Coca-Cola (KO) Stock on December 3, 2025: Dividend King Faces Lawsuits, Tariffs and M&A Pause as Wall Street Sees Double‑Digit Upside

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) ended trading on December 3, 2025 at $70.81 per share, up 0.2% on the day. That price values the beverage giant at around $304.6 billion in market capitalization and leaves the stock below its 52‑week high of $74.38, with a low‑volatility beta of 0.40 that keeps it firmly in “defensive staple” territory. ^[1]

At the same time, Coca-Cola remains a Dividend King with 63 consecutive years of payout increases and a forward dividend yield near 2.9%, even as fresh headlines on lawsuits, tariffs, bolt‑on M&A and tax disputes complicate the investment story. ^[2]

Below is a detailed look at all the key news, forecasts and analyses around KO stock as of December 3, 2025.

KO stock today: price, valuation and trading action

As of the close on December 3, 2025:

• Share price: $70.81
• Day move: +$0.14 (+0.20%)
• 52‑week range: $60.62 – $74.38
• Market cap: $304.6 billion
• Trailing EPS (ttm): $3.02
• Trailing P/E: 23.45
• Forward P/E: 22.16
• Volume (Dec 3): 15.49 million shares
• Dividend: $2.04 per share annually (2.88% yield)
• Beta: 0.40 (vs. 1.0 for the broader market) ^[3]

Those metrics paint a familiar picture:

• Coca-Cola trades at a premium valuation versus many consumer staples peers, with a high‑teens to low‑20s earnings multiple.
• Its low beta and consistent dividend make KO a classic defensive holding that tends to attract investors when macro uncertainty rises.

Year‑to‑date, KO has delivered mid‑teens total returns thanks to share price gains plus dividends, according to recent dividend coverage, outpacing many slower‑growing staples while still lagging high‑growth tech. ^[4]

Earnings momentum: Q3 2025 results and 2025 outlook

Coca-Cola’s most recent earnings release came on October 21, 2025, when the company reported third‑quarter 2025 results. Management described the environment as “challenging,” but the numbers were solid. ^[5]

Q3 2025 highlights

From the company’s own report:

• Net revenues: Up 5% to $12.5 billion
• Organic revenues: Up 6%, driven by 6% price/mix growth with flat concentrate sales
• Operating margin:32.0%, with comparable operating margin at 31.9%, expanding versus 2024 thanks to operating leverage and cost discipline despite higher marketing and FX headwinds ^[6]
• EPS: Up 30% to $0.86; comparable EPS up 6% to $0.82, even after a 4–6 point currency headwind ^[7]
• Global unit case volume: Up 1%, with Coca-Cola gaining value share in total non‑alcoholic ready‑to‑drink (NARTD) beverages. ^[8]

The company also highlighted continued progress in portfolio premiumization and category expansion:

• Fuze Tea growing retail value five times the industry average in ready‑to‑drink tea.
• Powerade and BODYARMOR in sports drinks delivering volume and value share gains.
• Santa Clara in Mexico becoming the value‑share leader in value‑added dairy, with 13% volume growth in the quarter. ^[9]

Updated 2025 guidance

Coca-Cola reaffirmed or slightly updated its full‑year 2025 outlook: ^[10]

• Organic revenue growth:5%–6% (no change).
• Comparable EPS (non‑GAAP) growth: Around 3% vs. $2.88 in 2024, including ~5% currency headwind and ~1% headwind from structural changes.
• Comparable currency‑neutral EPS growth: Around 8%.
• Free cash flow (excluding fairlife contingent payment): At least $9.8 billion, up from prior guidance of $9.5 billion.
• Underlying effective tax rate: About 20.7% (up from 18.6% in 2024), partly due to implementation of global minimum tax rules.

In short, KO is executing near the high end of its long‑term algorithm—mid‑single‑digit organic revenue growth and high‑single‑digit currency‑neutral EPS growth—even as FX and taxes shave several points off reported numbers.

What’s new on December 3, 2025: lawsuits, tariffs and M&A plans

December 3 brought a cluster of fresh headlines that matter for KO holders, from legal actions to policy and strategy commentary.

