U.S. officials say that strikes conducted on three key Iranian nuclear sites have devastated its nuclear program, but independent experts analyzing commercial satellite imagery say the nation’s long-running nuclear enterprise is far from destroyed. “At the end of the day there are some really important things that haven’t been hit,” says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who tracks Iran’s nuclear facilities. “If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike.” In particular Lewis says the strike doesn’t seem to have touched Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium. “Today, it still has that material and we still don’t know where it is,” he says. “I think you have to assume that significant amounts of this enriched uranium still exist, so this is not over by any means,” agrees David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, which has closely tracked Iran’s nuclear program for years. The independent assessments stand in stark contrast to congratulatory statements from the Trump Administration in the wake of the strikes. The U.S. military carried out its attack against Iran’s nuclear program early on Sunday, local time. Code-named “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the mission involved seven B-2 Spirit bombers carrying massive 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs known as Massive Ordinance Penetrators. It appears that a dozen of the bombs were used to strike Iran’s deeply buried enrichment site at Fordo. Two weapons were also used to strike an underground centrifuge facility at Iran’s main enrichment site in Natanz. Concurrent with the bombings, a U.S. submarine launched more than two dozen cruise missiles. Those weapons hit buildings and tunnel entrances at a third nuclear site at Isfahan. A satellite image shows damaged buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site. The site was struck by cruise missiles launched from a U.S.

CNN  —  President Donald Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” following this weekend’s air strikes, but the US appears to have held back its most powerful bombs against one of the three facilities included in the operation, raising questions about whether it finished the job. In Isfahan, where nearly 60% of Iran’s stockpile of already-enriched nuclear material is believed to be stored underground, according to a US official, a US submarine hit the site with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday. But unlike the other two Iranian facilities targeted in the operation, B-2 bombers did not drop massive “bunker-buster” bombs on the Isfahan facility, multiple sources told CNN. The damage to the facility appears to be restricted to aboveground structures, according to Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has closely reviewed commercial satellite imagery of the strike sites. Even if the US was successful in destroying Iran’s facility at Fordow — another underground site that housed centrifuges needed to enrich uranium, which the US hit with 12 bunker busters — the obvious survival of Isfahan has raised questions about whether Trump achieved his stated goal of “a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror.” “This is an incomplete strike,” Lewis said. “If this is all there is, here’s what left: the entire stockpile of 60% uranium, which was stored at Isfahan in tunnels that are untouched.” A satellite image taken by Airbus shows significant damage to the Isfahan site and signs that the underground portion of the facility was hit, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, which analyzed the image. But there are layers of tunnels at

CNN  —  US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch direct strikes against Iranian nuclear sites has sparked a wave of anger in the country, with people on the streets of Tehran telling CNN they expect their country to strike back. “Iranian people are people of honor, and we will definitely give a strong response,” one man told CNN. “We will stand strongly like we have been for the past 40 years,” he added. Large crowds gathered at the Enqelab Square in central Tehran on Sunday evening, protesting the strikes. Footage published by the state-affiliated Fars News Agency showed people waving Iranian flags and punching the air, carrying signs that read: “Down with the USA, down with Israel.” Hamid Rasaee, a politician, said even people critical of the regime were protesting. “A lot of those standing here chanting slogans against the United States may have been critics of the policies of the Islamic Republic. But today all of us are standing in one line behind the supreme leader,” he told CNN. Trump ordered attacks on three of Iran’s most important nuclear facilities early Sunday morning – a move that has placed the US in the center of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Iranians had faced the possibility of US intervention ever since Israel launched its strikes on nuclear and military targets last week – but many believed any action was days away. That’s in part because Trump said Thursday he would decide whether to strike Iran within two weeks, seemingly opening a window for negotiations. That all changed early Sunday, when American bombers dropped more than a dozen massive “bunker buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, and Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea struck Isfahan. One man in Tehran told CNN he believed Trump was acting in

An operational timeline of a strike on Iran is displayed during a news conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 22. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The Trump administration is defending a precision strike on Iranian nuclear sites Saturday that was carried out without Congressional approval or notifying top Democratic lawmakers ahead of time. “Operation Midnight Hammer” was the largest B-2 bomber strike in U.S. history, Pentagon officials said Sunday, and saw the mobilization of more than 125 aircraft — including decoy flights traveling to the Pacific — that culminated in five precision guided weapons dropped on the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran. In television interviews Sunday morning, top administration officials repeatedly said the attack was a limited, targeted engagement to disrupt Iranian nuclear capabilities and not indicative of plans for longer involvement in the war between Iran and Israel. “It was not an attack on Iran, it was not an attack on the Iranian people, this wasn’t a regime change move,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS’ Face The Nation. “This was designed to degrade and/or destroy three nuclear sites related to their nuclear weaponization ambitions.” Vice President Vance made similar remarks on NBC’s Meet The Press, stating that America was not at war with Iran, but “at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” “The president has clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the worst weapon of mass destruction of them all is nuclear,” Vance said. He also said that he empathized with Americans who are “exhausted” by years-long U.S. involvement in the Middle East — but the difference, he argued, is that “now

