Coca-Cola Posts Better-Than-Expected Q3 Report

Coca-Cola's third-quarter results exceeded expectations as consumers continued to be selective with their spending, Brooke DiPalma reported for Yahoo Finance.

The beverage giant has reported $11.9 billion in revenue, surpassing expectations of $11.61 billion. I Photo: Summit Wikimedia Commons

The beverage giant has reported $11.9 billion in revenue, surpassing expectations of $11.61 billion, though slightly down from $12 billion in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.77, above estimates of $0.74.

"There’s part of the world where consumers continue to be fairly resilient," CFO John Murphy told Yahoo Finance in a phone interview, calling Coca-Cola "a beneficiary" in developed markets.

"On the positive side, we've seen spending pull up, and some of the drivers of that forward sentiment—employment and interest rates—are moving in a better direction," Murphy said.

"On the flip side, there are still many uncertain variables, but at the root of it all, consumers continue to spend."

For the full year, Coca-Cola expects organic revenue growth of 10%, with higher prices helping to counter challenges such as cautious consumer behavior, less favorable commodity costs, and tough trends in international markets.