Monster Beverage Shares Rally On Earnings, Stock Buyback Plan

Shares of Monster Beverage Corp. rallied in Wednesday's extended session after the energy drink maker posted higher earnings and announced a new $500 million stock repurchase plan. Monster reported its fourth-quarter earnings rose to $172.9 million, or 30 cents a share, from $138.7 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. The company said its bottom line was negatively impacted by $46.3 million in distribution termination fees. Revenue increased to $753.8 million from $645.4 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 30 cents on revenue of $724 million. Shares gained more than 6% after hours.