< The 2014 All-America Research TeamJohn FaucherJ.P. MorganFirst-place appearances: 5

Total appearances: 13

Team debut: 2002After a five-year reign at the top, J.P. Morgan’s John Faucher slips to second place. He has a positive outlook on this sector, preferring it to other consumer industries, and has become progressively more upbeat on the group as negative effects of the currency exchange markets have subsided. “We have been recommending that investors display patience by buying on dips,” adds Faucher, “as the sector still remains fairly volatile.” Year to date through mid-September, U.S. beverages companies gained 8.4 percent, not far off the broad market’s 7.3 percent rise. Regarding specific companies, investors say that the analyst’s tracking of Corona, California–based beverages producer Monster Beverage Corp. stands out. He upgraded Monster from neutral to buy in early December on the expectation that top- and bottom-line growth would accelerate in 2014. Sure enough, year-over-year net sales jumped 8.9 percent over the first two quarters, to $1.2 billion, and earnings per share bolted to $1.36 from $0.98. The stock followed suit, soaring 52.1 percent, to $90, by the middle of September and pacing its peers by 42.3 percentage points. Faucher, who also merits a runner-up position in Cosmetics, Household & Personal Care Products, “knows his companies cold,” avers one loyalist.