KO - The Coca-Cola Company
53.20 -0.02 (-0.04%)
After hours: 5:51PM EST
| Previous close | 53.08 |
| Open | 53.10 |
| Bid | 53.20 x 1200 |
| Ask | 53.22 x 1400 |
| Day's range | 53.01 - 53.40 |
| 52-week range | 44.42 - 55.92 |
| Volume | 11,920,566 |
| Avg. volume | 10,922,181 |
| Market cap | 228.021B |
| Beta (3Y monthly) | 0.45 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 29.39 |
| EPS (TTM) | 1.81 |
| Earnings date | 12 Feb 2020 - 17 Feb 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 1.60 (3.02%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 2019-11-29 |
| 1y target est | 58.71 |
- Zacks
Monster Beverage Gains 19% YTD: Strategic Efforts on Track
Monster Beverage (MNST) gains momentum in its energy drinks category driven by the Monster Energy brand. Also, its efforts to innovate and launch products bode well.
- Bloomberg
TikTok Is Aiming at a Bigger Audience Than U.S. Senators
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- As U.S. political opposition hardens to TikTok, the globally popular video app from Beijing-based ByteDance Inc., some inside the company want to find ways to make the business appear to be less Chinese. That’s a smart move, aimed less at critics in Congress and more at two other East Coast power centers: Madison Avenue and Wall Street.TikTok delivers short, user-generated videos to international audiences. A Chinese version, called Douyin, looks and functions similarly but is focused on domestic users. The company has been reducing the amount of content from China that appears on the broader service, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The idea is to give TikTok a more independent, internationally focused business. Talk of a rebrand comes amid a U.S. foreign-investment review and criticism over the user data that TikTok gathers. Prominent U.S. senators have accused the company of censoring content on behalf of the Chinese government and called for a national security review into its 2017 purchase of social-media company Musical.ly. While founded in Shanghai, Musical.ly had an office in California. It was merged into TikTok in 2018, a move that helped it gain more than 100 million app downloads in the U.S.One of the senators, Josh Hawley, tweeted after the WSJ report that TikTok “doesn’t need a rebrand, it needs to sever ties with China.” He’s currently the youngest senator, at 39 around a quarter-century older than Tik Tok’s core demographic. Yet he isn’t the target audience for ByteDance’s efforts.For TikTok to be a true success, it needs to appeal to the likes of Nike, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Its advertising business is ready to take off because it has direct access to that all-powerful youth demographic. Yet big corporate names tend to be wary of risking their brands on a new content service. Allegations that TikTok is a tool for Chinese authoritarianism and censorship make it harder for ad execs to sell.Martin Sorrell, founder of the world’s largest advertising firm, WPP Plc, is among those who see big money to be made from TikTok, especially as an opportunity to reach teenagers, he told Bloomberg. Sorrell also believes ByteDance should “probably not” be subject to a review by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which is chaired by the Commerce Department.With a valuation of $75 billion, ByteDance is the world’s most valuable startup and counts SoftBank Group Corp. and Sequoia Capital among its shareholders, according to CB Insights. For those investors to cash out, ByteDance will need to list on an international bourse — Hong Kong and New York are leading contenders. ByteDance executives want to build up its international operations before considering an international public offering, Bloomberg wrote last month, after reports it plans an imminent Hong Kong listing. It has hired chiefs for its businesses in the U.S. and India and plans to expand in Australia and Europe. Doing so would help sell the idea that TikTok is not a Chinese content platform.That would simplify making TikTok a separate entity, which ByteDance could then list at a lower and more easily digested market valuation. It could also make it easier to keep the core business — including Douyin and news aggregator Toutiao — close to home, remaining under Beijing’s watchful eye.For such a spinoff to happen, TikTok has to be seen as a viable international company free from censorship and spying. It’s a business case as much as a political one.To contact the author of this story: Tim Culpan at tculpan1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McDowell at pmcdowell10@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tim Culpan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Soft Drinks Industry's Near-Term Outlook Lacks Fizz
Soft Drinks Industry's Near-Term Outlook Lacks Fizz
- Zacks
Why Is Coke (KO) Down 2.1% Since Last Earnings Report?
Coke (KO) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.
