The Coca-Cola Company KO

Coca-Cola reached roughly $84 on June 11, 2026 (about $82.62 on June 19) and is up around 18% on the year, near double the broad market, after a Q1 2026 beat. Organic revenue grew 10% and — the part that excited the market — unit-case volume grew 3%, so the growth came from cans sold, not just prices raised. Management also raised full-year comparable EPS growth to 8–9%. The result is a multiple near 26x trailing earnings, a premium to PepsiCo (~19x) and to most large staples.

In the quarter ended April 3, 2026, both — but the mix shifted toward volume. Organic revenue rose 10%, with unit-case volume up 3% (led by the United States, China and India) and price/mix adding just 2 points, a healthier balance than the price-led growth of the prior two years. North America stood out at 12% organic on 4% volume. The caveat: the raised 8–9% comparable-EPS-growth guide leans on a lower 19.9% tax rate and a ~3% currency tailwind, so the currency-neutral rate is a more modest 6–7%.

Coca-Cola pays $2.12 per share annually after raising the quarterly payout about 4% to $0.53, a yield near 2.6% at ~$82.62. February 2026 marked the 64th consecutive year of dividend increases, putting it among the market's Dividend Kings. The annual dividend runs roughly $9 billion against about $12.6 billion of trailing free cash flow (FY2026 guidance ~$12.2 billion), a payout near 65% of earnings — covered, though the cushion is thinner than at lower-payout peers.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy curb appetite, and early studies suggest they cut sugary-drink consumption among users by around 7% — the central secular worry for a soda maker. Coca-Cola's hedge is its portfolio: Coca-Cola Zero Sugar grew 13% across every region in Q1 2026, and fairlife, the high-protein dairy brand, has passed $1.5 billion in retail sales on the same wellness wave. At ~26x earnings, though, the market is pricing that hedge as a near-certainty rather than an open contest.

In August 2024, the US Tax Court ruled that Coca-Cola owed about $2.7 billion in back taxes plus interest — roughly $6 billion all in — over how it priced 2007–2009 transactions with foreign affiliates. Coca-Cola paid the liability and appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, calling the IRS's change of method a 'bait-and-switch.' Management's free-cash-flow guidance of ~$12.2 billion excludes any adverse final outcome, so a careful reader treats the ~$6 billion as a contingent claw-back still working through appeal, not a settled cost.

The 12-month consensus price target is about $86 (the mean of 25 analysts as of June 11, 2026), in a wide range from $71 to $92 — only a few percent above the ~$82.62 price. The most bullish named call is UBS at $92; the most cautious recent one is Bernstein at $84. Separately, forward-EPS-enhanced super-investor screens (Buffett and Munger style) place intrinsic value near $49 to $64 — below both the price and the consensus, a sign the model sees the stock as fully valued.