1. San Francisco lawsuit over ultra‑processed foods

On December 3, the city of San Francisco filed a novel lawsuit against ten major food manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, alleging that ultra‑processed foods are driving a public health crisis and violate California’s unfair competition and public nuisance laws. ^[11]

Key points:

• The suit targets makers of sodas, candies, cereals and snacks, arguing these “engineered” foods contribute to conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease and certain cancers. ^[12]
• The city seeks court orders to curb “deceptive marketing,” limit advertising of ultra‑processed foods to children, require consumer health warnings, and impose financial penalties to help cover healthcare costs. ^[13]

For Coca-Cola, the immediate financial impact is unclear—no damages figure is specified yet—but the case:

• Raises headline and reputational risk at a time when soda taxes and health regulation are already top of mind.
• Could set precedent if courts accept the framing of ultra‑processed foods as a public nuisance.

Investors should watch how this case interacts with broader regulatory moves in California and at the federal level.

2. Johnny Cash estate sues Coca-Cola over ad voice rights

Separately, the estate of Johnny Cash has sued Coca-Cola in Tennessee, alleging that the company used a Cash tribute artist’s voice in a college‑football‑era advertisement without proper authorization, violating the state’s new “Elvis Act” that protects individuals’ voices from unauthorized commercial exploitation. ^[14]

According to the complaint:

• The estate argues Coke “pirated” Cash’s voice to enrich itself, seeking an injunction to remove the ad and damages under the Elvis Act and consumer‑protection laws. ^[15]

Financially, the case is likely modest relative to KO’s scale. But it underscores growing legal scrutiny around:

• Use of impersonators and AI‑generated likenesses.
• Brand campaigns tied to music and celebrity culture—core territory for Coca-Cola’s marketing.

3. Tariff pressures and the “two‑speed” consumer

In a joint story on Walmart and Coca-Cola, executives from both companies told the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference that the negative impact of U.S. tariffs introduced eight months ago may “peak” around the beginning of Q1, but the burden is not evenly shared. ^[16]

Highlights from Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey: ^[17]

• Lower‑income consumers—the “bottom half of the income pyramid”—are feeling tariff‑driven price increases more acutely than higher‑income households, which remain in relatively “robust” shape.
• Coca-Cola is reshuffling investment and activation to follow cash‑strapped consumers as they shift channels and trade down to smaller baskets and value‑oriented formats.
• The company is leaning hard into consumer segmentation, moving marketing spend toward the occasions, channels and geographies where pressured shoppers still engage.

For KO investors, this reinforces two themes:

1. The top line is increasingly driven by price/mix rather than sheer volume, especially in developed markets.
2. Coke’s ability to fine‑tune pack sizes, channels and promotions will be critical if tariffs or broader inflation keep pressuring lower‑income consumers into 2026.

4. Bolt‑on M&A on pause until IRS dispute clears

In a separate FoodNavigator-USA article dated December 3, Quincey signaled that Coca-Cola sees bolt‑on acquisitions returning as a “bigger feature” of its strategy—but likely not until 2027, given both the innovation pipeline and an ongoing IRS tax dispute. ^[18]

Key takeaways:

• Historically, about half of Coca-Cola’s 30 billion‑dollar brands came via M&A, many from very small deals that were later scaled globally. ^[19]
• Typical bolt‑on targets are 5–8 years old; because 2020 was a weak year for innovation launches, the pipeline of proven, scalable brands is “thinner” than usual. ^[20]
• Coca-Cola is also waiting for its long‑running transfer‑pricing dispute with the IRS to play out, which Quincey expects to resolve around late 2026 or early 2027, potentially freeing or constraining capital depending on the outcome. ^[21]

Until then, KO plans to remain opportunistic but does not expect a major M&A push. For shareholders, that implies:

• Near‑term cash returns will skew more toward dividends and selective buybacks than large acquisitions.
• Longer term, a favorable IRS outcome plus a fuller innovation pipeline could enable another wave of bolt‑on‑driven EPS growth.

Dividend story: 63 years of growth and another payout in December

Coca-Cola’s dividend remains the core of the KO investment case, and December brings another check.

According to StockAnalysis and Finbold:

• KO pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share, or $0.51 quarterly.
• At the December 3 closing price, the yield is about 2.88%. ^[22]
• The most recent ex‑dividend date was December 1, 2025, with payment scheduled for December 15, 2025. ^[23]
• The payout ratio sits around 67% of trailing earnings, while combined dividend + buyback yield runs just over 3%. ^[24]

Finbold notes that an investor owning 100 KO shares will collect $51 from this December payout, or about $204 per year if the rate stays constant. ^[25]

A recent analysis syndicated by Nasdaq and authored by The Motley Fool emphasizes that Coca-Cola has increased its dividend for 63 consecutive years, firmly establishing KO as a Dividend King. The article argues that durable cash flows, an A+/A1 credit rating, and significant balance‑sheet flexibility should allow the company to continue raising its dividend for at least another seven years, potentially joining the very small club of “dividend septuagenarians” with 70‑plus years of hikes. ^[26]

Wall Street forecasts: “Strong Buy” consensus with 10%–13% upside

Two major data aggregators provide a snapshot of analyst sentiment as of early December.

