Latest news with #Quincey
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola Stock Could Be a No-Brainer Buy in May
Coca-Cola's global sales volumes are rising despite economic headwinds in major markets. Operating margin remains strong at about 30%, more than double PepsiCo's. The stock trades at under 30 times earnings, reflecting its stability in a volatile market environment. It's a stock that every investor knows, but that not enough consider as a core, long-term investment. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), the beverage titan, has a habit of outperforming its industry thanks to entrenched competitive advantages like brand strength, marketing prowess, and an unparalleled global distribution system. These factors contributed to another quarter of superb results for Coca-Cola, which reported its first-quarter operating results in late April. Let's look at why that update could make the company a no-brainer buy right now. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » It was a tough period to do business in many parts of the world. Demand for Coke products was weak in major markets like the U.S. and Latin America, in fact. Yet its global system still produced sparkling results. Sales volumes rose 2% overall, and organic revenue was up 6%. These metrics kept Coke chugging along at management's long-term goals for the business, despite slowing economic growth rates and geopolitical volatility. The business even expanded its market share across the massive ready-to-drink beverage industry. "Our performance this quarter once again demonstrates the effectiveness of our all-weather strategy," CEO James Quincey said in a press release. That stability is an asset for investors in most markets, but especially during the current volatility spike on Wall Street. Coke turned in a stellar performance on the financial side of the ledger as well. Cash flow was up year over year, profit margin expanded, and earnings per share rose 1% despite a five-percentage-point headwind from currency exchange rate shifts. Coke's operating profitability is sitting at 30% of sales, or more than double the level of arch rival PepsiCo's (NASDAQ: PEP). These cash resources allowed management to invest in growth initiatives like launching brands in hit niches such as energy drinks, health drinks, and sparkling waters. People are loving the expansion of the Simply brand franchise to include soda beverages, and the popular Fuze Tea franchise entered more markets in Q1. There are now over 30 billion-dollar brands under the Coke umbrella. Those successes explain why Quincey and his team see plenty of room to grow the worldwide business over the long term. That growth begins in 2025, which is still on track to meet management's targets despite the soft start in a few key markets. Coke should boost organic sales by 5% to 6% with earnings per share (affected by unfavorable currency exchange rate shifts) rising 2% to 3%. Toss in a dividend that's yielding nearly 3% (and has risen for over 60 consecutive years), and you've got the ingredients for modest, but significant, positive returns in 2025. Investors can indeed find faster sales and earnings growth in other industries. And Coke's core soda business is under pressure that will likely take time to ease. However, the stock still provides a tantalizing mix of stable sales growth, profit expansion, and relatively low risk of a sharp contraction during the next recession. Meanwhile, you can own the stock for just under 30 times earnings and below 6 times annual sales. Those valuation metrics don't represent obvious steals, in part because investors are already warming up to Coke's strengths in this volatile global economic environment. But the stock will still make a good addition to your portfolio if you're looking for dividend income and sales growth in a defensive package. Consider putting this beverage leader on your watchlist, if not in your portfolio, for May. Before you buy stock in Coca-Cola, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Coca-Cola wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $623,685!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $701,781!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 906% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 164% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 Demitri Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Coca-Cola Stock Could Be a No-Brainer Buy in May was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
04-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's how tariffs are hitting consumer brands from Coca-Cola to Amazon
