The Coca-Cola Company is a global beverage company that owns and licenses a wide portfolio of nonalcoholic drink brands, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, and juices. It distributes its products worldwide through a network of bottling partners, distributors, and its own operations.
Henrique Braun (Chief Executive Officer), John Murphy (Chief Financial Officer), Todd Beiger (Vice President & Head of Investor Relations)
Key metrics
The company reported solid year-over-year growth in net revenues, underpinned by positive price/mix and modest unit case volume increases across most operating segments.[8] Management highlighted continued gross margin strength and sequential operating margin improvement, reflecting pricing discipline and productivity, while noting that free cash f
Forward guidance
Management guided for continued organic revenue growth in the mid- to high-single digits for the remainder of 2026, supported by resilient consumer demand, disciplined pricing, and ongoing mix improvement.[8] They reiterated their focus on steady operating margin expansion over time, driven by productivity initiatives, portfolio optimization, and l
Notable Q&A
In one notable Q&A exchange, an analyst asked about the sustainability of recent margin gains and whether the company could maintain its current gross margin trajectory amid commodity and FX volatility; management responded by emphasizing their long-term track record of margin expansion, disciplined
Surprise items
There were no material negative surprises, and the tone around second‑half performance remained constructive; management reaffirmed their full‑year outlook despite macro and FX pressures, which may be viewed positively by investors.[8] The company also referenced ongoing portfolio and system optimiz
Wall Street consensus — sourced weekly via public disclosures
Analyst coverage data sourced from public filings. Xavier analyst thesis summary available after weekly Perplexity scan completes.
Financial summary — Gemini analysis
Signal
Revenue
$47,941 million
2% YoY
Operating margin
28.7%
Net income
$13,137 million
Free cash flow
$5,296 million
Dividend / share
$2.04
Total debt
$43,941 million
Cash: $10,270 million
CapEx guidance
$2.2 billion
Earnings quality:LOW
Recurring revenue:59%
Cash conversion:0.6x
Non-recurring items: $960 million impairment of BodyArmor trademark, $1,952 million gain on sale of Coke Consolidated ownership interest, $1,274 million charge for bottling operations in Africa classified as held for sale, $393 million charge on sale of finished product operations in Nigeria
KO is trading at ~$83.49, within 2.6% of its 52-week high of $85.68 and just below the consensus analyst target of $85.97, leaving minimal near-term upside even assuming a perfect Q2 print on July 28. At 26x TTM P/E and a PEG ratio of 3.33 vs. a soft-drinks industry average of 2.17, the stock is pricing in near-perfection despite revenue growth of only ~0.12% and earnings growth of ~0.18% on a TTM basis. The bull case — a Marriott partnership, FIFA World Cup volume lift, and a potential Q2 beat — is real but already well-telegraphed and reflected in 24 Buy ratings and elevated multiples.
Strongest bull case
Q2 2026 earnings on July 28 have a credible beat setup: KO has delivered four consecutive EPS beats under new CEO Henrique Braun, Q1 2026 showed 12% revenue growth and 35% operating margin, and the Street is modeling conservative $0.92 EPS — leaving room for another modest beat that could push shares toward the BofA revised $95 target.
Strongest bear case
KO is trading within 2.6% of its all-time high at 26x TTM P/E and a PEG of 3.33 — a meaningful premium to both the sector and its own peer group — with 16 days until the Q2 earnings catalyst and zero insider buying in the last 90 days. Any macro risk-on rotation back into growth/tech, a FX headwind surprise (76% of revenue is non-USD), or even an in-line (not beat) Q2 result could compress the multiple and push shares back toward the $80 bear-case level identified by analysts.
What the market may be missing
The $14B unresolved IRS tax dispute is a structurally underappreciated tail risk that could materially impair future cash flexibility and dividend coverage if resolved adversely — yet it is largely absent from the current bull narrative dominating sell-side coverage.
CEO Henrique Braun discussed Coca-Cola's strong Q1 performance, beating earnings and revenue expectations amid a divided consumer landscape. He highlighted pressure on lower-income shoppers due to inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty, contrasted w
““While many consumers remained resilient, others are under pressure due to persistent inflation, greater macroeconomic uncertainty, and volatilities driven by the conflict in the Middle East.””
Henrique Braun emphasized the company's twentieth consecutive quarter of gaining both volume and value share through strong brand power and system reach. He noted 3% volume growth and the ability to deliver amid economic challenges. Discussion focuse
““We harnessed the power of our brands and our unmatched system reach to deliver 3% volume growth.””
The meeting highlighted the leadership transition from James Quincey to Henrique Braun as new CEO. Braun addressed Q1 results exceeding expectations with strong EPS and revenue. Topics included growth strategy amid investor concerns on ESG initiative
CEO letter to shareholders
Signal
No shareholder letter on file for KO
Some companies file their annual report without a separate CEO letter.
When available, Xavier extracts strategic themes, tone analysis, and
forward-looking statements to help you read between the lines.
