Cases of Coca-Cola brand soda are stacked at a Costco Wholesale store on November 13, 2025 in Simi Valley, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
Coca-Cola Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, falling short of Wall Street forecasts for the first time in five years.
However, demand for its drinks in North America and Latin America is starting to show signs of improvement.
Looking ahead to 2026, the company expects organic revenue growth of 4-5% and comparable earnings per share growth of 7-8% for the full year.
“We’re right at the start of the year and I think we’ve taken a realistic and cautious approach to a number of markets, particularly some international markets where we want to see conditions improve, and we need to do some things to execute better,” outgoing CEO James Quincey said on the CNBC show. “Crying in the street.”
Here’s what the company reported for the period ended Dec. 31 versus what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Adjusted earnings per share: 58 cents versus 56 cents expectedAdjusted income: $11.82 billion versus $12.03 billion expected The beverage giant reported fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $2.27 billion, or 53 cents per share, compared with $2.2 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding trading gains and other one-time items, Coke earned 58 cents per share.
Net sales increased 2% to $11.82 billion.
Organic revenue, excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency effects, increased by 5% over the quarter.
Unit case volume increased 1% during the quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of growth for the company. The measure excludes the impact of prices and foreign currencies to reflect demand.
Like a rival PepsiCoCoke has seen demand for its drinks plummet as budget-conscious shoppers try to save more on their grocery bills and dine out less frequently. Coca-Cola’s overall volume for 2025 remained unchanged from the previous year.
But there have been some bright spots, like Smartwater and Fairlife, which show consumers are still willing to pay more for premium drinks.
And two key markets for Coca-Cola are starting to show signs of improvement. Coca-Cola’s volume in North America increased 1%, while it increased 2% in Latin America.
Globally, Coke’s water, sports, coffee and tea division outperformed the rest of its portfolio, reflecting consumers’ willingness to spend on beverages they perceive as healthier options. The segment saw volume increase 3%, driven by higher demand for brands like Smartwater and Bodyarmor.
The company’s carbonated soft drinks business recorded stable volume. Its namesake soda saw volume increase 1% during the quarter, while Coke Zero Sugar reported its volume climbed 13%.
Coca-Cola’s juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages division reported volume fell 3%. The increased demand for Fairlife was offset by the sale of Coke’s finished products business in Nigeria to one of its bottlers.
CEO transitionTuesday marks Quincey’s final earnings report as CEO. THE the company announced in December, Henrique Braun, director of operations, will succeed him as general manager, effective March 31.
Braun said on the company’s conference call Tuesday that he wants to improve the speed with which Coca-Cola brings new products to market, better integrate its marketing where customers actually buy its drinks and continue efforts to digitize every step of its system.
“Our system needs to strive to be a little better and more precise everywhere to drive transformation and impact,” Braun said.
The company also plans to remain “flexible and opportunistic” when it comes to acquisitions, according to CFO John Murphy. While pointing out that Coca-Cola’s balance sheet hasn’t been perfect, he added that nearly half of the company’s $32 billion in brands were the result of transactions.
Executives plan to share more about the company’s future priorities during its presentation Feb. 17 at the annual CAGNY conference.
As of Tuesday’s open, Coca-Cola was up about 20% from a year ago as of Monday’s close, bringing its market value to more than $330 billion.