Major consumer and retail brands are reporting the effects of tariffs in their earnings calls. Some are seeing higher costs on imports, especially from China. Others are seeing less-direct effects, such as Mexican consumers avoiding American brands. For some companies, tariffs present a clear, if difficult, problem: Goods made in other countries, especially China, are now more expensive to bring to bring into the US. For brands and retailers to protect their profit margins, that will mean hiking the prices that shoppers pay. Other brands import far less to the US, but are seeing people in other countries turn away from their goods due to their connection with America. Here are some of the ways that tariffs are affecting some of the biggest consumer brands and retailers, as spotted in the latest round of earnings reports. Adidas Adidas, which is based in Germany, warned on Tuesday that the prices of almost all of its products will go up in the US under the current tariffs. The reason? Adidas "currently cannot produce almost any of our products in the US," CEO Bjrn Gulden said. "Should the duties stay, then of course, there will be price increases in the US market," Gulden said during the sneaker maker's earnings call. Amazon said in earnings on Thursday that it's "maniacally focused" on keeping prices low even with tariffs in place. CEO Andy Jassy pointed to Amazon's wide product selection as an advantage for consumers looking to save money or hunting for a particular product as supply chains are squeezed. At the same time, whether prices go up or not also relies on what the over two million third-party sellers on Amazon's platform decide to do, Jassy added. Amazon did book $1 billion in one-time costs for its first quarter. Some of the charges came after the company brought in some inventory earlier than planned to minimize its tariff bill. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Amazon after Punchbowl News reported that the e-commerce giant planned to break out how much tariffs were contributing to price increases for shoppers. Leavitt called the proposal a "hostile and political act" on Amazon's part. Amazon later said that it never approved the plan and only considered it for Haul, an Amazon website that competes with Temu and other sites that source products directly from China. Retail analysts told Business Insider that the White House's comments are likely to make retailers think twice about how they disclose the costs of tariffs to shoppers. Coca-Cola Tariffs' effects on Coca-Cola are "manageable," CEO James Quincey said in an earnings call on Tuesday. That's because many of the ingredients that its bottling facilities use source locally and only import a few inputs such as machinery. But tariffs and broader backlash against the US are still taking a toll on the company, Quincey said. Coca-Cola saw its sales slip among hispanic consumers in the US and parts of Mexico near the US border, Quincey said. "Some of the geopolitical tension was just causing people to be a little more cautious with their spend," he said. In response, Coca-Cola is emphasizing its local operations in Mexico through an ad campaign it calls "Hecho en Mxico," or "Made in Mexico." Hasbro Trump's tariffs could hit toy sales with a force "consistent with what happened with the 2008 and 2009 recession," Hasbro CEO Christian Cocks said in late April. Toy industry sales dropped by "mid-single digits" during the Great Recession, Cocks said. Tariffs could also hit Hasbro's net profit by between $60 million and $180 million in 2025, the CEO said.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola suffers an alarming loss from major boycott
Coca-Cola () , which owns popular drink brands such as Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Dasani, has had a rough start to 2025. The company recently noticed an unexpected shift in customer behavior, and its CEO is flagging the source of the problem. In Coca-Cola's first-quarter earnings report for 2025, the company revealed that its concrete sales in the U.S. declined by 4% year-over-year during the quarter, despite increasing revenue in the region. 💵💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰💵 The company's unit case volume across the nation declined by 3%, which it claims is due to decreases in 'trademark Coca-Cola and water, sports, coffee, and tea.'In addition to a decline in U.S. sales, Coca-Cola saw its net revenue shrink by 2% year-over-year, generating only $11.1 billion during the quarter. During an earnings call on April 30, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that the company is 'not satisfied' with its recent volume performance in the U.S. and that it is starting to lose a vital group of customers. 'In North America, we grew revenue and profit and won value share, but we were not satisfied with our volume performance,' said Quincey. 'In addition to challenges with severe weather and calendar shift, volume was impacted by weakening consumer sentiment as the quarter progressed, particularly among Hispanic consumers.' Coca-Cola's loss of Hispanic customers comes after a video went viral on social media platform TikTok in February, alleging the drink company laid off "thousands of Latin American workers" and reported them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In response to this video, some consumers said that they would be boycotting the seemingly addressed the video during the earnings call, claiming that it contained 'false' information that impacted sales during the first quarter. 'I think as it relates very specifically, firstly to the false video, I think that's largely in the rearview mirror in terms of its virality and affecting the business,' said Quincey. 