KO 2Q26 First Take. Overall, a strong quarter with revenue and profit beating estimates across the board. The company also raised full-year guidance for the second time this year.
1) Q2 reported revenue of $13.4bn (+7% YoY). By mix, concentrate sales rose 4% YoY, the key upside vs. ~+1% cons. Unit case volume grew 5% YoY, the highest single-quarter print in recent years.
Heading into Q2, investors worried a ~5ppt Q1 timing pull-forward in concentrates would 'pay back' in Q2. In reality, concentrate volume lagged unit case volume by only 1ppt, reaffirming an underlying acceleration in sell-through.
The core driver is Zero Sugar and other better-for-you offerings gaining traction globally. Price/mix was +2% YoY, a touch below expectations.2) By category, Zero Sugar Coke grew 16% YoY, accelerating QoQ to a multi-year high, with growth across all regions. Boosted by the World Cup, juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based swung from -1% in Q1 to +2%. Sports drinks accelerated from +3% to +5%; RTD coffee was the only decliner (-2%), mainly due to APAC.
3) GPM expanded 50bps YoY to 62.9%, driven by a mix shift toward higher-margin, healthier SKUs such as Zero Sugar, Fairlife ultrafiltered milk, and premium sparkling water. Q2 marked the World Cup activation phase, with front-loaded marketing lifting the SG&A ratio by 12bps to 27.8%. Comparable OPM rose 86bps to 35.6%.
4) The company raised FY organic revenue growth to ~5% (from 4–5%). It lifted comparable EPS growth guidance to +9–10% (from +8–9%). For more detail, follow Dolphin Research's takeaways and call Trans. $Coca Cola(KO.US)
