Coca-Cola beats third quarter estimates on strong revenue

Investing.com -- The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, with shares edging around 0.4% higher premarket.

Adjusted EPS of $0.91 beat the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Revenue reached $13.4 billion, surpassing the $12.93 billion analyst estimate and representing a 7% increase from the prior year.

The beverage giant's performance was driven by 5% global unit case volume growth, led by India, China, Mexico and Brazil. Organic revenue grew 7%, fueled by a 7% increase in concentrate sales and 1% growth in price/mix.

Trademark Coca-Cola grew 5% while Coca-Cola Zero Sugar surged 16%, both driven by growth across all geographic operating segments. "Our results this quarter demonstrate our system's sustained momentum, giving us confidence in our updated full-year guidance," said Henrique Braun, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting organic revenue growth of at least 5%, up from approximately 5% previously. Coca-Cola also increased its comparable adjusted EPS growth outlook to at least 11%, compared to prior guidance of 9% to 10%. The midpoint of the new EPS guidance implies approximately 11% growth, which includes a 3% currency tailwind and a 1% headwind from acquisitions and divestitures.

Free cash flow guidance was raised to at least $13.0 billion from approximately $12.4 billion.

Operating margin expanded to 33.4% from 32.0% in the prior year, while comparable operating margin reached 32.9% versus 31.9% previously. The margin expansion was driven by organic revenue growth and currency tailwinds, partially offset by increased marketing investments and higher operating expenses.

Latin America delivered strong performance with revenue growing 25% and operating income rising 29%. North America revenue increased 3% with flat unit case volume, while Asia Pacific revenue grew 4% with 6% volume growth.

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