'It wasn't the first piece of misinformation, disinformation, or anything else nefarious about the Coca-Cola brand, and I'm sure it won't be the last. But we are very focused on recovering from it.' To add fuel to the fire, the 'Latino Freeze Movement,' which was developed in response to President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration and rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, is encouraging Latinos to not buy from companies that are allegedly connected to the Trump administration or have recently scaled back their DEI programs. Quincey said that the company will take several actions to win back Hispanic customers going forward. 'We're focusing in on winning back some of the Hispanic consumers, both from a consumer and a channel point of view, and reinforcing some of our affordability options,' said Quincey. The CEO also acknowledged that consumers across the country are tightening their spending amid recent concerns about the economy and the growing tensions between the U.S. and Mexico due to Trump's tariffs. More Food + Dining: Domino's Pizza unveils generous deal amid alarming consumer trend Steak 'n Shake's beef tallow fries aren't as healthy as they appear The Cheesecake Factory makes bittersweet changes to its menu Tariffs are taxes companies pay to import goods from overseas, and the extra cost is often passed down to consumers through price hikes. 'I think there was a little bit of pullback in purchasing and in traffic, not just on the U.S. side of the border,' said Quincey. 'Remember that there's a significant portion of the industrial footprint in Northern Mexico, which provides exports. I mean, the highly integrated nature of the supply chain between Northern Mexico and the U.S., I think some of the geopolitical tension was just causing people to be a little more cautious with their spend, a little less going out, a little more keeping the money in the pocket.' Consumers are indeed growing anxious about the economy. Consumer confidence recently dipped by 7.9 points in April, which is the lowest level since May 2020 and a steeper decline than economists had previously predicted, according to recent data from The Conference Board. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, declined by 12.5 points to 54.4 in April, the lowest level since October 2011. This number is also below the threshold of 80, which usually signals that a recession is down the in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Coca-Cola suffers an alarming loss from major boycott
Coca-Cola (KO) , which owns popular drink brands such as Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Dasani, has had a rough start to 2025. The company recently noticed an unexpected shift in customer behavior, and its CEO is flagging the source of the problem. In Coca-Cola's first-quarter earnings report for 2025, the company revealed that its concrete sales in the U.S. declined by 4% year-over-year during the quarter, despite increasing revenue in the region. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The company's unit case volume across the nation declined by 3%, which it claims is due to decreases in "trademark Coca-Cola and water, sports, coffee, and tea." Related: PepsiCo CEO addresses major customer concerns amid low sales In addition to a decline in U.S. sales, Coca-Cola saw its net revenue shrink by 2% year-over-year, generating only $11.1 billion during the quarter. Image source:During an earnings call on April 30, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that the company is "not satisfied" with its recent volume performance in the U.S. and that it is starting to lose a vital group of customers. "In North America, we grew revenue and profit and won value share, but we were not satisfied with our volume performance," said Quincey. "In addition to challenges with severe weather and calendar shift, volume was impacted by weakening consumer sentiment as the quarter progressed, particularly among Hispanic consumers." Coca-Cola's loss of Hispanic customers comes after a video went viral on social media platform TikTok in February, alleging the drink company laid off "thousands of Latin American workers" and reported them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In response to this video, some consumers said that they would be boycotting the company. Related: Domino's Pizza suffers a startling loss as customers switch gears Quincey seemingly addressed the video during the earnings call, claiming that it contained "false" information that impacted sales during the first quarter. "I think as it relates very specifically, firstly to the false video, I think that's largely in the rearview mirror in terms of its virality and affecting the business," said Quincey. "It wasn't the first piece of misinformation, disinformation, or anything else nefarious about the Coca-Cola brand, and I'm sure it won't be the last. But we are very focused on recovering from it." To add fuel to the fire, the "Latino Freeze Movement," which was developed in response to President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration and rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, is encouraging Latinos to not buy from companies that are allegedly connected to the Trump administration or have recently scaled back their DEI programs. Quincey said that the company will take several actions to win back Hispanic customers going forward. "We're focusing in on winning back some of the Hispanic consumers, both from a consumer and a channel point of view, and reinforcing some of our affordability options," said Quincey. The CEO also acknowledged that consumers across the