Shares of Coca-Cola Co. edged up gained ground Tuesday, after the beverage giant reported fourth-quarter revenue that rose above Wall Street forecasts, fueled by increases in both price and volume.
Case volume saw the biggest growth in the juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage category, amid strength in the Fairlife brand in the U.S.
The stock
KO,
climbed 1.4% in premarket trading, enough to pace all of the gainers within the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
ahead of the open.
Net income slipped to $1.97 billion, or 46 cents a share, from $2.03 billion, or 47 cents a share, in the same period a year ago, as unfavorable current translation resulted in a 14 percentage-point negative impact on results.
Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents matched the FactSet consensus.
Revenue grew 7.2% to $10.85 billion, to beat the FactSet consensus of $10.68 billion, as price and mix increased 9% and concentrate sales rose 3%.
Unit case volume was up 2%. Developing and emerging markets grew 4%, while developed markets was flat, as growth in Mexico and Germany was offset by weakness in the U.S. and Chile.
Within the case volume growth, sparkling soft drinks grew 2%, as Coca-Cola volume was up 2%, with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume rising 4%, while sparking flavors increased 1%.
Juice, dairy and plant-based beverage sales increased 6%, helped by strength in Minute Maid Pulpy in China, Mazoe in Africa and Fairlife in the U.S.
And water, sports, coffee and tea sales rose 1%, as water volume gained 1% while sports drinks fell 1% and coffee declined 7%.
For 2024, the company expects adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 5%, while the current FactSet consensus of $2.81 implies 4.5% growth.
The stock has gained 4.9% over the past three months through Monday while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF
XLP
has tacked on 6.4% and the Dow has advanced 13%.
