Beverage behemoth The Coca Cola Co (NYSE:KO) posted on Tuesday modest beats on both earnings and revenue in the third quarter as growth in diet sodas, Coca Cola Zero and other sparkling soft drinks helped boost the company's bottomline.
The beverage company said earnings per share came in at $0.58, compared with the expected $0.55 and the year-ago mark of $0.50. Revenue reached $8.25 billion, higher than the expected $8.17 billion, but below the $9.06 billion in the year-ago period.
The unit case volume, an indicator of how much product it sold, rose 2% from the year-ago period.
"We continue to be encouraged by our performance year-to-date as we accelerate our evolution as an even more consumer-centric, total beverage company," CEO James Quincey said in a statement.
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Shares of Coke were up 0.62% to $46.75 in the Tuesday premarket, having closed on Monday up 1.18% to $46.46. Later in the session, they gained 2.17% to $44.47.
Coke's operating margin, which included items impacting comparability, expanded approximately 600 basis points. Comparable operating margin (non-GAAP) improved 575 basis points, driven by divestitures of lower-margin bottling operations and the company's ongoing productivity efforts.
These drivers were partially offset by an approximate 130 basis point headwind from the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard and the impact of currency.
The company said continued to gain value share in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages.
Coca Cola is the world's biggest beverage company. It is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reporting by Rene Pastor, contactable on rene.pastor@proactiveinvestors.com