TLDR
- Herbalife (HLF) stock soared by 18.32% on Thursday following Cristiano Ronaldo’s investment of $7.5 million for a 10% stake in its subsidiary HBL Pro2col Software LLC.
- Ronaldo has served as a paid Herbalife brand ambassador since 2013; this represents his first publicly revealed investment in the firm.
- The Q4 2025 EPS stood at $0.45, exceeding the $0.43 estimate, and revenue reached $1.3 billion, surpassing the $1.25 billion forecast.
- Full-year 2025 sales increased by 1% compared to 2024, with Q4 sales jumping 6.3% year-over-year.
- Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus on HLF, yet the average price target of $15.60 suggests a 20.3% downside from current levels.
Herbalife (HLF) stock jumped 18.32% on Thursday after Cristiano Ronaldo invested $7.5 million for a 10% stake in its health tech subsidiary, coupled with a Q4 earnings beat.
Ronaldo paid $7.5 million for a 10% stake in HBL Pro2col Software LLC, a platform owned by Herbalife that gathers users’ health and lifestyle data to create customized nutrition and wellness plans.
The announcement occurred during Herbalife’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Wednesday, and markets reacted right away when trading started on Thursday.
HLF stock climbed 18.32% during the session and gained an additional 1.12% in after-hours trading, hitting a new 52-week high.
Herbalife is excited to announce that it has invested $7.5 million and acquired a 10% equity stake in Pro2col. Our next-generation, digital, personalized health and wellness operating system.
— Herbalife (@Herbalife)
Ronaldo has been a paid brand ambassador for Herbalife since 2013. The company even co-developed a sports drink with him, namely Herbalife24 CR7 Drive, targeted at athletes. However, this is his first publicly disclosed financial investment in the company.
In a statement, Ronaldo described the move as a ‘natural evolution’ of the partnership, stating it aligns with his focus on health and performance at this stage of his career.
His global reach provides a layer of marketing power that most brands can only envy. Ronaldo has approximately 1.04 billion social media followers — more than anyone else globally — and topped Forbes’s 2025 highest-paid soccer players list with $280 million in earnings.
John Baumgartner, a four-star rated analyst at Mizuho Securities, described the investment as ‘a nice addition’ for Herbalife, though he refrained from a more enthusiastic endorsement.
Earnings Beat Adds Fuel
Apart from the Ronaldo news, Herbalife’s Q4 figures gave investors another reason to buy. The company reported an adjusted EPS of $0.45, surpassing the analyst consensus of $0.43.
Revenue stood at $1.3 billion, exceeding the $1.25 billion forecast. Q4 sales increased by 6.3% year-over-year, even with foreign exchange challenges. Full-year 2025 sales were 1% higher than in 2024.
These are decent figures for a company that has spent years battling negative sentiment. HLF has lost approximately two-thirds of its value over the past five years.
Wall Street Still Cautious
Despite Thursday’s surge, analyst price targets paint a more subdued picture. The average Wall Street price target for HLF is $15.60 per share — suggesting a 20.3% downside from current levels.
The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, based on three Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell in the past three months.
Ronaldo is also scheduled to play for Portugal in the 2026 North America World Cup this summer, keeping him in the global spotlight throughout the year.
