The company saw continued strength in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which it said grew 14% over 2025. (Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg)
February 10, 2026 2:27 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- Coca-Cola expects 4% to 5% organic sales growth in 2026, below analysts’ forecasts.
- The company faces mixed global conditions, including taxes in Mexico and growth efforts in India and China.
- Coca-Cola recorded a $960 million impairment on BodyArmor and will retain full ownership of Costa Coffee.
Coca-Cola Co. offered a more conservative 2026 full-year sales outlook than expected as the soda company works to boost its sales overseas. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola sees organic sales growth of 4% to 5%. Analysts expected 5.01% on average.
The outlook points to the challenges facing incoming CEO Henrique Braun as the company works to win over shoppers with its widening portfolio of beverages, including sugar-free soda, sports drinks and water, as consumers shift away from traditional full-calorie soft drinks toward healthier options.
Outgoing CEO James Quincey said the company had offered an outlook that “we believe to be realistic and prudent” and reflected efforts to boost sales volume in India, China and some European countries. Coca-Cola also faces a headwind in Mexico, which is hiking an existing tax on sugary drinks. The company said it expected the World Cup to boost its sales in Mexico.
The guidance “reflects the sum of many parts around the world,” Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said on the call. “We have momentum in some markets and we’ve had challenges in other markets.”
Several Coca-Cola distributors rank on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Stock Declines
Shares of Coca-Cola fell as much as 2.5% on Feb. 10. The stock had gained almost 12% this year through Monday’s close, compared with a nearly 2% increase in the S&P 500 Index.
The company saw continued strength in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which it said grew 14% over 2025. Diet Coke gained 2% in the fourth quarter and was even for the year. Zero-sugar sodas have been a bright spot for soda companies as demand for full-sugar sodas declines.
Quincey will step down at the end of March to be replaced by Braun, who has been the company’s chief operating officer. Braun, a nearly three-decade veteran at Coca-Cola, is seen as well-versed in the company’s complex bottling and distribution system.
“Our system needs to focus on being a little bit better and sharper everywhere,” Braun said on a call with analysts Feb. 10. “There will be a balance between continuing what’s working and evolving where we can to become more effective and efficient.”
Still, Coca-Cola is contending with new state programs preventing some people on food aid from buying soft drinks with their benefits and sharp messages from the Trump administration that soda is unhealthy.
‘Manageable’ Impact
Quincey said the impact from the state soda restrictions was “manageable” and small in the context of Coca-Cola’s global business. The company said it expected consumers receiving food aid would use those benefits to buy permitted groceries and their own cash to buy other items, including soda.
“Clearly, we think that consumers should be allowed to choose, but regulation is regulation,” he said.
For the fourth quarter, Coca-Cola reported adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents, slightly above analysts’ average estimate.
Sales volume in North America gained 1% in the fourth quarter, driven by growth in water, sports drinks, coffee, tea and trademark Coca-Cola sodas.
The company said it had to take an impairment charge of $960 million related to the BodyArmor sports drink, which it bought for $5.6 billion in 2021 in an effort to challenge Gatorade.
Coca-Cola will retain full ownership of Costa Coffee, Murphy said Feb. 10 in an interview. The beverage maker had been considering bids for the struggling U.K. café operator after buying it in 2018 for about $5 billion.
