TLDR
- Herbalife (HLF) stock surged 18.32% Thursday after Cristiano Ronaldo invested $7.5 million for a 10% stake in subsidiary HBL Pro2col Software LLC.
- Ronaldo has been a paid Herbalife brand ambassador since 2013; this is his first disclosed investment in the company.
- Q4 2025 EPS came in at $0.45, beating the $0.43 estimate, with revenue of $1.3 billion topping the $1.25 billion forecast.
- Full-year 2025 sales rose 1% vs. 2024, with Q4 sales up 6.3% year-over-year.
- Wall Street holds a Moderate Buy consensus on HLF, but the average price target of $15.60 implies a 20.3% downside from current levels.
Herbalife (HLF) stock surged 18.32% Thursday after Cristiano Ronaldo invested $7.5 million for a 10% stake in its health tech subsidiary, paired with a Q4 earnings beat.
Ronaldo paid $7.5 million for a 10% stake in HBL Pro2col Software LLC, a Herbalife-owned platform that collects users’ health and lifestyle data to build customized nutrition and wellness plans.
The announcement came during Herbalife’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Wednesday, and markets responded immediately when trading opened Thursday.
HLF stock jumped 18.32% during the session and added another 1.12% in after-hours trading, reaching a new 52-week high.
Excited to announce @Cristiano has invested $7.5 million and acquired a 10% equity stake in Pro2col. Our next-generation, digital, personalized health and wellness operating system.https://t.co/8vdOgt3dA2 pic.twitter.com/YHklHZym3x
— Herbalife (@Herbalife) February 18, 2026
Ronaldo has been a paid brand ambassador for Herbalife since 2013. The company even co-developed a sports drink with him — Herbalife24 CR7 Drive — marketed to athletes. But this marks his first publicly disclosed financial investment in the firm.
In a statement, Ronaldo called the move a “natural evolution” of the partnership, saying it aligns with his focus on health and performance at this stage of his career.
His global reach adds a layer of marketing firepower most brands can only dream about. Ronaldo has roughly 1.04 billion social media followers — more than any other person on the planet — and ranked #1 on Forbes’s 2025 highest-paid soccer players list with $280 million in earnings.
Mizuho Securities analyst John Baumgartner, rated four stars, called the investment “a nice add” for Herbalife, though he stopped short of a stronger endorsement.
Earnings Beat Adds Fuel
Beyond the Ronaldo news, Herbalife’s Q4 numbers gave investors another reason to buy. The company posted adjusted EPS of $0.45, beating the analyst consensus of $0.43.
Revenue came in at $1.3 billion, ahead of the $1.25 billion forecast. Q4 sales rose 6.3% year-over-year, even with foreign exchange headwinds in the mix. Full-year 2025 sales were up 1% compared to 2024.
It’s a decent set of numbers for a company that has spent years fighting off negative sentiment. HLF has lost roughly two-thirds of its value over the past five years.
Wall Street Still Cautious
Despite Thursday’s pop, analyst price targets tell a more sober story. The average Wall Street price target on HLF sits at $15.60 per share — implying a 20.3% downside from current levels.
The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, based on three Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell over the past three months.
Ronaldo is also set to play for Portugal in the 2026 North America World Cup this summer, keeping him in the global spotlight through the year.
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