StockAnalysis consensus

StockAnalysis, which compiles targets from 13 analysts, lists: ^[27]

• Average 12‑month price target:$78.15, implying about 10.4% upside from $70.81.
• Target range: $70 (low) to $83 (high).
• Consensus rating:“Strong Buy”.

WallStreetZen forecasts

WallStreetZen, which tracks nine covering analysts, shows a very similar picture: ^[28]

• Average 12‑month target:$80.00, about 13.2% upside from ~$70.67 at the time of their snapshot.
• Range: $77 (low) to $83 (high).
• Rating breakdown: 8 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, and no Holds or Sells.

On the fundamentals side, WallStreetZen aggregates consensus estimates that imply: ^[29]

• EPS growth: From current EPS of ~$3.03 to about $3.56 by 2027, a forecast ~5.5% annual earnings growth.
• Revenue growth: From $47.7 billion in 2025 to about $54.4 billion by 2027, roughly 4.5% annual revenue growth.

However, the site’s proprietary “Zen Rating” quant model only rates KO as a “Hold,” noting that the stock’s projected growth is slower than both the broader U.S. market and the average for non‑alcoholic beverage peers—even if returns on equity (forecast at ~52.6%) and assets remain strong. ^[30]

Bottom line on the Street view:
Wall Street expects modest mid‑single‑digit growth, sustained high profitability and low volatility, with 10%–13% price upside plus a ~3% yield. For analysts, KO looks more like a steady compounder than a high‑growth story.

Institutional and insider activity: Arrowstreet trims, Vanguard adds, senator buys

Hedge funds and asset managers

A December 3 article from MarketBeat highlights Arrowstreet Capital’s latest 13F filing, showing the fund cut its KO stake by 12.9% in Q2 by selling about 471,826 shares, leaving it with 3.18 million shares valued at roughly $224.8 million, or about 0.07% of Coca-Cola’s outstanding stock. ^[31]

The same report notes that corporate insiders sold around 225,252 Coca-Cola shares over the last three months (roughly $16 million in value), including notable sales from executive vice presidents, while large institutions such as Vanguard, Norges Bank and Wellington Management have added to or established sizable positions. ^[32]

Overall, KO remains heavily institutionally owned, typical for a mega‑cap blue chip.

Congressional trading spotlight

On the political front, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D‑R.I.) disclosed buying between $1,000 and $15,000 of KO shares on November 21, alongside similar‑sized purchases of Hershey and Guardant Health, according to a Benzinga report on December 2. ^[33]

While the senator isn’t among the most closely tracked traders in Congress, the move illustrates a broader pattern: some lawmakers appear to be rotating from high‑beta “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks into defensive consumer names ahead of potentially volatile macro and election cycles.

Brand and innovation: AI‑powered holiday ads and global campaigns

Beyond the balance sheet and lawsuits, Coca-Cola is leaning hard into brand, AI and seasonal marketing—factors that, while hard to model, underpin long‑term pricing power.

Generative AI holiday campaign

A Marketing Dive feature on November 5 describes how Coca-Cola has doubled down on a refreshed, AI‑enhanced version of its iconic “Holidays Are Coming” Christmas commercial. The ad, developed with generative AI, has faced online backlash for its use of new technology, but Coca-Cola’s internal testing shows it “scored off the charts” with consumers on metrics such as brand association and purchase intent, according to Islam ElDessouky, global VP for creative strategy and content. ^[34]

Key points:

• The AI‑powered spot is part of a wider “Refresh Your Holidays” campaign running across TV, digital, social, in‑store and packaging. ^[35]
• Coca-Cola is using AI not just in creative but in personalization and media planning, aiming to link its traditional assets (Santa, polar bears, Christmas trucks) with new data‑driven tactics.

From an investor perspective, these campaigns help reinforce the moat: the more Coke can translate brand equity into measurable conversion and pricing power, the more durable its premium valuation becomes.