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a press conference in Istanbul on Sunday. Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images Iran’s top political officials are roundly condemning the U.S. for carrying out a series of overnight attacks on several of Iran’s nuclear facilities and are asserting the country’s right to defend itself. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the American operation an “outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation” of the United Nations Charter and international law. “The war-mongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,” Araghchi said during a press conference in Istanbul. He added that Iran “reserves all options to defend its security interests and people.” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the strikes showed the U.S. was “behind” Israel’s recent bombing campaign against Iran, according to Agence France-Presse. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the strikes in a letter to U.N. leaders as “unprovoked and premeditated acts of aggression.” Iravani requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. is a permanent member, to address the attacks on the Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites. That meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. local time in New York City on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Araghchi, the foreign minister, also accused the Trump administration, which had recently been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program, of having “betrayed diplomacy.” Araghchi said he was traveling to Moscow on Sunday and had a meeting scheduled for Monday morning with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Araghchi described Russia as “a friend of Iran” and said he would discuss the U.S. strikes with Russian officials. Russia’s foreign ministry condemned the U.S. strikes against Iran, calling

Hegseth: strikes on Iran were ‘incredible and overwhelming success that devastated Iran’s nuclear program’ US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth has said the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were an “incredible and overwhelming” success that “devastated” the country’s nuclear program. At a press conference at The Pentagon, Hegseth said the “precision strikes” were “focused, powerful and clear”. He said the operation solely targeted Iranian nuclear sites, rather than Iranian troops or civilians. He said: “Last night on President Trump’s orders, US central command conducted a precision strike in the middle of the night against three nuclear facilities in Iran … in order to destroy or severely degrade Iran’s nuclear program. “It was an incredible and overwhelming success. The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear. We devastated the Iranian nuclear program.” US defence secretary says strikes on Iran nuclear sites were ‘overwhelming success’ – video Share Updated at 14.51 BST Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature UK, France and Germany urge Iran ‘not to take any further action that could destabilize the region’ The UK, France and Germany have released a joint statement following American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying that they call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program. The three countries also urged Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilize the region”, adding: “We have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security.” Share Updated at 18.07 BST Here are some images coming through the newswires from Iran: This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a crater over the underground Natanz enrichment facility

Donald Trump was quick to claim that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had “completely and totally obliterated” them. Still, it remains unclear how much physical damage has been done or what the longer-term impact might be on Iran’s nuclear programme. What was the target? The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) confirmed that attacks took place on its Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but insisted that its nuclear programme would not be stopped. Both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the three locations after the strikes. US strikes on IranUS strikes on Iran The Iranian Red Crescent also reported no deaths in the US strikes on the nuclear sites, appearing to confirm Iranian claims they had been evacuated in advance. In the immediate aftermath, US military officials suggested the three sites had suffered “severe damage” after an operation that had been weeks in planning, suggesting that it was fully coordinated in advance with Israel. The Pentagon said a battle damage assessment was still being conducted. What do we know about the strike on Fordow? Long regarded as the most difficult military target among Iran’s nuclear sites, the uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow – the primary target of the operation – are buried beneath the Zagros mountains. Reports have suggested that the site was constructed beneath between 45 and 90 metres of bedrock, largely limestone and dolomite. Fordow enrichment facility in Iran before and after US strikes.Fordow enrichment facility in Iran before and after US strikes. Some experts have suggested that the layering of the sedimentary rocks, including faults, would also make it more difficult to strike the centrifuge array, providing a kind of geological cushioning against a blast wave. The bunker busting bombsThe bunker busting bombs The attack –

