(Reuters) – Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:) missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter sales on Thursday as higher cost of living weighed on demand for its pricier energy drinks and alcohol brands, sending its shares down 3.4% after the bell.
Consumers have curbed non-essential spending as disposable incomes remain pressured by rising interest rates and higher food prices.
Like Coca-Cola (NYSE:) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:), Monster Beverage also implemented price hikes as it fights pressures from higher raw material costs and labor expenses.
This coupled with easing cost of freight and aluminum cans from pandemic-highs helped the company post second-quarter gross profit as a percentage of net sales of about 52.5%, compared with 47.1%, a year ago.
Still, operating expenses rose to $450.4 million from $406.9 million a year ago.
Net sales rose to $1.85 billion from $1.66 billion a year ago, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.87 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Monster Beverage’s profit of 39 cents came in line with expectations.