- Bloomberg
Fires and Floods Make Saudi Aramco IPO a Hard Sell
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It is a bad time to buy into an oil company whose major asset is reserves in the ground that can sustain current production levels of the carbon-laden fossil fuel until near the end of the century. Oil lost its place in the power generation market after the oil shocks of the 1970s, and it is now starting to see serious competition for powering cars, buses and trucks along with the first signs of viable alternatives for fueling maritime transport. Oil’s domination in air transport looks safer for now, and the industry forecasts the strongest growth in petrochemicals that go into everything from plastics and fertilizers to electronic gadgets and clothing. But the tide of history is moving firmly against fossil fuels.Saudi Aramco may boast that it holds the rights to the largest reserves of crude with the lowest carbon footprint to extract, but that rather misses the point. The climate concerns around oil are not about the carbon cost of getting it out of the ground, but of what is done with it afterward.The oil age may not be over — far from it — but oil is facing unprecedented headwinds. Here’s a sample from recent weeks and months:Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said last week that climate change is menacing the historic maritime city, which suffered its second-highest tide on record. Parts of northern England are suffering their worst flooding in decades, and millions were displaced as Cyclone Bulbul hit Bangladesh and northern India.Storms and floods are not new, but they are becoming more severe, more frequent and causing more damage as sea levels rise and the climate changes — developments that are linked, at least in part, to the burning of fossil fuels.Unprecedented bushfires are ravaging parts of eastern Australia rendered tinderbox dry by a two-year drought. Wildfires forced hundreds of thousands of Californians to flee their homes earlier this month. Russia is suffering one of its worst years this century for forest fires. Once again, climate change is contributing to the creation of the hot, dry conditions that have allowed the fires to spread.Climate change is also melting Russia’s permafrost. Not a problem for Saudi Aramco, perhaps, but certainly one for Russia’s oil industry, which relies on infrastructure built in the 1970s on ground that is no longer able to support the weight it was 40 years ago.Mounting climate concerns are inexorably turning public opinion against hydrocarbons, including oil.What’s more, pollution caused by leaking pipelines, accidents involving oil tankers, or drilling rigs are all increasing the pressure on the oil and gas industry. Particulate emissions from burning fossil fuels are behind elevated mortality rates, leading to stricter controls on ship fuels, measures to push cars and vans out of city centers and increasing pressure on airlines to find alternatives.Aramco has a solution to the predicament the industry is in — petrochemicals. The company wants to turn 40% of its crude into chemicals, according to Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president for downstream. But petrochemicals are under pressure, too.Globally more than 200 businesses, from Coca-Cola Co. to food and consumer goods giant Unilever NV have made commitments to reduce plastic waste, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Unilever aims to halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025. Coca-Cola’s goal is for its bottles to contain an average of 50% recycled content by 2030. Initiatives like those will make a serious dent in the projected demand for new plastics.And then there’s an issue that is specific to Saudi Aramco — the security of its facilities. The company did a spectacular job of restoring output levels after a devastating attack on its oil facilities in September, using spare capacity elsewhere to boost flows. But the very fact of the attacks has raised concerns among potential investors about Saudi Arabia’s ability to protect its oil infrastructure.The time to bring private investors into Saudi Aramco was when everybody wanted a piece of the action. Twenty years ago investors would have fallen over each other beating a path to Saudi Aramco’s door. It’s a much tougher sell now.To contact the author of this story: Julian Lee at jlee1627@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Julian Lee is an oil strategist for Bloomberg. Previously he worked as a senior analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have a new foe in the plant-based burger wars: the Ultimate Burger
Yahoo Finance gives Conagra Brands' new plant-based Ultimate Burger a try. Here's our takeaway.
- Yahoo Finance
How this CBD company created a buzz by 'kind of making fun of millennial culture'
Ask Benjamin Witte about Recess, and one of the first places he’ll send you is the company’s Instagram page.
- Yahoo Finance
Walmart's stock is trading at a record high and one sentence reveals why
The world’s largest retailer’s third quarter results on Thursday showed that yet again, CEO Doug McMillon continues to pull almost all the right strings operationally.
- Zacks
Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA)?
