The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is ending 2025 in the middle of a rare cluster of headlines that matter to investors: a confirmed CEO transition, renewed debate about portfolio reshaping (including Costa Coffee), and fresh analyst notes heading into 2026—all while the stock continues to trade like the “defensive stalwart” it has long been for many long-term portfolios.
As of the latest available quote, KO stock is around $70.06.
Below is a detailed, publication-ready roundup of current Coca-Cola stock news, forecasts, and analyst analysis available as of 21.12.2025, plus the key risks and catalysts that could move KO shares next.
Coca-Cola stock today: KO price, market cap, and the range investors are watching
Coca-Cola shares are hovering around $70 (latest quote $70.06), essentially flat on the most recent session.
From a market-structure standpoint, KO remains one of the market’s largest and most widely held consumer staples names:
- Market cap: about $301B
- 52-week range: about $60.62 to $74.38
- Beta: roughly 0.33 (a reminder of why investors often treat KO as a lower-volatility holding) [1]
That “low beta, big dividend, global brand” identity is part of why Coca-Cola stock often trades less like a momentum story—and more like a valuation-and-cash-flow story tied to interest rates, consumption trends, and pricing power.
What’s moving Coca-Cola stock right now: the three headlines investors keep circling back to
If you’re tracking KO shares into year-end, most market conversations keep returning to three themes:
- Leadership change at the top (CEO succession plan confirmed for 2026)
- Portfolio shaping (Costa Coffee sale talks resurfacing and other strategic moves)
- Forward expectations (analyst price targets, guidance signals, and the next earnings setup)
Let’s break those down.
CEO succession: Henrique Braun to succeed James Quincey as Coca-Cola CEO in 2026
The biggest corporate headline around Coca-Cola stock in December is the company’s CEO succession plan.
Coca-Cola announced that its board elected Henrique Braun (currently President and COO) to become CEO effective March 31, 2026. Current CEO James Quincey is expected to transition to Executive Chairman. [2]
Why this matters for KO shareholders
CEO changes at mega-cap consumer staples companies often look “non-events” at first glance—especially when they’re internal transitions. But in this cycle, leadership moves have become part of a broader investor narrative: boards across consumer goods have been pushing harder for faster growth, sharper execution, and better alignment with changing shopper behavior. Reuters has highlighted how CEO turnover has accelerated across consumer goods amid sluggish growth and pressure to connect with younger, more price-sensitive consumers. [3]
For Coca-Cola specifically, Reuters framed Braun’s selection as a bet on his experience in markets like Latin America and China as the company leans further into lower-sugar options, affordability tactics, and portfolio evolution. [4]
What investors will likely watch during the transition
Even with a “seamless” handoff, markets tend to look for subtle shifts in:
- Capital allocation priorities (buybacks vs. M&A vs. debt reduction)
- Portfolio strategy (where Coca-Cola wants to own brands outright vs. partner vs. divest)
- Execution on health/low-sugar and “smaller pack” affordability initiatives
- Tone on regulatory and trade risks, including tariffs and ingredient scrutiny [5]
Costa Coffee sale talks: a potential portfolio shake-up (or a sign of deal friction)
Another headline investors are weighing: Coca-Cola’s Costa Coffee business may be heading toward a sale—if negotiations don’t collapse first.
Reuters reported (citing the Financial Times) that Coca-Cola held last-ditch talks with private equity firm TDR Capital to salvage a possible Costa deal, after the process reportedly hit a snag over valuation. [6]
The Financial Times reporting adds color on why Costa has become a more complicated asset than it looked in 2018:
- Coca-Cola bought Costa from Whitbread in 2018 for about £3.9bn
- Coca-Cola was reportedly targeting a price around £2bn in the current process
- Costa has faced intensifying competition and cost pressure, complicating valuation discussions [7]
What a Costa outcome could mean for Coca-Cola stock
From a KO stock perspective, this isn’t just “coffee gossip.” Investors could read a Costa decision in a few ways:
- If Coca-Cola sells (even at a lower price): the market may view it as sharper focus on the core beverage system and potentially cleaner capital allocation.
- If the deal collapses: it could raise questions about the asset’s strategic fit, the willingness of buyers to pay up, or Coca-Cola’s plan B for improving performance.
- If Coca-Cola keeps a minority stake: that could signal a “de-risk while staying involved” approach—reducing operational burden while keeping optionality. [8]
Earnings recap: Coca-Cola’s Q3 2025 performance and why it still shapes the KO narrative
The most recent full quarterly results that continue to anchor many KO stock forecasts are Coca-Cola’s third-quarter 2025 results (reported Oct. 21, 2025).
Coca-Cola reported:
- Net revenues:$12.5B, up about 5%
- Organic revenue (non-GAAP): up about 6%
- Price/mix: up about 6% [9]
Reuters noted that Coca-Cola’s results benefited from pricing and steady demand, with adjusted EPS around 82 cents, beating expectations cited in that report. [10]
Guidance signals investors keep quoting
In its earnings materials filed with the SEC, Coca-Cola outlined full-year expectations (non-GAAP framing) that continue to influence KO stock models heading into 2026, including:
- Organic revenue growth:5% to 6% (no update at that time)
- Comparable EPS growth: approximately 3% versus $2.88 in 2024
- Free cash flow (excluding fairlife contingent consideration payment):at least $9.8B
- Commentary that trade dynamics could affect costs, but impact was expected to be manageable at that time [11]
Importantly for forward-looking investors, Coca-Cola also indicated it would provide full-year 2026 guidance when it reports fourth-quarter earnings. [12]
Next big catalyst: when is Coca-Cola’s next earnings report?
