Why Coca-Cola (KO) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $70.59 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.91% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.54%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.52%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.74%. Shares of the world's largest beverage maker have appreciated by 0.09% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 1.49%, and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 4.2%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Coca-Cola in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on July 22, 2025. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.83, indicating a 1.19% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $12.59 billion, indicating a 1.86% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.97 per share and a revenue of $48.26 billion, representing changes of +3.13% and +2.55%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Right now, Coca-Cola possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). With respect to valuation, Coca-Cola is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.36. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 17.88 of its industry. It's also important to note that KO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.63. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Beverages - Soft drinks industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.56 as trading concluded yesterday. The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 81, putting it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries. The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks