Coca-Cola raises revenue, profit forecasts on resilient demand, higher prices

Coca-Cola Co raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Wednesday, betting on higher pricing and resilient demand for its sodas, especially its namesake drink and Sprite.

The company’s shares rose about 2% in premarket trading as it also beat second-quarter results.

When supply chain snags and the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed prices of everything from commodities like sugar to transport higher, many consumer goods companies including Coca-Cola hiked prices of its products to offset the impact from these rising costs.

Still, consumers have been steadily spending on sodas and snacks even though rising interest rates and food prices hammer non-essential spending in a difficult economy.

Coca-Cola’s average selling prices rose 10% in the second quarter, while in North America volumes declined 1%, showing little impact to demand with overall unit case volumes remaining flat.

The average price of 192 ounces of Coca-Cola’s soda in the U.S. rose to $9.35 in 2022 from $8.03 in 2021, according to NielsenIQ’s data. It was $10.56 as of June 17 this year.

Rival PepsiCo also raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts for a second time this year after beating second-quarter results earlier this month, easing worries over a slowdown in demand due to price hikes.

In Asia Pacific, China’s reopening from pandemic restrictions has led to an increase in consumer activity helping Coca-Cola post higher revenue in the region.

Results of consumer products makers in Europe, including Unilever and Reckitt, have also shown that they can raise prices to pass on higher costs.

Coca-Cola now expects organic revenue growth of 8% to 9% for the full year, compared with a prior forecast of an increase of 7% to 8%.

The company forecast full-year core earnings per share to rise between 5% and 6%, compared with prior expectations of an increase of 4% to 5%.