Executive compensation
Signal
Name
Title
Total compensation
James Quincey
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
$31,208,165
John Murphy
President and Chief Financial Officer
$11,755,706
Manuel Arroyo
Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer
$6,693,887
Henrique Braun
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
$11,642,602
Jennifer Mann
Executive Vice President and President, North America operating unit
$8,005,433
Source: DEF 14A proxy statement · 2026-03-16
Governance
Pro
Dual-class shares:No
Poison pill:No
Clawback policy:Yes
Stock ownership req.:Yes
Shareholder proposals
Shareowner Proposal Requesting a Sustainability Committee By-Law Amendment
AGAINST
Pending
Shareowner Proposal Requesting a Report Evaluating the Company's Plastics Packag
AGAINST
Pending
Shareowner Proposal Requesting a Report on the Extent of the Company's Diversity
AGAINST
Pending
Shareowner Proposal Requesting a Report on Risks Related to Ingredients
Risk increasing — Unfavorable general economic and geopolitical conditions could negatively impact
Mgmt narrative
Management tone: Cautiously optimistic
Analyst drift
Consensus Buy — targets stable
Insider sentiment
Pattern detection — 90 days needed
Signal history
Signal
Date
Direction
Conf.
Agree.
Thesis
Price
Type
Jul 12, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.3/10
100%
KO is trading at ~$83.49, within 2.6% of its 52-week high of $85.68 and just below the consensus ana...
$83.49
Sched.
Jul 11, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.4/10
100%
KO is trading close to its 52-week high and only modestly below consensus target while carrying a pr...
$83.49
Sched.
Jun 07, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.2/10
100%
KO surged 3.46% on a risk-off rotation day, bringing it to ~96% of its 52-week high with essentially...
$79.48
Sched.
May 31, 2026
NEUTRAL
5.9/10
75%
KO delivered a genuinely strong Q1 2026 (10% organic revenue growth, 18% EPS beat), but the market h...
$79.01
Sched.
May 24, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.3/10
75%
KO just delivered a strong Q1 2026 beat (EPS $0.86 vs $0.81 est, +10% organic revenue, +18% EPS grow...
$81.48
Sched.
May 17, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.1/10
100%
KO delivered a genuinely strong Q1 2026 beat — 10% organic revenue growth, 18% EPS growth, and a rai...
$80.82
Sched.
May 10, 2026
NEUTRAL
6.0/10
100%
KO delivered an exceptional Q1 2026 beat — 10% organic revenue growth, 18% EPS growth, and a raised ...
$78.42
Sched.
May 03, 2026
NEUTRAL
5.8/10
100%
KO delivered a genuinely strong Q1 2026 print — 10% organic revenue growth, 18% EPS growth, and a ra...
$78.58
Sched.
Apr 12, 2026
BULLISH
6.7/10
50%
KO is trading roughly 6% below its 52-week high and about 8% below the consensus analyst price targe...
$77.47
Sched.
Showing last 9 signals
KOThe Coca-Cola Company
Signal
FY2026 annual report (10-K filed 2026-02-20)
INCOME STATEMENT
?Revenue
$47,941 million2% YoY
Total sales from food, beverages, household products, and personal care items. Up 2% from last year. Management has guided capital spending of $2.2 billion.
?Operating income
$13,762 million
What remains after subtracting all operating costs — salaries, materials, rent, R&D — from revenue. This is the profit from actually running the business, before interest and taxes. Operating margin is 28.7%, meaning 29 cents of every dollar of revenue becomes operating profit.
?Net income
$13,137 million
The bottom line — what the company actually earned after all expenses, interest, and taxes. This is the number that gets divided by shares outstanding to calculate earnings per share (EPS), which directly affects the stock price. Net margin is 31.5%. Note: results include non-recurring items ($960 million impairment of bodyarmor trademark, $1,952 million gain on sale of coke consolidated ownership interest) that may not repeat.
?Free cash flow
$5,296 million
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. This is the money available for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or acquisitions. Free cash flow is what many professional investors consider the truest measure of financial health.
?EPS (diluted)
$0.91
Earnings per share — net income divided by total shares outstanding (including stock options and convertible bonds that could become shares). This is the single number most investors watch because it directly connects company profits to your ownership stake.
?Dividend per share
$2.04
Cash paid to shareholders each year for every share they own. Staples companies are known for reliable, growing dividends — consumers buy toothpaste and cereal in any economy.
BALANCE SHEET
?Total assets
$104.2B
Everything the company owns — cash, factories, equipment, patents, inventory, investments. Includes brand portfolios, manufacturing plants, distribution networks, and retail shelf space.
?Cash & equivalents
$10,270 million
Money available right now — bank accounts, money market funds, short-term government bonds. This is the company's financial cushion. More cash means more flexibility to invest, acquire, or survive a downturn without borrowing.
?Total debt
$43,941 million
All money the company owes — bonds, bank loans, credit facilities. Compare this to cash to understand the net debt position. The company holds $10,270 million in cash against this debt.
?Shares outstanding
4,313 million diluted shares
Total number of shares that exist — owned by all investors, insiders, and institutions combined. When the company reports EPS, this is the denominator. Share buybacks reduce this number, which increases EPS even without earnings growth.
