Vita Coco lifts 2026 outlook as net sales rise 34% from a year earlier to $244 million

The Vita Coco Company lifted its full-year 2026 outlook on October 22 after third-quarter net sales rose 34% from a year earlier to $244 million, though 16 of those percentage points came from Copra, the Thai coconut water producer it acquired in July, leaving organic growth of 18%. Net income was $35 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, against $24 million, or $0.40, a year earlier, an increase of 46%, and adjusted EBITDA rose 64% to $53 million from $32 million.

The third quarter is the first to include Copra, and the release separates the two engines deliberately: reported growth, and growth with the acquisition taken out. Both numbers are strong, but they describe different businesses.

Copra supplies 16 points of a 34% sales gain

Reported net sales of $244 million compared with $182 million in the third quarter of 2025, an increase the release states as 34%. Its own reconciliation shows net sales growth of 33.7% less a 16.0% contribution from Copra, or 17.8% organic. Vita Coco Coconut Water net sales grew 15% in the quarter and Private Label grew 152%, both from a year earlier, with case equivalent shipments up 15.8% for the branded coconut water and 76.7% for private label. Copra, bought in July 2026, cost roughly $229 million in total: $139 million of net cash, $35 million of stock and a $55.1 million seller's earn-out carried in long-term liabilities. Its branded coconut water and commodity sales are recognised partly in Other, so the private-label line is not a clean read on the base business. Executive Chairman Michael Kirban framed the category rather than the deal: "The growth of the coconut water category maintained through the fall, and remains one of the fastest growing beverage categories in our major markets."

Margins hold at 38% before a guided fourth-quarter step down

Gross profit was $93 million, from $69 million, and gross margin was 38%, in line with the prior year period. Year to date the margin is 42% against 37%, and the release credits 240 basis points of that to tariff refunds, a benefit the fourth-quarter guide does not assume repeats at the same scale. Guidance is for full-year gross margin of approximately 40%, but fourth-quarter gross margin of approximately 33%, which the release attributes to increases in cost of goods and to no offsetting price actions expected until early 2027. SG&A expenses were $47 million against $41 million, reflecting Copra deal and amortisation costs, higher headcount and stock-based compensation and higher sales expenses; acquisition-related costs were added back in the adjusted EBITDA reconciliation. The company also flagged the dilutive effect of Copra's private-label mix on margin.

Cash falls $127 million in the quarter on the Copra purchase

Cash and cash equivalents were $152 million at September 30 with no debt, down $45 million from December 31, 2025 and $127 million from the end of the second quarter, a decline the release attributes to the $139 million of net cash used for the Copra acquisition. Inventory was $111 million, flat to December 31, 2025, while accounts receivable rose to $129 million from $82 million on higher quarterly sales and the acquisition. Buybacks are disclosed on a wider basis: $62 million repurchased in the nine months to September 30, and $94 million repurchased as of October 22, leaving $11 million of the $105 million authorised. The balance sheet also carries the $55.1 million seller's earn-out and a goodwill balance several times its year-end level because of the deal.

Raised guidance and the next scheduled disclosure

The company lifted full-year 2026 net sales guidance to $810 million to $820 million, from $790 million to $805 million, and adjusted EBITDA to $170 million to $175 million, from $154 million to $161 million. It now expects SG&A leverage of approximately 1.5 percentage points of net sales, against one point previously, and keeps gross margin guidance at approximately 40%. No GAAP net income outlook is provided, and the release does not guide fourth-quarter net sales, so the fourth-quarter margin carries the argument about whether tariffs, ocean freight and Copra's mix can be absorbed without price. Chief Executive Martin Roper tied the raise to demand: "Consumer demand is very healthy, and we are therefore raising our full year Net Sales and Adjusted EBITDA guidance." The release lists the military conflict in Iran, changes in tariff rates, natural disasters and the company's own price elasticity among the risks to that outlook. The next scheduled disclosure is the fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results, which will carry the first clean comparison for Copra and the guided 33% margin. The release contains no consensus comparison, so the quarter is not characterised here as a beat or a miss.