugly day but I dont mind this going down. Will pick up  few hundred more shares if we keep going down. Long hold anyways.”

CELH stock has cratered nearly 28% year-to-date. 

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