country are tightening their spending amid recent concerns about the economy and the growing tensions between the U.S. and Mexico due to Trump's tariffs. More Food + Dining: Domino's Pizza unveils generous deal amid alarming consumer trendSteak 'n Shake's beef tallow fries aren't as healthy as they appearThe Cheesecake Factory makes bittersweet changes to its menu Tariffs are taxes companies pay to import goods from overseas, and the extra cost is often passed down to consumers through price hikes. "I think there was a little bit of pullback in purchasing and in traffic, not just on the U.S. side of the border," said Quincey. "Remember that there's a significant portion of the industrial footprint in Northern Mexico, which provides exports. I mean, the highly integrated nature of the supply chain between Northern Mexico and the U.S., I think some of the geopolitical tension was just causing people to be a little more cautious with their spend, a little less going out, a little more keeping the money in the pocket." Consumers are indeed growing anxious about the economy. Consumer confidence recently dipped by 7.9 points in April, which is the lowest level since May 2020 and a steeper decline than economists had previously predicted, according to recent data from The Conference Board. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, declined by 12.5 points to 54.4 in April, the lowest level since October 2011. This number is also below the threshold of 80, which usually signals that a recession is down the road. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola sales slip following boycott among Hispanic consumers
This story was originally published on Food Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Food Dive newsletter. Coca-Cola reported lower sales in the U.S. as the soda giant faces weaker consumer demand particularly among Hispanic consumers, CEO James Qunicey told investors on the company's earnings call this week. The soda behemoth reported a 3% decline in volumes in North America in its most recent quarter amid an 8% increase in price mix, driven by muted sales for Coca-Cola and its water, sports drinks, coffee and tea category. Overall sales in the region declined 4%, it said. A false viral video claimed that Coca-Cola reported undocumented workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and called on Latino consumers to boycott the soda giant. Quincey in an earnings call said the video is 'completely false,' and that the company is 'very focused on recovering from it,' although the impact is 'largely in the rearview mirror.' Consumers' political and economic concerns are being felt across the food and beverage industry, as inflation and pushback on U.S. trade and immigration policy has exacerbated a slowdown in spending in markets around the world. As President Donald Trump ramps up deportation action, Hispanic consumers have retreated from social gatherings and other outings, leading to a decline in spending on food and beverage. Other CPG companies are noting the impact of a pullback among Hispanic consumers amid socioeconomic tensions, including beer giant Constellation which saw sales of brews like Corona, Modelo and Pacifico decline in recent months. The February viral video was determined to be untrue by Reuters. Quincey said the false video impacted flagship Coca-Cola soda sales in states along the southern border, along with economic volatility and cold weather. Beyond the video, affordability concerns have led to a decline in spending in both the U.S. and in Mexico. Although the effect of President Donald Trump's tariffs have yet to be known, many consumers are already spending less in anticipation, Coke executives said. 'We're focusing on winning back some of the Hispanic consumers, both from a consumer and a channel point of view and reinforcing some of our affordability options,' Quincey said. The company believes its 'Share a Coke' campaign for Coca-Cola, which it relaunched last month, will drive continued sales this summer among Gen Z and multicultural consumers. The soda giant plans to play up the fact that it produces its sodas locally. Even as Coke struggled among Hispanic consumers, the brand notched some wins with new products. Quincey pointed to strong sales for its most recent Coca-Cola flavor Orange Cream, which totaled $50 million in the last quarter. Simply Pop, the prebiotic soda it launched in select regions this spring, gives the company a chance to 'test and learn and scale successes over time' in the better-for-you beverage category, the executive said. Wall Street signaled confidence in the soda company's ability to deliver value to shareholders amid economic turmoil. In a note to investors, Morgan Stanley analysts said Coca-Cola remains in a stronger position to withstand a weaker U.S. dollar than many of its beverage industry peers. Coca-Cola sees 'little tariff exposure with local sourcing and costs borne by its bottling network,' the bank said, but it noted away-from-home product sales could provide some risk for the soda giant. Bank of America said in a note Coca-Cola is 'solidly on track to deliver on its financial targets, in our view, a rarity in consumer staples this earnings season.' Recommended Reading Coca-Cola taps into nostalgia with launch of Orange Cream flavor Sign in to access your portfolio