CASH FLOW
?Operating cash flow
$2.0B
Actual cash generated from running the business — not accounting profits, real money coming in the door. This is more trustworthy than net income because it's harder to manipulate. A company can report profits but still run out of cash.
?Capital expenditure
$266M
Money spent on long-term assets — manufacturing plants, distribution centers, and packaging lines. This is the cost of maintaining and growing the business. Management has guided $2.2 billion for capital spending.
?Free cash flow
$1.8B
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. This is the money available for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or acquisitions. Free cash flow is what many professional investors consider the truest measure of a company's financial health.
?Interest expense
$375M
The cost of borrowing money — interest payments on bonds, loans, and credit facilities. Higher interest expense means more of the company's earnings go to lenders instead of shareholders.
?Interest coverage
12.3x
EBITDA divided by interest expense — how many times over the company can pay its interest bill from earnings. At 12.3x, coverage is very comfortable. Lenders typically want to see at least 3-4x.
?Depreciation & amortization
$264M
A non-cash expense that spreads the cost of manufacturing equipment and distribution infrastructure over their useful life. This reduces reported income but no cash actually leaves the company — that's why it gets added back to calculate EBITDA and operating cash flow.
EARNINGS QUALITY
?Accrual quality
LOW
Measures how well reported earnings match actual cash generation. HIGH means earnings are backed by real cash. LOW means the company may be using accounting techniques to inflate reported numbers. Professional investors check this before trusting EPS.
?Recurring revenue
59%
59% of revenue comes from repeat sources — ongoing contracts, subscriptions, or regular customer purchasing patterns rather than one-time sales. Higher recurring revenue means more predictable future earnings.
?Cash conversion
0.6x
Operating cash flow divided by net income. Above 1.0x means the company generates more cash than it reports in profits — a sign of high-quality earnings. At 0.6x, the company is generating less cash than reported profits — investigate why.
?Non-recurring items
7 identified
One-time items that affect the bottom line but won't repeat: $960 million impairment of bodyarmor trademark, $1,952 million gain on sale of coke consolidated ownership interest, $1,274 million charge for bottling operations in africa classified as held for sale, $393 million charge on sale of finished product operations in nigeria. When evaluating the company's true earning power, investors strip these out to see what the business earns on a normal basis.
?Management tone
Cautious Optimistic
How management sounds in their SEC filings — are they confident, cautious, or defensive? This is analyzed from the actual language used in the 10-K annual report. A shift in tone from prior years can signal changing conditions before the numbers reflect it.
?Top risk factor
Increasing
Unfavorable general economic and geopolitical conditions could negatively impact our financial results. Risk trend: increasing. This is the single biggest threat to the company's future earnings as identified in their SEC filing.
Click any row to expand the plain-English explanation. Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings.
Capital intelligence
Signal
Weighted Average Cost of Capital · Return on Invested Capital · Economic Value Added
ROIC
18.37%
WACC
5.57%
🟢 VALUE CREATOR — EVA Spread: 12.80%
?WACC
5.57%
Weighted Average Cost of Capital — the minimum return The Coca-Cola Company must earn on its investments to satisfy both debt holders and shareholders. Computed from a 89.05% equity / 10.95% debt capital structure. If the company earns less than 5.57% on its invested capital, it is destroying shareholder value.
?Cost of equity
6.17%
The return shareholders demand for holding KO stock instead of a risk-free Treasury bond. Computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model: Risk-Free Rate (4.25%) + Beta (0.35) × Equity Risk Premium (5.50%). A beta of 0.35 means KO is less volatile than the overall market.
?Cost of debt (after-tax)
0.73%
What The Coca-Cola Company effectively pays on its borrowed money after the tax deduction on interest. Interest is tax-deductible, so the true cost is lower than the stated rate. Effective tax rate used: 14.90%.
?Capital structure
E: 89.05% / D: 10.95%
How The Coca-Cola Company finances its operations — the split between equity (stock market value: $357.5B) and debt (total borrowings: $43.9B). More debt means more leverage — higher potential returns but higher risk.
?ROIC
18.37%
Return on Invested Capital — how efficiently The Coca-Cola Company turns its total invested capital into after-tax operating profit. NOPAT ($12.3B) ÷ Invested Capital ($67.0B). This exceeds WACC, meaning the company creates value for shareholders.
?EVA
$8.6B
Economic Value Added — the dollar amount of value The Coca-Cola Company created (or destroyed) above its cost of capital. NOPAT ($12.3B) minus the capital charge (Invested Capital × WACC = $3.7B). Positive EVA means every dollar of capital is earning more than it costs.
?NOPAT
$12.3B
Net Operating Profit After Tax — operating income adjusted for taxes, ignoring how the company is financed. Operating Income ($14.5B) × (1 - Tax Rate 14.90%). This isolates the company's core business profitability from its financing decisions.
Xavier consensus signals are intelligence outputs, not investment advice. All signals are generated by a multi-model AI system and reflect public information at time of generation. Past signal accuracy does not guarantee future performance. Wall Street analyst consensus sourced from public disclosures, summarized weekly. Financial data sourced from SEC EDGAR and yfinance. Insider transactions sourced from SEC EDGAR Form 4 filings. Updated Jul 12, 2026.