Coca-Cola KO came up with second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 28, before market open. The top and bottom lines surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year.
KO shares jumped 5% on Tuesday as strong quarterly results highlighted sustained business momentum, driven by pricing gains across markets. This quarter’s results highlighted the strength of KO’s resilient, all-weather strategy.
Coca-Cola has enjoyed a strong 2026, with its shares gaining about 27.5% year to date. The beverage giant has maintained solid momentum, rising 9.2% over the past five trading sessions, 7.6% over the past month and 30.4% over the past year.
Earnings Snapshot
Coca-Cola reported comparable earnings per share of 97 cents for the second quarter, which rose 11% from the year-ago period and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents by 5.43%. Favorable currency translations aided comparable EPS by two percentage points. Comparable currency-neutral EPS rose 9% year over year.
The company reported revenues of $13.38 billion, which grew 7% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.06 billion by 2.44%. Also, KO’s organic revenues increased 6%.
In the reported quarter, trademark Coca-Cola volume increased 5% across all geographic operating segments. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar advanced 16%, while Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light rose 7%. Sparkling flavors grew 4%, led primarily by Asia Pacific.
Juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages increased 2%. Water, sports, coffee and tea volume rose 6%, including 6% growth in water and 5% growth in sports drinks. Coffee declined 2%, while tea advanced 6%.
Outlook for 2026
Coca-Cola expects 2026 organic revenue growth of 5% compared with its prior forecast of 4-5% for 2026. Comparable earnings are expected to grow 9-10% from the 2025 base of $3 versus the previous outlook of 8-9% growth. The forecast includes a 3% currency tailwind and about a 1% headwind from acquisitions and divestitures.
For the third quarter of 2026, Coca-Cola expects comparable net revenues to include a 1% currency tailwind and a roughly 1% headwind from acquisitions and divestitures. Comparable earnings are projected to receive a 3% currency benefit, with minimal pressure from portfolio changes.
KO’s capital expenditure is still likely to be $2.2 billion.
From the Pitch to Profits
The FIFA World Cup proved fruitful not only for the Spanish national team but also for the beverage giant. Coca-Cola benefited from stronger demand for its drinks, driven by the tournament's hydration breaks.
According to Reuters, as a top FIFA sponsor, Coca-Cola saw a boost in energy drink sales during the tournament, contributing to strong quarterly results and an increase in its annual guidance. Per the article, World Cup-driven consumption added to the momentum of Coca-Cola's trademark beverages and zero sugar sodas, both of which demonstrated strong demand despite a broader pullback in discretionary spending among lower-income U.S. consumers.
The Cost of Conflict
As quoted on the abovementioned article, according to the company’s CFO, John Murphy, KO experienced a higher-than-expected increase in aluminum and PET costs this year.
The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted energy supplies and driven up fuel prices, contributing to higher aluminum and PET costs. Coca-Cola secured some lower input costs before the conflict began and is working with bottling partners to limit the impact.
However, input costs could remain under pressure if the conflict persists and energy prices stay elevated. Murphy stated that the company lost market share in India during the quarter, where aluminum can shortages weighed on performance.
Coca-Cola’s Stock Outlook
Coca-Cola currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.46 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations made by 26 brokerage firms. Of the 26 recommendations deriving the current ABR, Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 73.08% and 7.69% of all recommendations, indicating that the majority of the analysts remain bullish.
Based on short-term price targets offered by 24 analysts, the average price target for Coca-Cola comes to $89.21, ranging from a low of $80.00 to a high of $100.00. As of market close on July 29, the shares of the beverage giant closed at $89.08, gaining around 0.9%.
ETFs to Explore
Here, we have highlighted ETFs with meaningful exposure to Coca-Cola.
Corgi Coffee & Energy Drinks ETF BREW has an exposure of 19.40% to KO.
iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF IYK has an exposure of 12.84% to KO.
Global X PureCap MSCI Consumer Staples ETF GXPS has an exposure of 11.33% to KO.
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF FTXG has an exposure of 8.71% to KO.
Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF FSTA has an exposure of 8.03% to KO.
Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF VDC has an exposure of 8.01% to KO.
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CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC): ETF Research Reports
iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK): ETF Research Reports
Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA): ETF Research Reports
First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG): ETF Research Reports
Global X PureCap MSCI Consumer Staples ETF (GXPS): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).