Coca-Cola Lifts Full-Year EPS Growth Outlook to 11% After Q3 Beat
KO sits 37% above its 52-week low of $67.274.
Summary
Coca-Cola beat on both lines and raised guidance. Q3 adjusted EPS came in at 91 cents versus 88 cents expected, and revenue grew 7% to $13.38 billion against a $12.92 billion consensus. Unit case volume rose 5%, with growth in trademark Coca-Cola, Coke Zero Sugar and Diet Coke, and organic revenue also grew 7% on higher concentrate sales and prices. The bigger news is the outlook: full-year adjusted EPS growth is now at least 11%, up from a prior 9%-10%, and organic revenue growth is now at least 5% versus about 5% before. This follows the 8-K filed this morning and the Q2 10-Q that flagged a potential $14B+ IRS tax liability still hanging over the story. The KFC switch from PepsiCo starting in January adds a volume tailwind into next year.
Updates
· Seeking Alpha — Coca-Cola shares rose 1.1% to $93.70 after Q3 organic revenue grew 7% versus 4.3% consensus, with Bottling Investments and Latin America each up 12%.
At the time of this announcement, KO was trading at $92.37 on NYSE in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $398.8B. The 52-week trading range was $67.27 to $95.37. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.