New York, April 29, 2026, 15:06 (EDT)
- Vita Coco bumped up its 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA forecasts, following a 37% jump in net sales during the first quarter.
- COCO shares surged roughly 27% Wednesday afternoon, as investors piled in following the company’s earnings beat.
- Cadence is the risk here—promotion timing, tariffs, and a heavy dependence on just a handful of major customers are all baked into these numbers.
Shares of The Vita Coco Company jumped Wednesday, with the coconut water maker posting a first-quarter beat and lifting its full-year outlook—offering investors a stronger growth narrative than before the results. COCO was up 26.8% at $65.49 on the Nasdaq during afternoon trading, following an earlier intraday peak at $66.59.
This is notable, given Vita Coco was already hovering near its highs. The latest results handed traders new proof: coconut water demand is still outpacing the broader packaged-drinks sector. First-quarter net sales climbed to $180 million, a 37% jump, with sales of Vita Coco Coconut Water itself surging 42%, according to the company.
Vita Coco posted diluted EPS of $0.50, jumping from $0.31 last year. Analysts polled by MarketBeat were looking for $0.34 a share and $147.39 million in revenue—Vita Coco easily cleared those bars this quarter.
The company bumped up its 2026 net sales forecast to a range of $720 million to $735 million, compared with the earlier outlook of $680 million to $700 million. It also raised its guidance for adjusted EBITDA, now targeting $132 million to $138 million, from a previous range of $122 million to $128 million. Adjusted EBITDA strips out interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Vita Coco co-founder and executive chairman Michael Kirban said he was “very proud” of how 2026 kicked off, highlighting what he called “global momentum” for both the brand and its category. CEO Martin Roper credited the quarterly results to “very strong branded retail growth” along with the boost from well-timed promotions. GlobeNewswire
The filing spelled out what was driving the numbers. Vita Coco Coconut Water saw net sales climb 41.6%, powered by a 32% jump in case equivalents—a metric using 12 bottles at 330ml each as the baseline. International net sales shot up 72.5%. The Americas, by comparison, posted a 31.6% gain.
Margins moved higher too. Gross margin climbed to 39.9%, up from 36.7%, with pricing power and cheaper ocean freight offsetting increased costs for finished goods, domestic logistics, and tariffs. Net income attributable to Vita Coco landed at $30.5 million.
Robert Ottenstein at Evercore ISI bumped his Vita Coco price target to $75 from $70 following the latest numbers, StreetInsider reported. Over at Investing.com, Evercore’s Outperform rating stood, with the firm highlighting that sales and adjusted EBITDA cleared Street forecasts.
Competition hasn’t eased. Vita Coco counts giants like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé among its rivals in the vast non-alcoholic drink space. In coconut water, names like Goya and Harmless Harvest are also in the mix. According to its annual filing, Vita Coco captured over 40% of the U.S. coconut water market for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2025.
Still, there were some flags in the numbers. Vita Coco disclosed that two buyers made up 46% of its net sales for the first quarter, while nearly half of its purchases—49%—came from just three suppliers. The company also noted its tariff refund claims, filed in April, remain unresolved. No recoveries have been reflected in the books yet.
Vita Coco finished March holding $201.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. There were no borrowings on its $60 million credit line. The company also bought back $11.5 million worth of its own shares during the first quarter.
The next question: will demand stick around once those early promos lose steam and summer sales heat up? Right now, Vita Coco isn’t trading like a niche coconut water play—it’s acting more like a smaller beverage stock that’s managed to carve out a faster growth track.
