KO vs MNST Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Coca-Cola and Monster Beverage are strategic partners as well as comparison candidates, with Coca-Cola offering a globally diversified, mature beverage portfolio with steady dividend growth, while Monster Beverage offers concentrated, higher-growth exposure to the global energy drink category, distributed through Coca-Cola's own bottler network.
Coca-Cola offers diversified, mature beverage exposure with reliable dividend growth, while Monster Beverage offers more concentrated, historically faster-growing exposure to the energy drink category without Coca-Cola's dividend track record. Consider whether you prefer Coca-Cola's diversified stability or Monster's category-focused growth profile.
KO holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. KO leads on both 1-year return (+27.66%) and forward P/E quality (25.43x vs 33.48x for MNST), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, MNST is growing revenue faster (20.20%), while KO maintains the higher operating margin (34.87%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for MNST (+14.70%) than for KO (+5.62%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to the world's largest, most diversified beverage company with global brand and distribution scale
- Value Coca-Cola's asset-light concentrate business model and durable free cash flow generation
- Prioritize a long, uninterrupted track record of annual dividend increases
- Prefer a defensive, income-oriented consumer staples holding over a higher-growth, narrower category bet
- Want concentrated exposure to the structurally growing global energy drink category
- Value Monster's ability to leverage Coca-Cola's bottler distribution network without owning that infrastructure
- Are comfortable with a narrower, single-category revenue base than Coca-Cola's diversified portfolio
- Prioritize category growth potential over an established dividend track record
| Metric | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 51.7 | 40.3 |
| AI ranki | #425 | #1114 |
| Latest closei | $88.07 | $43.82 |
| 1M returni | +1.43% | -53.61% |
| 6M returni | +14.33% | -42.87% |
| 1Y returni | +27.66% | -31.00% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.9K (+29.0%) started 2025-09-04 | $6.91K (-30.9%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $19.95K (+99.5%) started 2021-09-07 | $9.21K (-7.9%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $36.47K (+264.7%) started 2016-09-06 | $17.09K (+70.9%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $385.77B | $85.85B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 26.92 | 40.57 |
| Forward P/Ei | 25.43 | 33.48 |
| Price/Salesi | 6.55 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 8.29 | 8.95 |
| Analyst targeti | $94.70 | $50.26 |
| Target upsidei | +5.62% | +14.70% |
| Metric | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 6.70% | 20.20% |
| Earnings growthi | 16.90% | 18.00% |
| EPS growthi | +16.90% | +18.00% |
| FCF margini | +10.41% | +18.24% |
| Operating margini | 34.87% | 29.18% |
| Profit margini | 28.56% | 23.08% |
| ROIC proxyi | 42.05% | 25.70% |
| Return on equityi | 42.05% | 25.70% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.36% | N/A |
| Betai | 0.34 | 0.52 |
| Debt/equityi | 115.52 | 0.99 |
| Current ratioi | 1.30 | 3.73 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.80 | 3.10 |
Over the past year, KO and MNST have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.22), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +29.04% | -30.94% |
| CAGRi | +29.09% | -30.97% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.80% | 56.82% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.21 | -0.33 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.00 | -0.35 | |
| Max drawdowni | 8.50% | 56.15% | |
| Current drawdowni | 4.26% | 56.15% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 2.82% | 7.50% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 3.59% | 15.85% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.96% | 50.20% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 5.54% | 51.66% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +77.11% | -7.92% |
| CAGRi | +12.13% | -1.64% | |
| Volatilityi | 16.72% | 33.53% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.50 | 0.03 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.73 | 0.03 | |
| Max drawdowni | 17.27% | 56.15% | |
| Current drawdowni | 4.26% | 56.15% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.74% | 8.24% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 6.07% | 11.75% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.96% | 50.20% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 7.43% | 51.66% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +165.35% | +70.87% |
| CAGRi | +10.26% | +5.51% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.47% | 30.82% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.38 | 0.20 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.53 | 0.26 | |
| Max drawdowni | 36.99% | 56.15% | |
| Current drawdowni | 4.26% | 56.15% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.62% | 8.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.87% | 11.98% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.67% | 50.20% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.98% | 51.66% |
| Category | KO | MNST |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Coca-Cola Company | Monster Beverage Corporation |
| Sector | Consumer Defensive | Consumer Defensive |
| Industry | Beverages - Non-Alcoholic | Beverages - Non-Alcoholic |
| Core business | The world's largest beverage company, marketing a portfolio of sparkling soft drinks, water, juice, and other beverages across more than 200 countries through a global bottler network, and a strategic partner and shareholder of Monster Beverage. | A leading global energy drink company that markets Monster Energy and other energy drink brands, distributed largely through a strategic partnership with Coca-Cola's bottler system. |
| Investor focus | Organic revenue growth (price/mix and volume), international market expansion, bottler system economics, and consistent dividend growth. | Energy drink category volume growth, international expansion, pricing power, and gross margin trends tied to input costs like aluminum. |
- Unmatched global brand portfolio and distribution scale spanning more than 200 countries and territories
- Asset-light concentrate business model, with bottling largely handled by an independent global bottler network
- Long, uninterrupted history of annual dividend increases supported by durable free cash flow generation
- Leading position in the large, structurally growing global energy drink category
- Benefits from distribution through Coca-Cola's extensive global bottler network, providing scale without owning the infrastructure
- Strong brand recognition and pricing power within the energy drink category
- Volume growth in mature developed markets is limited, making price/mix and emerging market growth key drivers
- Shifting consumer preferences away from sugary carbonated beverages create long-term category headwinds
- Currency translation from extensive international operations can create earnings volatility
- Much smaller and more narrowly focused than Coca-Cola, with revenue concentrated in a single beverage category
- Faces intensifying competition in the energy drink category from both established beverage companies and new entrants
- Input cost volatility, particularly aluminum can pricing, can pressure gross margins
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