The nation’s rockstar fizz-sation has taken a stage dive-left after shares of LaCroix’s maker, National Beverage Corp., fell more than 12% over the last few days.
It all started after National Beverage’s notorious chief exec and 74% owner of LaCroix, Nick Caporella, stuck his 81-year-old foot in his mouth… again.
The curmudgeonly billionaire’s antics are nothing new. Last year, Caporella made headlines when he went ape-sh*t in an American flag-themed press release titled, “FIZZ GROWS STRONGER!!,” defending LaCroix over alleged “perpetrators deliberately manipulating FIZZ value.”
But 5 months earlier, his passion caught the eyes of the SEC
In May 2017, Caporella released two press releases calling out “some shareholders” for allegedly profiting from shorting the company’s stock, which has shot up 500% in the last 5 years.
In the statements, Caporella boasted of 2 “proprietary techniques” that National Beverage used to boost growth — VPO (velocity per outlet) and VPC (velocity per capita) — bragging that their VPO was “flashing green numbers,” and that retailers were “amazed” by their methods.
Does anyone know what he’s talking about?
Neither did the SEC. So they asked him to explain
And, in what should not be surprising to anyone at this point, National Beverage gave them the ol’, “nah, we’re good, narcs.”
The company has famously refused to disclose the mystery ingredients behind what makes its fizz taste like a soft-spoken coconut or sheepish pamplemousse. And, according to the company’s chief accounting officer, their internal financial terminology is just as guarded.
According to The Washington Post, the SEC said it had “completed its review of the matter” last month. Results still bubbling…