Christmas truck tours and global activations

In the UK and Europe, Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck tours continue to draw crowds, with tabloids tracking routes and stop locations throughout the 2025 holiday season, including a December 3 visit to Leeds and other major cities. ^[36]

These events:

• Provide high‑touch, experiential marketing, especially important for younger audiences.
• Tie into the broader holiday campaign outlined in the AI‑focused article, reinforcing a consistent seasonal brand narrative. ^[37]

Key opportunities and risks for KO stock now

Bringing the news and forecasts together, here’s how KO looks as of December 3, 2025.

Investment positives

1. Resilient earnings machine
   • Mid‑single‑digit organic revenue growth and high‑single‑digit currency‑neutral EPS growth are intact, even in a choppy macro environment. ^[38]
2. Dividend King with room to grow
   • 63 years of consecutive dividend hikes, a ~2.9% yield and a payout ratio in the mid‑60s, plus a strong balance sheet and A‑range credit ratings, suggest continued annual raises are likely. ^[39]
3. High returns on capital and asset‑light model
   • Forecast ROE above 50% and solid ROA illustrate the efficiency of Coke’s franchise bottler structure, which has been further strengthened by refranchising and recent asset sales. ^[40]
4. Brand and innovation tailwinds
   • Global campaigns, AI‑enhanced marketing and plans to re‑engage in bolt‑on M&A once the IRS dispute resolves provide multiple levers for long‑term growth. ^[41]
5. Defensive profile
   • Low beta, ubiquitous products and global diversification make KO a traditional ballast in diversified portfolios.

Key risks and overhangs

1. Regulatory and legal risk
   • The San Francisco lawsuit over ultra‑processed foods and the Johnny Cash voice‑rights case add to a growing stack of legal and policy challenges attacking different parts of Coke’s business model and brand. ^[42]
2. Growth slower than market and peers
   • Forecast revenue (~4.5%/yr) and EPS (~5.5%/yr) growth trail both the broader U.S. equity market and the non‑alcoholic beverage industry averages, according to WallStreetZen. ^[43]
3. Valuation premium
   • At ~23x trailing earnings and low‑20s forward P/E, KO is not cheap versus some peers like PepsiCo, as Finbold and others note, and leaves less room for multiple expansion if growth disappoints. ^[44]
4. Tariff and consumer‑pressure headwinds
   • Tariffs and weaker discretionary budgets among lower‑income shoppers add uncertainty to volume trends, even if Coke can lean on price/mix and segmentation to offset some of the pain. ^[45]
5. IRS tax dispute and M&A timing
   • The outcome of the IRS transfer‑pricing case, expected around late 2026–early 2027, could influence available capital for dividends, buybacks and deals, and is a key medium‑term uncertainty. ^[46]

Bottom line: How KO looks on December 3, 2025

As of December 3, 2025, Coca-Cola stock sits in a familiar spot:

• Priced as a high‑quality, slow‑and‑steady compounder, not a hyper‑growth story.
• Offering mid‑single‑digit fundamental growth, a near‑3% dividend yield, and low volatility, with Wall Street still expecting 10%–13% price upside over the next year. ^[47]
• Facing increasing legal and regulatory scrutiny and macro headwinds at the low end of the income spectrum, but also demonstrating strong pricing power, brand equity and strategic flexibility. ^[48]

For long‑term investors focused on income and stability, KO continues to look like a classic Dividend King navigating a more complicated world—but still very much in control of its core franchise.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a substitute for professional financial counsel.

References

1. stockanalysis.com, 2. stockanalysis.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. finbold.com, 5. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 6. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 7. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 8. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 9. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 10. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 11. www.fastcompany.com, 12. www.fastcompany.com, 13. www.fastcompany.com, 14. www.theguardian.com, 15. www.theguardian.com, 16. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 17. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 18. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 19. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 20. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 21. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 22. stockanalysis.com, 23. stockanalysis.com, 24. stockanalysis.com, 25. finbold.com, 26. www.nasdaq.com, 27. stockanalysis.com, 28. www.wallstreetzen.com, 29. www.wallstreetzen.com, 30. www.wallstreetzen.com, 31. www.marketbeat.com, 32. www.marketbeat.com, 33. www.benzinga.com, 34. www.marketingdive.com, 35. www.marketingdive.com, 36. www.thesun.co.uk, 37. www.marketingdive.com, 38. investors.coca-colacompany.com, 39. stockanalysis.com, 40. www.wallstreetzen.com, 41. www.marketingdive.com, 42. www.fastcompany.com, 43. www.wallstreetzen.com, 44. finbold.com, 45. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 46. www.foodnavigator-usa.com, 47. stockanalysis.com, 48. www.foodnavigator-usa.com