Coke Earnings Report Surpasses Expectations and Sends KO Stock Up

On Tuesday, April 23, the Coke earnings report came out, and it surpassed expectations. On the news, KO stock moved into the green, ending the day up nearly 2%.

Here’s what we know.

Coke Earnings Report Sends KO Stock Up

According to Cola-Cola (NYSE:KO), we can attribute the company’s first-quarter success to organic sales growth and operating margins. This is because both showed significant improvements from 2018. “We’re encouraged by our first quarter results,” said James Quincey, CEO of the beverage company, “as our disciplined growth strategies continue to deliver strong underlying performance.”

While it’s likely Coca-Cola investors are also encouraged by the results, they may also feel a sense of relief. Why? Because rival Pepsi (NASDAQ:PEP) also surpassed expectations last week in its own first-quarter earnings report.

Figures

In terms of earnings for the three months ending in March, Coca-Cola saw 48 cents per share, which is 2 cents ahead of analyst expectations. As for group revenues, the Coke earnings report noted a 5% increase from 2018. Group revenues came to $8 billion, chiefly due to new brands and demand for carbonated drinks, according to The Street.

As mentioned, the Coke earnings report sent KO stock into the green. Despite trading down 0.06% in after-hours trade at the time of writing, KO stock closed trading at $48.21, which means it closed up 1.71%. It will be interesting to see how KO stock opens on Wednesday.

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The company also reiterated its sales and profits guidance targets for 2019, keeping its organic revenue growth rate of roughly 4%. This reiteration may have also played a role in KO stock trading up. Speaking on its 2019 guidance, Quincey said: “We remain confident in our full year guidance as we continue to make progress on our transformation as a consumer-centric total beverage company.”