3 Unstoppable Nasdaq-100 Stocks to Buy Before October Ends

The Nasdaq-100 is often described as a tech index, and most of the time that is fair. This week, tech stocks have been decimated, so maybe it’s time to stop viewing it as a tech index. Tucked between the chipmakers and software giants are a handful of companies that sell soda, candy bars, and energy drinks, and a few of them are having a better year than the headlines suggest.

Monster Beverage (MNST +1.35%), Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP +0.80%), and Mondelez International (MDLZ +0.79%) each have something specific happening between now and the end of the year that makes October a reasonable time to look and consider buying.

Monster Beverage is bigger overseas than most people think

The easy read on Monster is that it sells caffeine to Americans. The more interesting read is in the numbers themselves: Sales to customers outside the U.S. rose 34.6% last quarter and now account for about 46% of the total, up from 41% a year earlier. That shift tells us why this ticker might be hot right now. Energy drinks are still an early habit in much of the world, and Monster is riding that with the Coca-Cola bottling system behind it.

According to online news site Food Navigator, Monster is accelerating global energy drink growth by leveraging Coca-Cola‘s distribution network, expanding into markets such as China, India, Southeast Asia, and Pakistan and introducing affordable, localized, sugar-free, and female-focused products to attract new consumers and increase market share.

Why October? The stock did a 2-for-1 split in August, which changes nothing about the business, but stock splits tend to draw a fresh look from smaller investors, and the company reports third-quarter results in early November. Buying before a report is a bet that the trend will hold, and it has held for a while. The risk worth naming is aluminum, which the company flagged as a cost pressure, along with the chance that regulators somewhere will decide to limit who can buy an energy drink.

Keurig Dr Pepper is about to become two companies

Keurig Dr Pepper closed its purchase of JDE Peet’s in April and plans to split into two businesses in early 2027: a North American soda and water company anchored by Dr Pepper and a global coffee company with Peet’s, L’OR, and Jacobs. The refreshment side grew sales 10% last quarter, with volume up 6.5%, which is strong for a soda business in any year.

The case for buying now is that the market tends to misprice conglomerates right before they break apart, and KDP reports on Nov. 3, its last full quarterly look before the separation work moves to the front burner. Anyone who buys in October gets shares of both companies when the split happens.

The risk is debt. The company expects to end 2026 at about 4.1 times leverage, and U.S. coffee sales fell 3.2% last quarter. The soda business is carrying the coffee business for now.

Mondelez is proving volume can grow again

Mondelez, the owner of Oreo and Cadbury, spent two years raising prices to cover a cocoa spike. The question was whether shoppers would keep buying once prices settled. Last quarter said yes: Volume and mix turned positive, emerging markets stayed strong, and the board raised the dividend 4%. The company also keeps doing small things that work, like the Toblerone and Biscoff tie-up announced in September.

Mondelez reports on Oct. 29, so this is the one pick where the catalyst lands inside the month. Management has said it is reinvesting behind its brands, which costs money in the short run, and that is the risk. If Europe does not keep improving, the market will not wait.

What investors should do with this information

None of these three is a secret, and each has a date circled on the calendar that could change how the market sees it. My practical move is simple: Pick the one whose risks you understand best, buy a starting position before the report instead of chasing it after, and plan to hold through whatever the quarter throws at you. Earnings season rewards patience far more than timing, and a good consumer brand bought in October is usually still a good one in April.

All three have taken a beating lately as investors sell off over high costs and jitters about tech. I think that’s exactly the opportunity. These are durable businesses; they’ll rebound, and the people who sit tight through the noise are the ones who get paid for it.