Tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. Coca-Cola will $KO (+2,3 %) will present its quarterly figures.
👉 Webcast: https://investors.coca-colacompany.com
The competitor PepsiCo $PEP (+3,26 %) has recently disappointed and missed sales expectations.
Sales fell to USD 27.78 billion in Q4 2024, which put the share under pressure.
Pepsi Q4 - 2024 from 04 Feb, 2025
One problem: consumers are turning less to soft drinks and snacks, which could be partly related to rising sales of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy [1].
💊 GLP-1 drugs and the soft drink crisis?
These drugs, which are used for weight loss, reduce appetite, especially for sugary drinks [2].
PepsiCo has already noticed that this trend is influencing purchasing behavior.
The question now is: will this also affect Coca-Cola?
2024 was a mixed year for Coca-Cola. Although the share price rose by over 20 % in the meantime, rising market interest rates led to a correction as defensive dividend stocks were sold in favor of more attractive US government bonds. The valuation was also high at times, but the valuation ratios have now returned to a historically fair level [3]
Warren Buffett remained loyal to Coca-Cola, while reducing other positions such as Apple and Bank of America. Expectations for tomorrow's quarterly figures are moderate:
While sales are expected to come in below the previous year's figure at USD 10.7 billion, earnings per share are expected to rise to USD 0.52.
Coca Cola Estimates Q4 - 2024
Despite Pepsi's recent disappointment in the market, a majority of options market participants are betting on a positive reaction: 56.1% of the options expiring on Friday are calls [3].
Does Coca-Cola have the better strategy against current market trends? 🚀📉
🥤 Coca-Cola's strategy against change
In recent years, Coca-Cola has invested heavily in low-calorie and sugar-free alternatives. Products such as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and expansion into other beverage categories (e.g. energy drinks) should ensure that the company is less affected by soft drink declines [4].
📉 Tomorrow will decide whether Coca-Cola has cushioned the GLP-1 effect better than PepsiCo.
Coca Cola has a share of just under 2.35% in my portfolio. So I'm looking forward to the figures and the reaction tomorrow.
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Sources:
[1]
[3]
[4]