The stock market has been less predictable than usual lately. As I’m writing this on June 20, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index is up only 1.5% year to date. But this mellow return included a deep dip in April, so the index has gained 24% from the bottom of its 52-week low. So, things are extra volatile this year, and I understand if you’d rather keep some cash on hand right now. But even now, a few stocks can inspire me to put my extra cash to work. Read on to see why my hand hovers over the “buy” button for Roku (ROKU -0.52%), Costco (COST 0.51%), and Target (TGT 0.44%) in June 2025. Image source: Getty Images. Roku’s rollercoaster Media-streaming technology veteran Roku has had quite a ride lately. Its stock price shot up by 50% over the past year but has taken a slight detour more recently, dropping 3% in the last six months. The growth story is still alive and well, with excitement over new deals, such as the recent Amazon (AMZN -1.38%) ad partnership, keeping optimism afloat. However, the company still isn’t showing a profit, so valuation ratios based on profitability don’t make any sense. Instead, you can look at Roku’s price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, which sits at a reasonable 2.8. That metric floated in double-digit territory four years ago. For now, Roku is acting a bit like the kid in class who has tons of potential but hasn’t quite turned in the homework — yet. The platform is growing, and recent partnerships could be a game changer, but the market wants to see proof that all these moves will translate to real, scalable profits. That’s why Roku’s stock looks cheap in this period of growth-focused operations and limited profits. If you’re in it for the

The conservative media company needs to overcome a lot of near-term challenges. Newsmax (NMAX 0.23%) executed one of a wildest IPOs of 2025. The conservative media company went public at $10 on March 31, but it closed at $83.51 on its first day and nearly tripled to a record closing price of $233 per share the next day. That rally was driven by the company’s association with President Donald Trump, its limited supply (it only offered 6% of its shares in its IPO), and the same meme stock dynamics that lifted other Trump-related stocks. At its peak, Newsmax’s market cap swelled to $29 billion, or 170 times the $171 million in revenue it generated in 2024. But today, Newsmax’s stock trades at about $13 with a market cap of $1.7 billion, which still isn’t a bargain at 10 times last year’s sales. Image source: Getty Images. Newsmax’s meme stock valuations were clearly unsustainable, and its steep losses, messy legal battles, and ongoing dilution indicated it wasn’t a great long-term investment. But can it stabilize its business over the next three years? What happened to Newsmax over the past few years? Newsmax was founded in 1998. It was originally an online and print media company before it launched its linear TV platform, Newsmax TV, for satellite and cable networks in 2014. Over the following decade, Newsmax flourished as a conservative alternative to mainstream media networks like Fox News. Its growth accelerated under the first and second Trump administrations, but it was also criticized for disseminating conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 elections, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and COVID-19 vaccines. Newsmax’s controversial claims about the 2020 elections sparked defamation lawsuits from the voting system suppliers Smartmatic and Dominion. Newsmax agreed to pay a $40 million settlement to Smartmatic last

FOX Business host Liz Claman breaks down the impact on the oil markets and consumers amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the U.S.’ bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. The global oil market is a point of major focus after the U.S. attacked three key Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday night. Oil prices are expected to rise following what President Donald Trump called “a spectacular military success” in which, he said, Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities had been “obliterated.” Trump also said the U.S. military could go after other targets in Iran if the country did not agree to peace. Saul Kavonic, a senior energy analyst at equity research firm MST Marquee in Sydney, told Reuters the more likely scenario would see Iran respond by targeting American interests in the Middle East, including Gulf oil infrastructure in places such as Iraq or harassing ship passages through the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran and is the primary export route for oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait. It is considered one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).  EXXONMOBIL CEO TALKS OIL SUPPLY AMID IRAN-ISRAEL CONFLICT A worker adjusts the meter at a fuel station in Kolkata, India, on June 15, 2025.  (Sudipta Das/NurPhoto / Getty Images) “Much depends on how Iran responds in the coming hours and days, but this could set us on a path towards $100 oil if Iran respond[s] as they have previously threatened to,” Kavonic said. Just days ago, industry experts said if the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran threatens a critical shipping route and significantly cuts global oil supplies, prices could surge to as much as $120 a barrel. OIL, GOLD JUMP, STOCKS SINK

CNN  —  After the United States’ overnight strikes on Iran’s secretive nuclear program, the most important question is at least a “known unknown” – that is, what remains of it. The answer could define the region for decades to come, and be the ultimate arbiter of US President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on another conflict in the Middle East. It is also an answer bedevilled by the elliptical and fickle nature of intelligence. On the one hand, public discussion of nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan should have left Tehran unwilling to let all of its nuclear secrets reside there. (Iran has said its program is entirely peaceful, although the UN’s nuclear watchdog reported finding uranium particles enriched up to 83% – just short of weapons grade). If, as Israel maintains, Iran’s nuclear program has a hidden element, then surely that would not be housed in the same places where UN inspectors roam, and in the case of Fordow, over which there has been a public discussion for days of what American bombs might penetrate its deep caverns. The raw materials needed for a nuclear bomb can be small: 20 kilograms of highly enriched uranium would suffice. The ingredients for several devices would fit into a minivan. This could be hidden anywhere in Iran. The technology needed to create a weapon is fiddlier, and requires human expertise, which Israel has been decimating over both the past 10 days, with strikes targeting key personnel, and also picking off more persistently over the past 10 years. It is hard to imagine Iran suddenly being able to make this leap while under the intense bombardment of Israel’s air force, now with the open involvement of the US and its vast surveillance machinery too. But this is an unknown, and Israel cannot