Sector ETF report for FSTA
- Bloomberg
Trump Nears Defining Hour as Case Goes Public
(Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.Congressional Democrats have a tall order ahead.Their challenge, at the start of public impeachment hearings today against President Donald Trump, is to shift public opinion in an already-polarized nation.Americans are roughly split on whether Trump should be removed from office for allegedly pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on his chief Democratic rival, Joe Biden. Unlike the Watergate scandal, though, TV, radio and social media more openly cater to the right or left and will spin the events furiously.Democrats led by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff are hoping people will turn against Trump after watching veteran U.S. diplomats say he tied aid to Ukraine to it probing Biden and his son Hunter over business dealings there. Republicans argue there was no explicit quid pro quo and, even if it there was, that it’s not an impeachable offense.Expect the hearings to get testy given the bitterly partisan climate. In the end, while the House is expected to vote for impeachment, chances the Republican-controlled Senate will agree are remote.A defiant Trump may suffer political damage and the Democrats will face charges the process was a waste of time and money.But as the 2020 election campaign gathers steam, both sides will probably end up where they started: all square.Global Headlines“Unthinkable” consequences | Hong Kong announced it would close public schools as officials — along with China’s state media — warned of consequences from the violence that’s rocked the city for days. Still, further rallies are expected tonight after activists disrupted the morning rush-hour commute and held demonstrations in the glitzy financial center in the afternoon.Latin America crises | Bolivian opposition Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself interim president to replace socialist leader Evo Morales. She has the backing of Carlos Mesa, the runner-up in a disputed October election, while Morales supporters continue to clash with police. Morales has fled to Mexico as nations in the region take sides over his ouster.Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera called for a national agreement on peace and a new constitution as security forces struggled to control protests across central Santiago. It was some of the worst violence Chile has seen since civil unrest erupted on Oct. 18.Digging in | The French government is bracing for major strikes next month over planned pension reforms — which risk morphing into a renewal of the “Yellow Vest” mass unrest. While Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told Bloomberg yesterday the government won’t delay the changes, he did indicate it may be prepared to sweeten the deal for unions.Read here for Philippe’s view on European bank consolidation and the call by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz for a banking union.Putin’s shadow | Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both got what they wanted in northern Syria last month, but when they meet at the White House today, the next critical issue up for discussion might be harder to crack. As Selcan Hacaoglu reports, Turkey’s deployment of a Russian missile-defense system shows President Vladimir Putin is enjoying some success in driving a wedge between NATO and Turkey.Climate debate | Australia’s record on tackling climate change is getting tougher to defend for Prime Minister Scott Morrison as bushfires ravage the east coast. His government refuses to discuss whether global warming has contributed to a longer dry season: One lawmaker even questioned if environmentalists had increased the threat of the fires that have killed three people and destroyed around 2.5 million acres of farmland and bush.What to WatchTrump warned yesterday the U.S. will increase tariffs on China if they can’t agree on the first step of a broader trade agreement, but also said they’re close to an initial deal. Lebanon faces more violence after President Michel Aoun told anti-government demonstrators to go home yesterday, provoking unrest in which one man was killed. Floods in northern England have forced hundreds of people from their homes, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deploy troops as his Conservatives vie for votes in the region in next month’s elections. Spain’s long-stalled politics are moving again after acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sealed a pact with rival Pablo Iglesias to form a government. Click here to see what happens next.Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.And finally ... Among Lagos’s 21 million residents dealing with shortages of everything from water to electricity and decent roads, the concept of formal recycling isn’t widespread. But informal collectors of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are finding they can earn serious money. As Yinka Ibukun explains, that’s led regulators, sustainability groups, and representatives of the local units and distributors of Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and PepsiCo to hash out a standard allowing drinks companies to package products in recycled plastics. \--With assistance from Karen Leigh.To contact the author of this story: Karl Maier in Rome at kmaier2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Winfrey at mwinfrey@bloomberg.net, Rosalind MathiesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
CBD beverage founder: 'I want to be regulated'
Not nearly enough legislative ink has been spilled over the booming CBD industry, according to Benjamin Witte.
- Yahoo Finance
This index is made up of companies that support LGBTQ equality
LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings recently launched an index comprised of 100 LGBTQ equality-driven companies. The index includes Cisco Systems, Coca-Cola, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Netflix.
