KO US S&P 500DJIARussell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $97.57 · 2026-11-11
The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company that owns and markets a wide range of brands, including sparkling soft drinks, water, coffee, tea, and juice. It operates in more than 200 countries and territories, selling products through a network of bottling partners, distributors, and retailers. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-20)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 27 Oct 2026 and 28 Jul 2026
Net income down 9.4% on the previous quarter. Management sounded upbeat, in its script and in answers to analysts.
1 · Numbers
−9.4%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 4.01B vs 4.42B
Why Against the same quarter last year (+8.5%), net income rose because of underlying expansion, currency tailwinds, a favorable structural impact from the sale of finished product operations in Nigeria, and improved gross margins, despite elevated logistics and transportation costs.
2 · How management spoke
Upbeat
More upbeat than 78% of company calls
Answers to analysts: typical, in line with the script.
Last call it was different: the answers were less upbeat than the script.
3 · What stood out
The Coca-Cola Company increased its guidance for comparable earnings per share growth to at least 11% compared to $3 in 2025.
Valuation
Is The Coca-Cola Company undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 3.7% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $10.61 a share — the stock trades 820% above it. Today's price assumes 27.7% growth a year.
Current price
$97.57
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+27.7% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$10.61
Buy below
$7.96
Price vs fair value
Overvalued >200%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Management expects
Earnings +11% · from the Q3 2026 report: “The company increased its guidance for comparable earnings per share growth to at least 11% compared to $3 in 2025.”
A guidance figure for earnings, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.
Read between the lines
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Guidance
The company increased its guidance for comparable earnings per share growth to at least 11% compared to $3 in 2025.
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Figure
India delivered strong volume growth with each of the top 10 brands growing double digits, contributing to the company's revenue drivers.
Source quote
“India delivered strong volume growth with each of our top 10 brands growing double digits.”
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Guidance
The anticipated refranchising of CCBA is expected to create an 8-point headwind to comparable net revenues and a 2-point headwind to comparable earnings per share while improving margins and return profile.
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Key theme
The company is exploring a potential IPO of its bottling operations in India to provide further updates as appropriate.
Source quote
“Additionally, as previously announced, we are exploring a potential IPO of our bottling operations in India and will provide further updates as appropriate.”
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Figure
Coca-Cola achieved its 22nd consecutive quarter of value share.
Source quote
“So it's 22 consecutive quarters of value share again.”
4 more
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Guidance
The company expects margin expansion for the full year when aligning cases, shipments, and other factors.
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Guidance
The company expects shipments to run slightly behind volumes for the full year.
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Figure
Organic revenue grew 7% and volume grew 5% during the third quarter of 2026.
Source quote
“Volume grew 5% and organic revenue grew 7%.”
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Key theme
The company gained value share and delivered high single digit volume growth in Africa despite cycling a tough volume comparison.
Source quote
“In Africa, despite cycling a tough volume comparison, we gained value share and delivered high single digit volume growth.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“For the quarter, we gained share, expanded our consumer base and trademark Coca-Cola, and accelerated zero sugar volume growth.”
“In Japan, volume declined as consumers remained pressured in a challenging macroeconomic environment that was heavily impacted by a diverse weather.”
“We grew volume, delivered balanced top-line growth, and gained value share with broad-based improvement across the region.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-10-02)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-10-02 | Q2 2026period end 2026-07-03 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross profit | 8.45B | 8.41B | +0.4% | 7.66B | +10.3% |
| Operating income | 4.46B | 4.67B | −4.4% | 3.98B | +12.1% |
| Net income | 4.01B | 4.42B | −9.4% | 3.70B | +8.5% |
| EPS | 0.93 | 1.03 | −9.7% | 0.86 | +8.1% |
| P/E today 28.2 | 25.3 | 25.3 | +0.0 | 21.7 | +3.6 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- New The first and the most important one is underlying business performance has been has been strong Coca-Cola has it continues to...
- Coca-Cola is investing behind its brands and executing revenue growth management strategies that help us better serve consumers across…
- Value means different things for the consumer which then touches into affordability and premiumization in a in a way that...
- Coca-Cola still feels good about the objective to deliver a balanced revenue algorithm, two to three points volume, two to...
- Within that, about two-thirds of it relate to actions that either Coca-Cola has taken itself proactively or reflect just some...
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading Coca-Cola also expanded margins while continuing to invest in its business, delivered double-digit earnings growth and gained value share.
- Fading A great example of that is you got mini cans on multipacks in the retail stores that are more positioned...
- Fading It's great to actually have an accretive partner that it wasn't there with it, and Coca-Cola believes that its team...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Net revenues grew 7% to $13.4 billion, while operating margin was 33.4% compared to 32.0% in the prior year.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
The Coca-Cola Company reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026 in a press release dated July 28, 2026.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
The Coca-Cola Company reported that fairlife, LLC experienced a ransomware event on July 16, 2026, resulting in the temporary suspension of its production operations in the United States.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
Jennifer Mann will step down as President of the North America Operating Unit on July 31, 2026, with John Murphy assuming the role on an interim basis starting August 1, 2026.
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
The Coca-Cola Company released its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on April 28, 2026, as detailed in the attached press release.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
Henrique Braun will become Chief Executive Officer with a base salary of $1,450,000 starting March 31, 2026, while James Quincey will transition to Executive Chairman with a base salary of $1,200,000.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
The Coca-Cola Company reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 in a press release dated February 10, 2026.
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
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fourth quarter
pending sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa closes
Source quote
“This assumes the pending sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa closes during the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.”
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full year 2026
organic revenue growth of at least 5%
Source quote
“Now, let me turn to guidance for full year 2026. We now expect organic revenue growth of at least 5%, which includes the impact of slight destocking and six fewer days in the fourth quarter.”
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full year 2026
comparable currency neutral earnings per share growth of at least 9%
Source quote
“We now expect comparable currency neutral earnings per share growth excluding acquisitions and divestitures of at least 9%.”
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full year 2026
1% headwind to comparable earnings per share
Source quote
“Divestitures are now expected to be an approximate 2% headwind to comparable net revenues and we continue to expect an approximate 1% headwind to comparable earnings per share.”
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2026
underlying effective tax rate of 19.7%
Source quote
“Our underlying effective tax rate for 2026 is now expected to be 19.7%.”