General and administrative expenses for the 2017 second quarter were $91.4 million, or 10.1 percent of net sales, compared with $110.0 million, or 13.3 percent of net sales, for the comparable 2016 second quarter.  Included in general and administrative expenses were distributor termination expenses of $0.2 million and $25.3 million for the 2017 and 2016 second quarters, respectively. Included in general and administrative expenses for the comparable 2016 second quarter were AFF transaction related expenses of $3.6 million and stock repurchase expenses of $1.5 million.  General and administrative expenses, excluding distributor terminations, AFF transaction expenses and stock repurchase expenses, were 10.1 percent of net sales for the 2017 second quarter, compared with 9.6 percent of net sales for the comparable 2016 second quarter. Stock-based compensation (a non-cash item) was $12.8 million for the second quarter of 2017, compared with $11.5 million in the second quarter last year.  

Rodney C. Sacks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are pleased to report that gross sales in the quarter exceeded a record $1 billion, marking a milestone in the Company's progress. In the quarter, we continued with the strategic alignment of our distribution system with Coca-Cola system bottlers.  During the second quarter, we launched 14 new operating units in China, with the remaining two operating units having launched in July. We also successfully transitioned Hong Kong and Macau to Coca-Cola bottlers.  We are planning to launch or transition the Monster brand in other countries later this year and relaunch in India.  During the quarter, we launched Monster Hydro^TM energy drinks in a unique PET can in the United States and in a PET bottle in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Monster Energy® Lewis Hamilton 44 in a number of countries in Europe, Mutant® Super Soda White Lightning® in the United States, as well as Juice Monster® Mango Loco in the United States.  Further new product launches are planned for 2017 and 2018.

Investor Conference Call
The Company will host an investor conference call today, August 8, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time).  The conference call will be open to all interested investors through a live audio web broadcast via the internet at www.monsterbevcorp.com in the "Events & Presentations" section.  For those who are not able to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived for approximately one year on the website.

Monster Beverage Corporation
Based in Corona, California, Monster Beverage Corporation is a holding company and conducts no operating business except through its consolidated subsidiaries.  The Company's subsidiaries develop and market energy drinks, including Monster Energy® energy drinks, Monster Energy Ultra™ energy drinks, Monster Energy Extra Strength Nitrous Technology® energy drinks, Java Monster® non-carbonated coffee + energy drinks, Monster Rehab® non-carbonated energy drinks with electrolytes, Muscle Monster® Energy Shakes, Übermonster® energy drinks, Monster Hydro™ energy drinks, NOS® energy drinks, Full Throttle® energy drinks, Burn® energy drinks, Samurai® energy drinks, Relentless® energy drinks, Mother® energy drinks, Power Play® energy drinks, BU® energy drinks, Nalu® energy drinks, BPM® energy drinks, Gladiator® energy drinks, and Ultra® energy drinks.  The Company's subsidiaries also develop and market Mutant® Super Soda drinks.  For more information, visit www.monsterbevcorp.com.

Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Measures
Gross sales is used internally by management as an indicator of and to monitor operating performance, including sales performance of particular products, salesperson performance, product growth or declines and overall Company performance. The use of gross sales allows evaluation of sales performance before the effect of any promotional items, which can mask certain performance issues. We therefore believe that the disclosure of gross sales provides a useful measure of our operating performance. Gross sales is not a measure that is recognized under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and should not be considered as an alternative to net sales, which is determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be used alone as an indicator of operating performance in place of net sales. Additionally, gross sales may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, as gross sales has been defined by our internal reporting practices. In addition, gross sales may not be realized in the form of cash receipts as promotional payments and allowances may be deducted from payments received from certain customers.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this announcement may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, as amended, regarding the expectations of management with respect to our future operating results and other future events including revenues and profitability.  The Company cautions that these statements are based on management's current knowledge and expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the control of the Company, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from the statements made herein.  Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: our ability to recognize benefits from The Coca-Cola Company transaction and the American Fruits & Flavors transaction; our ability to introduce and increase sales of both existing and new products; our ability to implement the share repurchase program; unanticipated litigation concerning the Company's products; the current uncertainty and volatility in the national and global economy; changes in consumer preferences; changes in demand due to both domestic and international economic conditions; activities and strategies of competitors, including the introduction of new products and competitive pricing and/or marketing of similar products; actual performance of the parties under the new distribution agreements; potential disruptions arising out of the transition of certain territories to new distributors; changes in sales levels by existing distributors; unanticipated costs incurred in connection with the termination of existing distribution agreements or the transition to new distributors; changes in the price and/or availability of raw materials; other supply issues, including the availability of products and/or suitable production facilities including limitations on co-packing availability and retort production; product distribution and placement decisions by retailers; changes in governmental regulation; the imposition of new and/or increased excise sales and/or other taxes on our products; criticism of energy drinks and/or the energy drink market generally; our ability to satisfy all criteria set forth in any U.S. model energy drink guidelines; the impact of proposals to limit or restrict the sale of energy drinks to minors and/or persons below a specified age and/or restrict the venues and/or the size of containers in which energy drinks can be sold; or political, legislative or other governmental actions or events, including the outcome of any state attorney general, government and/or quasi-government agency inquiries, in one or more regions in which we operate.  For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that could affect our operating results, see the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.  The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

³Excludes Other segment net sales of $6.2 million and $6.6 million for the three-months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, comprised of sales of AFF Third-Party Products to independent third-party customers as these sales do not have unit case equivalents. Excludes Other segment net sales of $11.7 million and $6.4 million for the six-months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, comprised of sales of AFF Third-Party Products to independent third-party customers as these sales do not have unit case equivalents.