- Zacks
Monster Beverage (MNST) Beats Q3 Earnings & Sales Estimates
Monster Beverage (MNST) posts robust third-quarter 2019 results, mainly driven by strength in Monster Energy brand energy drinks.
- Yahoo Finance
Coca-Cola launches its biggest new drink in 10 years
Coca-Cola gets into the surging seltzer market. Here's what they are launching.
- Simply Wall St.
With EPS Growth And More, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Is Interesting
Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story...
- Market Realist
Will Monster Beverage Beat Q3 Expectations?
Monster Beverage will declare its third-quarter results after the financial markets close on Thursday. The company's second-quarter results weren't impressive.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Visa, AT&T, Coca-Cola, salesforce.com and Lowe's
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Visa, AT&T, Coca-Cola, salesforce.com and Lowe's
- Zacks
BTVCY or KO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
BTVCY vs. KO: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
- Zacks
What Are Warren Buffett's Top 10 Stock Holdings?
Warren Buffett is one of the most legendary investors on Wall Street. What are the top stocks that he owns?
- Zacks
Top Research Reports for Visa, AT&T & Coca-Cola
Top Research Reports for Visa, AT&T; & Coca-Cola
- Bloomberg
Bottlers Want to Profit From Your Tap Water
(Bloomberg) -- Over the past four decades, consumers around the world have chugged trillions of bottles of water from brands such as Perrier, Evian, Dasani, and Aquafina. Few realize that most of what they pay for is plastic and time on a truck. Companies typically get the water for free or just a nominal fee, and bottling the stuff and getting it to consumers—as well as advertising it—accounts for the bulk of their costs.Today, increasing concern about the carbon and plastic waste generated by that process is fueling a backlash that threatens the business. Across the industry, sales are softening and some towns are even banning plastic water bottles—spurring producers to respond with alternatives ranging from canned water to flavor pods for tap water to dispensers that sell sparkling and flavored mixes.“The waters business has to cope with a number of sustainability issues that are becoming increasingly important,” Nestle SA Chief Executive Officer Mark Schneider told analysts in October.Until the 1970s, bottled water was mostly sold in limited areas by European companies that tapped springs in the Alps. Then in 1973, DuPont patented PET plastic bottles, which were cheaper, lighter, and stronger than the glass that had been the industry standard. Combined with the rapidly globalizing economy, PET allowed water sellers to ship their wares much farther, opening up new markets. Bottlers sprung up in just about every country and the likes of Nestle, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo added water to their portfolios, helping boost global revenue in the business to $130 billion last year, according to researcher Euromonitor.These days, things aren’t quite so bubbly as consumers grow increasingly aware of their carbon footprint. Danone, the maker of Evian, on Oct. 18 reported its biggest decline in quarterly water revenue in a decade. That same day, Coca-Cola Co. said water sales were lower than it expected.With shipments headed for a second annual decline, Nestle is reorganizing its bottled water business. Buffeted by lower-price rivals and high transport costs, Nestle raised prices—which sapped sales of its mass-market offerings such as Poland Spring and Pure Life as consumers shifted to cheaper generic brands. CEO Schneider has said the company wants to focus instead on higher-end products such as flavored and sparkling waters like its Perrier and San Pellegrino brands.More than 80 U.S. colleges and a handful of municipalities have restricted sales of bottled water. In Concord, Mass., it’s illegal to sell still water in small plastic bottles, and San Francisco bars such sales on city property. In the U.K., a non-profit called City to Sea has introduced an app that points thirsty users to places where they can get free water—with a pledge from chains such as Starbucks and Costa to refill bottles at no cost.“Producers face a real risk from the environmental movement, which has strong support among young people,” says Alain Oberhuber, an analyst at Mainfirst Bank, who predicts a sharp decline in sales of bottled water over the next two decades. “They know they have to do something.”With bottled water now outselling carbonated soft drinks in the U.S., one part of that “something” is aluminum cans filled with water. Coke introduced cans of Dasani in the northeast U.S. this year and plans to try selling it in aluminum bottles in 2020. Pepsi has been selling canned Aquafina at restaurants and stadiums and is testing it in stores. And Danone is trying the idea with local brands in Britain, Denmark, and Poland.The soda giants are also seeking to monetize consumption of tap water. Pepsi last year paid more than $3 billion for SodaStream, which produces systems for making fizzy water at home. And Pepsi has introduced a brand called Drinkfinity, which sells pods that attach to reusable bottles to infuse tap water with caffeine, vitamins, or electrolytes in a