Coca-Cola bottles are displayed in San Anselmo, California, on April 24, 2023.
Justin Sullivan | fake images
Coca Cola on Tuesday posted quarterly earnings that met expectations and sales that beat estimates, as higher prices helped the beverage maker overcome a volume decline in North America.
Here's what the company reported compared to what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted 49 cents vs. expected 49 cents
- Revenue: $10.85 billion vs. $10.68 billion expected
The company's shares rose less than 1% in premarket trading.
Coca-Cola reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.97 billion, or 46 cents per share, down from $2.03 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 49 cents per share.
Net sales rose 7% to $10.85 billion. Coca-Cola's organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions and divestitures, rose 12% in the quarter.
Coca-Cola reported unit case volume growth of 2% during the quarter. The metric excludes prices and foreign currency.
However, North American volume contracted 1% as demand for Coca-Cola's water, sports drinks, coffee and tea fell during the quarter.
For 2024, Coca-Cola forecasts organic revenue growth of 6% to 7% and comparable earnings per share growth of 4% to 5%. The company expects foreign exchange rates to impact both its earnings and revenue throughout the year.
Looking ahead to the first quarter, Coca-Cola anticipates a 4% headwind due to foreign exchange rates on its comparable revenue. The company also expects foreign exchange rates to slow its earnings per share growth and anticipates an 8% impact from currency changes during the period.
