New York, July 4, 2026, 10:04 EDT
- U.S. stock markets closed on Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday. Coca-Cola last saw a full regular cash session on Thursday, July 2.
- The Coca-Cola Company NYSE:KO ended Thursday at $84.14, gaining 3.5% on the session and up 1.8% since June 26.
- Coca-Cola (KO) makes up 6.96% of the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLP), so Thursday’s climb in Coke shares moved the needle for staples.
The Coca-Cola Company NYSE:KO closed the holiday week at $84.14, which Macrotrends shows as its highest close ever. The NYSE was closed Friday, July 3, for Independence Day since July 4 was a Saturday. U.S. stocks reopen Monday.
KO’s move Thursday wasn’t just another defensive trade. The stock’s gain boosted returns for passive staples investors more than PepsiCo Inc. NASDAQ:PEP, since Coca-Cola has more influence in the Consumer Staples Select Sector Index tracked by XLP. State Street showed Coca-Cola had a 6.96% index weight as of July 2, with PepsiCo at 4.52%.
| Security | July 2 close | Thursday move | Short-week move vs June 26 | July 2 volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Coca-Cola Company NYSE:KO | $84.14 | up 3.5% | up 1.8% | 18.32 mln |
| PepsiCo Inc. NASDAQ:PEP | $144.22 | gained 2.17% | added 2.0% | 13.04 mln |
| Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. NASDAQ:KDP | $33.30 | slipped 0.2% | off 0.2% | 16.31 mln |
KO numbers are based on WSJ/FactSet past prices. For PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper, data is from Yahoo, MarketWatch and market feeds, with weekly changes from the June 26 close.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) ended little changed Thursday but gained 1.8% on the week. Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed up 1.1% Thursday, closing at a new high. The Nasdaq slipped 0.8%. KO’s sharp move stood out with stocks trading mixed.
Based on July 2 index weights and that day’s moves, KO gave XLP around a 0.24 point boost. PepsiCo contributed roughly 0.10 point. XLP was up 2.04% for the day.
| XLP component | XLP index weight | Stock move Thursday | Approx. XLP contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola | 6.96% | rose 3.5% | added 0.24 point |
| PepsiCo | 4.52% | up 2.17% | up 0.10 point |
The gap to the average target has shrunk. On Google Finance’s analyst feed, KO had 15 buy ratings, two holds, and no sells. The average 12-month target is $87.73, just 4.27% above the $84.14 close. The highest target there is $92, the lowest is $76.
| KO analyst item | Latest listed data | Distance from $84.14 |
|---|---|---|
| 12-month average price target | $87.73 | +4.27% |
| Street high target | $92.00 | +9.34% |
| Street low target | $76.00 | -9.67% |
| Jefferies, Kaumil Gajrawala, Buy, left unchanged June 30 | $90.00 | +7.0% |
| Piper Sandler, Michael Lavery, Buy, restated June 26 | $88.00 | +4.6% |
| Bernstein, Hold rating, started June 11 | $84.00 | -0.2% |
KO’s multiple doesn’t leave much margin after this move. Real-time quotes showed Coca-Cola at a P/E of 26.46, with PepsiCo trading at 22.64 and Keurig Dr Pepper on 24.67. Coca-Cola had a market cap around $363.0 billion, while PepsiCo was at $197.7 billion and KDP at $45.4 billion.
Coca-Cola’s first-quarter results back the stock’s higher valuation story. Net revenue rose 12%, with organic revenue up 10%. Unit case volume increased 3%. Comparable EPS climbed 18% to $0.86. CEO Henrique Braun called the latest quarter a “strong start to the year.” The Coca-Cola Company
Now the question is if volume stayed strong through summer. Coca-Cola is set to post Q2 numbers on July 28 before the NYSE session, with its call at 8:30 a.m. ET. PepsiCo hands in results earlier, on July 9, so investors get an advance look at North America drinks and pricing.
Coca-Cola is still watching costs and package supply. In April, Reuters quoted CFO John Murphy saying the top priority was getting enough supply in different package types, after energy-linked input costs and can disruptions affected some operations.
