Columbus Acquisition

$Coca Cola(KO.US) is forming a weekly base. I wonder why Coca-Cola out of all the names with this look. Do they drink Coke at Data centers? If $Caterpillar(CAT.US) is a DC play, then $Coca Cola(KO.US) and $Starbucks(SBUX.US) should be as well.

MNST 4Q25 First Take: Intl brokers track energy drink category sell-through via Nielsen monthly data and saw continued QoQ improvement in both buyer penetration and purchase frequency in Q4. In N. America, household penetration for Monster hit a record high of 33%. As a result, Street expectations heading into the print were elevated.

On actuals, revenue beat and remained strong. However, unlike Q3, higher spending drove a slight miss on the profit line.

1) Revenue rose 17.6% YoY, the fastest quarterly growth in nearly three years. By volume/price, unit case volume was up 16.9% YoY, extending Q3’s high-growth trend.

Drivers were twofold: the energy drink category continues to gain global penetration on health and functionality trends. At the company level, a pivot toward health-oriented SKUs and faster innovation captured incremental, health-conscious consumers.

Pricing increased 1.1% YoY. In the core N. American market, MNST implemented varied price hikes by pack size and subcategory while pulling back on promotions.

2) Intl mix kept rising. By brand, the Monster core franchise grew 18.9% YoY, outpacing the category, helped by flavor innovation that resonated with fashion- and fitness-focused female consumers. Other strategic brands rose 6.9% YoY, with slower QoQ growth.

By region, Intl revenue grew 27% YoY and mix increased to 42.4%, supported by deeper leverage of Coca-Cola’s global distribution network. U.S. revenue rose 11.6% YoY, sustaining double-digit growth.

3) Spending modestly exceeded expectations. GPM was stable as mix upgrades and modest pricing offset higher input costs such as aluminum cans.

On opex, heavier sponsorship in Q4, plus launches like Storm, pushed expenses slightly above expectations, resulting in OP modestly below the Street. For more details, follow Dolphin Research’s deep dive and the earnings call content $Monster Beverage(MNST.US)

The company isn't going through or expecting a boom...

$Coca Cola(KO.US)reports before open tonight. The stock’s been on a nice run — up like 12% in a month and even hit $79+ last week. Kinda makes you wonder if all the good news is already priced in 😅

They’re expected to post around $0.57 EPS and just over $12B in revenue. Honestly, the number itself feels almost secondary — KO beats almost every quarter anyway. What I’m really looking for:

1. Guidance — new CEO stepping in soon, and with all the talk about consumer spending getting shaky, what’s the outlook for ‘26?

2. Dividend hike? They’re a Dividend King… could they sweeten the payout again?

3. Pricing power — can they keep passing on costs without losing customers? Pepsi’s been doing pretty well lately, so the pressure is on.

4. That Costco switch back to Coke — did it actually boost sales?

Also, side note: they just killed their frozen drinks line in the US. Not a huge shock, but makes you think they’re really pushing juice and core sodas now.

Analysts still like it (avg target around $87), and Wells Fargo just bumped their target up. But with the stock near highs, a “beat and raise” might already be expected.