Coca-Cola is scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell Wednesday, and analysts at Barclays believe the company could outperform Street expectations.
The consensus for Coca-Cola’s second-quarter results is revenue of $10.56 billion and earnings of $0.65 per share. Barclays, meanwhile, projects EPS of $0.74. In terms of sales, the consensus expectation is 3.9% growth, but Barclays projects 4.8%.
“We expect KO is comfortably positioned to exceed revenue goals this year and could well flow some of this through to the bottom line - a view reinforced by [Pepsi]’s constructive print from earlier in July,” the analysts wrote.
“We remain enthusiastic about the momentum in KO’s business given the company’s favorable channel mix, superior price pack capabilities, and the more networked organization at the global level.”
Additionally, Barclays pointed out that Coca-Cola stock has lagged thus far in 2023 due to in part to “investors prioritizing stronger margin recoveries elsewhere in staples.”
However, that leaves room for upside relative to other staple names, the analysts said.
“In 2Q, we look for total company organic sales to grow +9.3%, with concentrate sales up +1.9% in line with unit case volume and a +7.4% price/mix tailwind,” the analysts wrote. “We model a -3.4% currency headwind and -1.1% structural headwind that translate to +4.8% net sales growth.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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