What You Need To Know Ahead of Coca-Cola’s Earnings

Key Takeaways

• Coca-Cola will report its third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Wednesday.
• Analysts expect the company to report lower revenue but slightly higher earnings per share than a year ago.
• Last week, rival Pepsi lowered its full-year organic sales outlook due partially to pressure in international markets.

Coca-Cola (KO) will report its third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Wednesday, and investors will be watching to see how the company fares compared with rival PepsiCo (PEP).

The soft-drink titan is expected to report revenue of $11.65 billion, 2.5% lower year-over-year, and earnings per share (EPS) of 74 cents, compared with 71 cents in the prior-year quarter.

	Analyst Estimates for Q3 2024	Q2 2024	Q3 2023
Revenue	$11.65 billion	$12.36 billion	$11.95 billion
Diluted EPS	74 cents	56 cents	71 cents
Net Income	$3.2 billion	$2.41 billion	$3.09 billion

Key Metric: Product Mix

Investors will be watching for price/mix shifts across Coca-Cola’s geographic operating segments.

A quarter ago, unit case volume rose 2% year-over-year, driven by 2% volume growth in trademark Coca-Cola, and 6% growth in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Sparkling soft drinks improved 3% overall, and sports drinks rose 3%. Conversely, the company’s water sales fell by 1% and coffee slid by 4%. 

Business Spotlight: Performance vs. Pepsi

Last week, Pepsi lowered its full-year organic sales outlook when it reported earnings, with management noting that “the cumulative effects of inflationary pressures continue to impact budgets and spending patterns.”

Similar concerns, particularly in international markets such as China, Mexico, and the Middle East, could affect Coca-Cola’s results, too, said UBS analysts in a note Wednesday.

“Given what we saw from Pepsi last week, we think these concerns are somewhat justified as certain international markets remain and/or are becoming more challenging,” UBS said. 

Wall Street is projecting organic growth of 6.7% organic growth for Coca-Cola, according to UBS, including 4% growth in North America and 8.3% internationally.

Coca-Cola shares rose 0.8% on Friday to over $70. They’ve gained roughly 20% this year.

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