Coca-Cola (KO) FY2026 Q3 Earnings Explained

📊 Stock Price & Market Cap

• The stock closed at $91.73 on the filing date, with a 52-week range of $67.54 to $95.34. It's already near the high end of the range, so the market is not expecting anything less than steady growth.
• Market cap is around $394.61 billion, making it a large blue-chip name in consumer staples. The stock usually moves more on growth stability, FX, and valuation.
• Diluted EPS over the past 12 months was $3.39 per share, which works out to a trailing P/E of 27.1x. That's not cheap, so future profits and cash flow still need to deliver.

Data as of 2026-10-28 (filing date) · Price: Yahoo Finance · Shares & EPS: SEC filing · Forward P/E: not available · Yahoo Finance

🏦 What Wall Street Thinks

Strong Buy 12 · Buy 7 · Hold 4 · Sell 1 · Strong Sell 0

As of 2026-09-30, the consensus rating from 24 analysts was Buy, with 12 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell, and 0 Strong Sell. The target price range is $86 to $106, and the average target price is $98.89.

Ratings as of: 2026-09-30 · Price targets as of: 2026-11-04 · Source: stockanalysis.com

Analyst forecasts are for reference only. Historically, price targets have not been very accurate. Invest at your own risk.

💰 How Much They Made

• Revenue rose from $12.46 billion to $13.38 billion, with management saying the main drivers were volume growth, better price/mix, and FX tailwinds.
• Gross margin improved from 61.5% to 63.2%, as if they sold the same drinks but kept a fatter slice of the profit. The reasons included pricing, FX, stable commodity costs, and the sale of the finished goods business in Nigeria.
• Operating profit increased from $3.98 billion to $4.47 billion, although the company also stepped up marketing spending, which partly offset the gain.
• Net income attributable to shareholders came to $4.01 billion, and diluted EPS was $0.93 per share, both higher than a year earlier.

📊 Where the Money Went

• Cost of goods sold edged up to $4.93 billion, but revenue grew faster, so gross margin improved.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to $3.98 billion, mainly because of higher marketing spending and the timing difference in annual incentive expense, according to management.
• Advertising expenses rose to $1.78 billion, showing the company is still using brand spending to support demand. This cost is already included in selling, general and administrative expenses, so don't add it again.
• Other operating expenses fell from $58 million to $10 million, which helped operating profit.

🏢 Business Segments

🏦 Balance Sheet

• Total assets were $107.95 billion, up from $104.82 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $13.45 billion, higher than $10.27 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year, so the cash balance is more comfortable.
• Shareholders' equity was $37.37 billion, up from $32.17 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.
• The verified data for this release does not provide total liabilities or long-term debt, so they are not listed here.

⚠️ Total assets on the books ($107.95B) are not what the company is worth. The market values Coca-Cola at $394.61B, 3.7× its book assets. The gap comes from things the balance sheet doesn't show: brand, technology, customer relationships and future earning power.

📈 vs. Last Quarter

• Compared with the previous quarter, revenue was also $13.38 billion, basically flat.
• Gross profit was slightly higher than in the previous quarter, but selling, general and administrative expenses also rose to $3.98 billion.
• Operating profit and net income attributable to shareholders were lower than in the previous quarter, and diluted EPS fell from $1.03 per share to $0.93 per share.

📅 vs. a Year Ago

• Net operating revenue increased, and management broke out the drivers as volume contribution, price/mix contribution, and FX contribution, with acquisitions and divestitures creating a slight drag.
• Operating profit grew even faster, mainly thanks to higher concentrate volume, better price/mix, lower commodity costs, lower other operating expenses, and FX tailwinds.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses increased, mainly because of higher marketing spending and the different timing of annual incentive expense recognition.
• Net income and EPS both improved, but tax rate, pension-related items, gains and losses on securities, and FX gains and losses can also affect the profit that ultimately reaches shareholders.

🎯 Key Takeaways for Investors

📄 Original Filing

• Original 10-Q on SEC EDGAR (2026-10-28, accession 0001628280-26-067844)
• SEC filing index (incl. financial statements)

← All Coca-Cola earnings reports