Coca-Cola tops earnings estimates, hikes revenue outlook on higher prices

Coca-Cola
on
Tuesday
reported
quarterly
earnings
and
revenue
that
beat
analysts’
expectations.

The
beverage
giant
also
raised
its
full-year
outlook
for
organic
revenue.

Shares
of
the
company
fell
less
than
1%
in
premarket
trading.

Here’s
what
the
company
reported
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG:

• Earnings
  per
  share:
  72
  cents
  adjusted
  vs.
  70
  cents
  expected
• Revenue:
  $11.30
  billion
  vs.
  $11.01
  billion
  expected

Coke
reported
first-quarter
net
income
attributable
to
the
company
of
$3.18
billion,
or
74
cents
per
share,
up
from
$3.11
billion,
or
72
cents
per
share,
a
year
earlier.

Excluding
items,
the
beverage
giant
earned
72
cents
per
share.

Net
sales
rose
3%
to
$11.30
billion.
Organic
sales,
which
strips
out
the
impact
of
acquisitions,
divestitures
and
foreign
exchange,
climbed
11%
in
the
quarter.

Coke
reported
that
its
global
unit
case
volume
increased
1%,
but
its
North
American
volume
was
flat
for
the
quarter.
The
metric
excludes
pricing
and
foreign
currency.

Coke’s
sparkling
soft
drinks
division,
which
includes
its
namesake
soda,
reported
volume
growth
of
2%.

The
company’s
juice,
dairy
and
plant-based
drinks
segment
saw
volume
grow
2%
in
the
quarter,
fueled
by
demand
in
North
America.

Only
Coke’s
water,
sports,
coffee
and
tea
division
reported
declining
volume.
The
segment’s
volume
fell
2%
in
the
quarter
as
bottled
water,
sports
drinks
and
coffee
all
saw
demand
weaken.

Coke’s
overall
prices
were
up
13%
compared
with
the
year-ago
period,
but
about
half
of
that
came
from
hyperinflation
in
certain
markets,
like
Argentina.

For
the
full
year,
Coke
is
now
expecting
organic
revenue
growth
of
8%
to
9%,
up
from
its
prior
range
of
6%
to
7%.
The
company
said
it
anticipates
price
hikes
in
certain
markets
experiencing “intense
inflation,”
leading
in
part
to
its
new
outlook.

Coke
reiterated
its
outlook
for
full-year
comparable
earnings
growth
of
4%
to
5%.

In
the
second
quarter,
the
company
expects
that
its
comparable
revenue
will
include
a
6%
currency
headwind
and
a
5%
to
6%
hit
from
acquisitions,
divestitures
and
structural
changes.
Currency
fluctuations
are
also
expected
to
pose
a
8%
to
9%
headwind
to
its
comparable
earnings
per
share.