I wrote on 15th June that the best trades for the week would be: Long of the EUR/USD currency pair. This ended the week lower by 0.26%. Long of Gold in USD terms. This ended the week lower by 1.87%. Long of Silver in USD terms. This ended the week lower by 0.96%. Long of WTI Crude Oil if there is a daily (New York) close above $80.43. This did not set up. The overall loss of 3.09% equals a loss of 0.77% per asset. The Middle East and Europe have awoken this morning to shocking news: the USA has joined Israel in combat over Iran, using its advanced weaponry to (apparently) quickly destroy Iran’s nuclear program, after over a week of Israeli attacks on these facilities, the Iranian regime, and the Iranian military. It looks very much like a victory for Israel and the USA. The USA claims that the strikes have been completely successful. The International Atomic Energy Agency has stated that it can find no increase in radiation levels from these facilities following the strikes. Al Jazeera is reporting that Iranian technicians spent the past three days removing materials from the key Fordow plant. Whether this is a significant development or not remains to be seen, but there is plenty of jubilation, or at least quiet relief, throughout the Middle East, Europea, and the USA today. The Iranian government is now also claiming that enriched uranium was removed from Fordow before the attack. One might consider that given the capabilities already demonstrated by Israel and the USA, that these countries are likely to have a good idea where it is now. Although the Iranian regime has issued blood-curling threats, pledging that no US citizen will be safe anywhere (a clear war crime if ever there was one,

Jo Floto Middle East bureau chief Trump says Iran must make peace or face future attacks after US strikes As Benjamin Netanyahu stood at the podium in the Israeli prime minister’s office this morning, he did not at first address the Israeli people in Hebrew, to update them on the latest, dramatic development in this, his latest war. Instead he spoke in English, speaking directly to, and lavishing praise upon, US President Donald Trump after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. If Netanyahu’s tone was triumphant, and the smile barely suppressed, it is hardly surprising. He has spent most of his political career obsessed with the threat he believes Iran poses to Israel. Netanyahu has spent much of the last 15 years attempting to persuade his American allies that only military action (and only American munitions) could destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. While congratulating Trump for a bold decision that “will change history”, Netanyahu can also congratulate himself on changing the mind of a US president who campaigned against overseas military adventures, and whose supporters were overwhelmingly opposed to joining Israel’s war against Iran. It should also be noted that Trump’s own intelligence agencies had not shared Israel’s assessment of how quickly Iran could seek to build a nuclear weapon, nor indeed whether it had taken the decision to do so. Throughout this conflict, which began just 10 days ago, Israel’s government and military have insisted that Israel had the capacity to deal with the Iranian threat on its own. But it was no secret that only America possessed the massive ordnance capable of dealing with the strongest levels of protection around Iran’s nuclear facilities, particularly at Fordo, built deep inside a mountain. If the nuclear sites bombed last night are now indeed out of use then Israel’s prime minister

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Spac market was shrivelling when the industry’s annual conference rolled around in mid-2022, with a hastily arranged guest appearance by porn star Stormy Daniels failing to brighten the gloomy mood.   This year’s event at a golf club in an upscale suburb of New York was markedly more upbeat, attended by some of Wall Street’s most illustrious money managers, delegates from several of America’s largest law firms and dozens of banks, consultants and private investors. Special purpose acquisition companies are enjoying another moment in the sun as the market for traditional initial public offerings continues to struggle, four years after ultra-low interest rates directed billions of dollars into the investment vehicles to fund flying taxi firms, commercial space ventures and a host of other speculative projects. “There’s a spring in everyone’s step and so many more smiling faces,” said one Cayman Islands-based lawyer at the Spac Conference 2025 on Wednesday, hosted at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, and attended by a record number of guests, according to organisers. Spacs have listed on US stock markets for more than 30 years, allowing investors to raise equity through an IPO for an empty shell that has around two years to identify a private company to merge with or acquire. Most that do, eventually trade far below their initial listing price, with retail traders often left holding the bag. Once derided as “a poor man’s IPO,” Spacs became wildly popular during the bull run early in the Covid-19 crisis, with 600 deals in 2021 raising a record $163bn before the fervour died down as higher interest rates weighed on global stock markets. But there have been 56 Spac offerings so far this

