In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $84.92, marking a +3% move from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.51%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.2%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.47%.
Shares of the world's largest beverage maker witnessed a gain of 3.15% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 0.9%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.53%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Coca-Cola in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 28, 2026. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.92, marking a 5.75% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $13.05 billion, showing a 4.15% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.26 per share and revenue of $49.31 billion, which would represent changes of +8.67% and +2.96%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Coca-Cola is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Coca-Cola is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 25.28. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.4.
One should further note that KO currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.29. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Beverages - Soft drinks stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.21 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, finds itself in the top 38% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).