Coca-Cola Q4 Earnings Preview: Can Warren Buffett Favorite Keep Streak Of Revenue Beats Alive?

Coca-Cola Company KO has a history of beating analyst estimates in recent quarters and looks to keep the streak alive with its fourth-quarter financial results before the market opens Tuesday.

Earnings Estimates: Analysts expect Coca-Cola to report fourth-quarter earnings per share of 52 cents. That’s up from 49 cents in last year's fourth quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in three straight quarters and eight of the last 10 quarters overall. The other two quarters the company didn't beat estimates, the results were in-line with analysts.

Analysts expect Coca-Cola to report fourth-quarter revenue of $10.68 billion, down from $10.85 billion in last year's fourth quarter.

The Atlanta-based company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in 15 straight quarters, according to Benzinga Pro data.

What Analysts Are Saying: Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery said Coca-Cola has attractive and sustainable growth drivers. In an investor note last month, he highlighted the North America and Latin America regions for seeing strong growth that can be sustainable over the long term.

Lavery initiated coverage on the stock with an Overweight rating and a $74 price target, which was later revised down to $73 later in January.

The analyst said the North America and Latin America regions still have a large percentage of their populations that do not drink commercial beverages, offering an expansion opportunity.

Rising incomes in emerging markets along with population growth could be long-term drivers for "sustainable volume and pricing gains," Lavery said.

Here are other recent analyst ratings on Coca-Cola and their price targets.

RBC Capital: Reiterated Outperform rating, raised price target from $68 to $69
Jefferies: Upgraded from Hold to Buy, raised price target from $69 to $75
JPMorgan: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $75 to $70
Barclays: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $73 to $66

Key Items to Watch: Coca-Cola's earnings report comes after rival PepsiCo PEP recently reported fourth-quarter financial results. Pepsi shares fell after the report with the company missing analyst estimates.

While Pepsi competes in both the beverage and food markets, the company's North American PepsiCo division is most comparable with the beverage unit of Coca-Cola in North America. This segment saw flat revenue in the quarter for Pepsi.

Coca-Cola's report could include a look at inflation, consumer spending habits and more on how higher prices for several grocery items are impacting spending on beverages.

The beverage giant is a key market indicator as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, although the company's lower share price makes the stock the 28^th largest weighting of 30 stocks.

The company's earnings report will also be closely watched by legendary investor Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKBRK.

Berkshire Hathaway owns 400 million Coca-Cola shares. The stock is one of the largest holdings of the legendary investor's conglomerate.

Investors and analysts, and maybe Buffett, will be interested to hear if Coca-Cola provides an update on 2025 guidance. The company expects adjusted net revenue and earnings per share to have a low single-digit and mid-single-digit currency headwind, respectively.

Price Action: Coca-Cola stock was up 1.1% to $64.55 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $57.93 to $73.53. Coca-Cola stock is up 7.5% over the last year.

Shares of rival Pepsi trade at $143.73 versus a 52-week trading range of $141.51 to $183.39. Pepsi stock is down 15.8% over the last year.

Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi shares have underperformed the S&P 500. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is up 20.7% over the past year.

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