Corporate Profiles - 2024 - 56

COMPANY overview
Coca-Cola Co.
Volume gains throuh focus on affordability,
price-pack architecture
A
tlanta-based
Coca-Cola
Co.,
through
its diverse beverage portfolio, achieved
sales volume gains in 2024, no small
feat amid an inflationary environment in which
consumers tended to reduce spending. Still, the
company has not escaped recent market challenges
completely unscathed.
Unit case volume in the first quarter ended
April 30 rose 1% versus the previous year's
first quarter. After volume rose another 2% in
the second quarter, Coca-Cola raised its guidance
for the year, forecastsing organic revenue
growth of 9% to 10%, up from previous guidance
of 8% to 9%, and earnings-per-share
growth of 5% to 6%, up from 4% to 5%.
" It's critically important, particularly when
times get tougher, to try and keep as many consumers
in the franchise as possible rather than
Coca-Cola Zero volume was up 6%, and trademark
Coca-Cola increased 2% in volume.
" Our marketing and innovation transformation
journey contributed to trademark Coke,
winning creative brand of the year for the first
time ever at the Cannes Lions (an advertising
and communications industry event) in June, "
Quincey said.
The company saw successs in sports drinks,
including the BodyArmor brand. Sales volume
rose 3% in the second quarter after decreasing
3% in the previous year's second quarter.
" We had some positive volume growth in
BodyArmor and Powerade, and we're really
starting to see the kind of stabilization with the
marketing and the innovation and some pricepack
work going on there, " Quincey said.
Coca-Cola during the year invested in fairlife,
a portfolio of dairy products made through
an ultra-filtration process that removes lactose
and much of the sugar, by breaking ground on
a $650 million, 745,000-square-foot facility in
Webster, NY, that is expected to begin operating
in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Internationally,
geopolitical tensions and
Chief executive officer -
James Robert B. Quincey
trying to rerecruit them at some later stage,
and they're in our focus, not just on marketing
innovation but affordability within the pricepack
architecture side, " said James Robert B.
Quincey, chief executive officer, in a July 23
earnings call. " Clearly, an objective of ours is
not to see negative volumes and to make sure
we keep people in and use all the elements to
do that. "
Unit volume in sparkling soft drinks grew
3% in the second quarter, led by strong performances
in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
56 \ October 2024
economic uncertainty weighed on results in
Eurasia and the Middle East, Quincey said. In
Latin America, Coca-Cola is piloting its use of
artificial intelligence (AI) to react to market
changes, optimize pricing decisions and adjust
strategies to meet local business objectives.
" We're piloting an AI-based price-pack
channel optimization tool across several markets
that evaluates opportunities to better tailor
solutions to drive incremental volume and
revenue, " Quincey said. " Early results show that
the tool helps improve both our offerings and
speed to market. "
Over the first six months of the fiscal year companywide,
Coca-Cola had net income of $5.59
billion, which was down 1% from $5.65 billion
in the same time of the previous year. Six-month
revenues rose 3% to $23.66 billion. Coca-Cola's
stock price on the New York Stock Exchange closed
at $72.47 per share on Aug. 30, which compared
with $59.83 per share on Aug. 31, 2023. CP
Coca-Cola Co. net income
in millions
2023
$10,714
2022
$9,542
2021
$9,771
Source: Coca-Cola Co.
Coca-Cola Co. net
operating revenues
in millions
2023
$45,754
2022
$43,004
2021
$38,655
Source: Coca-Cola Co.
Coca-Cola Co. share price
Sept. 4, 2024 = $72.56
$44
$52
$60
$68
$76
Sept. Nov.
2023
Jan.
2024
HIGH =
Sept. 3, 2024 = $73.01
LOW =
Oct. 5, 2023 = $51.16
March May
Source: New York Stock Exchange
COCA-COLA CO.
July
Sept.
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Corporate Profiles - 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Corporate Profiles - 2024