variety of flavors. Coke is rolling out a water dispenser it calls Dasani PureFill, which allows consumers to refill their bottles with free filtered water and gives the option of adding flavors or carbonation for about $1 for a 20-ounce bottle. The company is planning to test the idea—and various prices—at roughly 100 locations such as offices, hospitals, and colleges.Nestle next year plans to introduce a dispenser it calls Refill Plus, which filters tap water and can add flavors and varying levels of carbonation, and it’s working on a paper-based bottle that it says is fully biodegradable. Danone is exploring refill stations but for now is focusing on the home market with a new device that dispenses Evian delivered in balloon-like spheres that use less plastic than bottles.Producers are counting on such initiatives to appeal to consumers who consider branded water healthier than tap. Howard Telford, head of soft drinks at Euromonitor, says such efforts will have only a marginal effect on the industry’s carbon footprint. But he says adding extras such as flavorings and fizz may help shore up profits for the likes of Coke, Nestle, and Pepsi.“It points to a future,” Telford says, “where flavor, carbonation, and functional additives—rather than disposable packaging and simple convenience—could be the main value drivers in packaged water.”To contact the authors of this story: Thomas Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.netCorinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rocks at drocks1@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Index Bets on a Path to Higher Returns With Gay-Friendly Firms
(Bloomberg) -- A California firm is betting that public companies supported by gay people will outperform the market.LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings Inc. on Wednesday is launching an index comprised of 100 companies that support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people -- and which has better returns than the S&P 500. Companies listed in the new index come, in part, from the results of a poll asking people in the U.S. who identify as LGBTQ which companies they want included.While there are other stock indexes of companies focused on rights for gay people, the LGBTQ100 ESG Index is the first environmental, social and governance benchmark to seek constituent input for its makeup, according to West Hollywood-based LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings. The company worked with Harris Insights & Analytics LLC to conduct the poll. All companies in the index are S&P 500 firms with top scores from the Human Rights Campaign.That means the index isn’t made up simply of companies with nondiscrimination policies and equitable benefits, but are also firms “LGBT people find attractive and interesting,” former U.S. Representative Barney Frank, an LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings board member, said in a telephone interview.A focus on LGBTQ rights has become more widespread among large U.S. companies. This year, 571 firms received perfect scores from the Human Rights Campaign, up from just 13 in 2003, when the rankings were introduced. For the index, aside from the survey, a combination of quantitative methods and ESG ratings from Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. are used to select the 100 companies from the 193 S&P 500 companies with unblemished scores for benefits, culture and anti-discrimination policies.LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings -- led by Chief Executive Officer Bobby Blair, and whose board members include Billy Bean, Major League Baseball’s ambassador for inclusion -- is now working to set up an exchange-traded fund linked to the index. The ETF, which is under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will cost 75 basis points, or $75 per $10,000 invested, according to the company. While the median U.S. ETF charges 48 basis points, socially focused funds tend to be more expensive.UBS Group AG helped start a similar ETF focused on gay rights last year that charges 65 basis points, and the Alps Workplace Equality Portfolio Fund charged 75 basis points. Such investment vehicles are not always successful: The Alps fund closed on April 26 “on consideration of the fund’s inability to attract significant market interest.”Over the past five years, the LGBTQ100 has had annualized returns of almost 12%, compared with 7.8% for the S&P 500, according to the company. Cisco Systems Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., Apple Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. are among the most heavily weighted companies in the index.By buying those stocks, investors “can serve their principles without a financial sacrifice,” Frank said.(Updates with details of index companies in penultimate paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected Billy Bean reference in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen Everett in New York at geverett10@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Daniel TaubFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
FEMSA (FMX) Posts Solid Q3 Earnings, Revenues Improve Y/Y
FEMSA's (FMX) third-quarter 2019 results reflect benefits from strong operating performance across all businesses. Margin growth aids the bottom line.