The Bitcoin market has shown itself to be a bit confused at the moment, as we have formed the 3rd neutral candlestick in a row on the weekly timeframe. This suggests that we are looking at this through the prism of a consolidation zone, with the $100,000 level offering support, and the $110,000 level above offering resistance. Ultimately, we are just simply sitting in the middle of the range at approximate “fair value”, so now we need another catalyst. Ultimately though, I prefer the upside. The NASDAQ 100 is slightly positive for the week, but ultimately this is a situation where we are consolidating as well, with the 22,000 level as a major resistance barrier. If we can break above there, the market could take off to the upside and really, I think we’ve got a situation where we have just simply a bit of consolidation, as we have rocketed far too quickly to the upside. I think we’ve got some time here in a bit of the range until we get some type of external catalyst. Silver has been all over the place during the course of the week, as we shot toward the $37 level, only to turn around and fall toward the $35.50 level. This is a market that is in the midst of trying to consolidate and work off some of the excess froth from the previous couple of weeks, and now we have a scenario where traders are looking at dips as potential buying opportunities. However, keep in mind that silver is going to be very volatile with so many geopolitical issues going on at the same time. Ultimately, I do prefer the upside in general. Gold fell during the week, pulling back from the crucial $3500 level. The $3500 level of course is a

Iran had sought to deter Donald Trump from joining Israel’s bombing campaign with dire threats of retaliation, but its options now are limited and fraught with risk. Iranian officials have said specifically that US ships and military bases would be targeted, but much of the capacity it had relied on as a deterrent has been stripped away over the past few days by Israeli strikes. Those strikes however, have focused on long-range ballistic missile launchers. Iran still has a formidable arsenal of shorter-range missiles and drones. The US has taken precautions over the past few weeks, dispersing its naval presence in the region and beefing up air defences, to try to ensure it presents as hard a target as possible. Furthermore, Trump warned of broader US involvement in Israel’s war if Iran attempts to strike back, and in recent days suggested that one of the targets for US bombers would be the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran must make peace or ‘future attacks will be far greater’, Trump says in address – video Iran’s other principal weapon, built up over decades, is its network of alliances with regional militias, its “axis of resistance” but that too has been depleted. Hezbollah’s extensive missile arsenal was pulverised by the Israeli air force last year. Israeli planes have returned to keep the Lebanese Shia force in check, bombing an alleged missile stockpile in south Beirut in April. A Tehran-backed Shia militia in Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah, has threatened to target “US interests” in the Middle East in response to Washington’s participation in Israel’s support. One of its commanders, Abu Ali al-Askari, was quoted on CNN as saying that US bases in the region “will become akin to duck-hunting grounds”. The United States has military facilities across at least nineteen sites across the Middle

I’ve written articles with today’s headline multiple times. In the past, I’ve highlighted under-the-radar companies that have crushed the returns of the S&P 500 over the long term, including companies such as Casella Waste Systems, Comfort Systems USA, and Axon Enterprise. Over the last 10 years, this trio is each up about 2,000% compared to just a 182% return for the S&P 500. I’m back at it today with another market-crushing stock idea that simply doesn’t get enough attention. And when it comes to monster stocks of the past 20 years, I can think of no better candidate than Monster Beverage (MNST -0.20%) stock itself — it’s up more than 7,000% over the last two decades. Image source: Getty Images. As of this writing, Monster stock is up 20% in 2025 compared with a 2% gain for the S&P 500. So Monster is back to beating the market and is worth looking at with fresh eyes. Why Monster crushed the market Monster stock is the top publicly traded company of the last 30 years, according to MacroTrends. And the reason is simple: Its growth has been spectacular. In 1994, the company generated just $29 million in full-year revenue. In 2024, that number was $7.5 billion — roughly a 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 30 years. It went public in 1990 as Hansen Natural, a fruit juice business. In 1997, it launched its first energy drink back when there really wasn’t even an energy-drink category. The Monster brand eventually came in 2002 and the company never looked back. Monster was profitable early and consistently. From 2000 through 2010, the company was profitable the entire time and averaged a profit margin of about 11%. This was during a red-hot growth phase in which the brand went nationwide and worldwide. With