Market calendars are currently pointing to around February 10, 2026 for Coca-Cola’s next earnings release (date typically shown as expected/estimated on third-party calendars). [13]
For investors, the next report matters less because it’s “an earnings beat or miss” and more because it’s likely to include:
- A clearer bridge from 2025 performance → 2026 guidance
- More detail on currency (FX) tailwinds/headwinds
- Updates on portfolio actions, including anything Costa-related
- Management tone heading into the CEO transition window [14]
Coca-Cola stock forecast: analyst price targets and what Wall Street expects for KO
Analyst forecasts for Coca-Cola stock remain generally constructive, but they aren’t uniform—and at ~$70, valuation and “staples sentiment” still matter.
MarketWatch’s compiled analyst snapshot shows:
- Average recommendation:Buy
- Average target price: about $80.10
- Number of ratings:26
- Target range examples:High $87 / Low $72 / Median $80 [15]
At face value, an ~$80 target implies low-to-mid teens upside from the ~$70 area—before considering dividends. (Targets are not guarantees; they’re scenario-weighted opinions based on models and assumptions.)
Recent notable analyst notes (December 2025)
- BofA reportedly raised its KO price target to $85 from $80 and maintained a Buy rating, emphasizing big-picture staples questions like consumption growth and valuation dispersion into 2026. [16]
- UBS reiterated a Buy rating with an $82 price target after meetings with Coca-Cola executives, noting initiatives that include technology/AI-related implementation themes (per Investing.com’s report). [17]
These kinds of notes typically reinforce what KO investors already know: Coca-Cola rarely trades on a single product launch. It trades on the credibility of its system—brand strength, bottler execution, global distribution, and the ability to protect margins through cycles.
Dividend outlook: why income investors still keep KO on the shortlist
Coca-Cola’s dividend remains a core part of the stock’s appeal.
The company announced a dividend increase in February 2025, raising the quarterly dividend from $0.485 to $0.51, marking its 63rd consecutive annual dividend increase. [18]
Dividend trackers list KO’s most recently declared quarterly payout as $0.51, with a recent pay date shown as Dec. 15, 2025 (and an ex-dividend date shown as Dec. 1, 2025). [19]
At around $70/share, that’s roughly $2.04/year in dividends, or approximately 2.9% yield (ballpark, depending on price). [20]
Product and strategy updates that could influence sentiment (even if they don’t move the stock overnight)
Coca-Cola has also been adjusting packaging and formulas to match what executives have described as a more price- and calorie-conscious consumer environment.
Reuters reported Coca-Cola planned to introduce 7.5-ounce mini cans for individual sale in U.S. convenience stores, aimed at consumers who are both budget- and calorie-conscious, and also noted a push into glass bottles sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. [21]
Why this matters for KO stock: these initiatives may not transform revenue on their own, but they fit the broader narrative of Coca-Cola defending share and recruiting consumers through:
- Smaller pack sizes (affordability + portion control)
- Formula/ingredient choices (responding to demand shifts and scrutiny)
- Portfolio breadth (zero sugar, hydration, sports drinks, coffee, energy) [22]
Key risks for Coca-Cola stock investors to watch
Even “defensive” stocks come with real risks—especially at large scale.
1) Tariffs and input-cost pressure
Earlier in 2025, Reuters reported Coca-Cola warned U.S. tariffs could impact costs and consumer sentiment. [23]
Coca-Cola’s own filings also acknowledge exposure to global trade dynamics affecting parts of its cost structure. [24]
2) One-time charges and deal-related noise
Reuters reported Coca-Cola expected an impairment charge of about $1B in Q4 2025 tied to the sale of part of its stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, with the broader transaction expected to close later (late 2026 per that report). [25]
Charges like this can distort GAAP results and generate headlines, even when investors focus more on comparable (adjusted) performance.
3) Regulatory and health-related scrutiny
Coca-Cola continues to navigate changing expectations around sugar, sweeteners, packaging, and marketing—issues that can affect category growth, mix, and compliance costs over time. [26]
4) Litigation and reputational risk
Reuters reported in late November that the Johnny Cash estate sued Coca-Cola over an alleged soundalike in an advertisement, seeking an injunction and damages. [27]
While lawsuits like this are not always financially material for a company Coca-Cola’s size, they can create reputational headlines and incremental legal cost.
The bottom line for KO stock heading into 2026
Coca-Cola stock is entering 2026 with a familiar “defensive core holding” setup—dividend support, global distribution, and pricing power—but with an unusually active headline backdrop:
- A confirmed CEO transition (Henrique Braun in, James Quincey to Executive Chairman) [28]
- Costa Coffee sale talks that could clarify how aggressively Coca-Cola wants to reshape its portfolio [29]
- A market waiting for the next earnings report (widely expected around February 2026) to reset the narrative with 2026 guidance [30]
- Analyst targets clustering around ~$80 on average, with recent notes pointing as high as $85 from at least one major firm [31]
For investors, the practical question isn’t whether Coca-Cola can “surprise” like a high-growth tech name. It’s whether the company can keep doing what it’s historically done well: hold volumes steady (or slightly up), price intelligently, protect margins, and compound cash returns—even as consumer preferences and regulatory pressure keep shifting.
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.ft.com, 8. www.ft.com, 9. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 12. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 13. www.nasdaq.com, 14. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 15. www.marketwatch.com, 16. www.tipranks.com, 17. www.investing.com, 18. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 19. www.dividend.com, 20. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.zacks.com, 31. www.marketwatch.com
