S&P 500 · beverages · defensive dividend king
The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola is the world's largest beverage company, selling concentrate and syrups to bottlers across more than 200 countries rather than making finished drinks itself. Its 2024 revenue was $47.1 billion, with the high-margin concentrate business making up 59% of revenue. A dividend king that has raised its dividend for over 60 years, it has essentially no AI exposure and moves only on the clock of consumer demand, foreign exchange and commodities.
KO Updated Jul 12, 2026 4 AI consumers· 1 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, The Coca-Cola Company is directly linked to 3 companies (0 supply, 3 revenue relationships) and reaches 3 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 9 dated sources, 2 of them primary filings (as of 2026-07-12).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · 2025 net revenue $47.9B (+2%, +5% organic; price/mix +4%, concentrate +1%). Concentrate ~59%, finished ~41%
- Customer concentration · A brand-driven defensive dividend stock with essentially no AI exposure. It returned $8.4B in dividends in 2024 and has raised the dividend for over 60 years. Revenue moves on consumer and pricing, foreign exchange and commodity cycles.
- Segments · Concentrate operations · Finished product operations · Geographic segments
Revenue from
- 보틀러 (농축액·시럽 판매) High confidence· Market share 59% · FY2025 · concentrate operations share of revenue
The core of Coca-Cola's revenue is selling concentrate and syrups to bottlers worldwide such as Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Arca Continental and Coca-Cola Consolidated; concentrate operations were 59% of 2024 revenue.Confirms EN The Coca-Cola Company Published Feb 10, 2026: Coca-Cola Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 ResultsMentions EN Analyst consensus (via MarketScreener) Published Feb 10, 2026: Coca-Cola analyst consensus (Buy): defensive dividend king, resilient pricingConfirms EN SEC (Coca-Cola 10-K) Published Feb 20, 2025: The Coca-Cola Company FY2024 Annual Report (10-K)Confirms EN The Coca-Cola Company Published Feb 11, 2025: Coca-Cola Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results - 소비자·완제품 (직접 판매) High confidence· Market share 41% · FY2025 · finished product operations share of revenue
Coca-Cola also sells finished drinks directly to consumers via Bottling Investments and Global Ventures, which were 41% of 2024 revenue. Demand is defensive and brand-driven, and it is a dividend king that has raised its payout for over 60 years.Confirms KO Investing.com Published Feb 21, 2025: Coca-Cola raises dividend for the 63rd consecutive year - McDonald's (exclusive fountain channel) High confidence
A 70-year channel supplying McDonald's its exclusive soft drink since 1955 — a customer large enough to have a dedicated division at Coca-Cola HQ. - Costco Wholesale Medium confidence
Costco is a major warehouse-club channel for Coca-Cola branded beverages, and Coca-Cola has called Costco 'an important customer.'Confirms EN Fox Business Published Jul 19, 2025: Bye, Pepsi!: Costco locations begin to make the switch to Coca-Cola at food courts - E-mart Inc. Low confidence
E-mart buys Coca-Cola products and sells them across its hypermarkets and online mall. For Coca-Cola, E-mart is a Korean retail revenue source.
Pays to
- 감미료 (설탕·고과당옥수수시럽) Medium confidence
The key raw materials behind the drinks are sweeteners such as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup; most of that commodity cost is borne by bottlers, leaving Coca-Cola's concentrate business relatively less exposed.Mentions EN SEC (Coca-Cola 10-K) Published Feb 20, 2025: The Coca-Cola Company FY2024 Annual Report (10-K) - 포장·물류 (알루미늄·PET·운송) Medium confidence
Aluminum for cans, PET resin for bottles and freight are the main packaging and logistics costs of the beverage chain, again mostly carried by bottlers.Mentions EN SEC (Coca-Cola 10-K) Published Feb 20, 2025: The Coca-Cola Company FY2024 Annual Report (10-K)
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco Wholesale | lead1 | +51.8 | -19 | +49 | +39.6 | -5.4 | +6.6 |
| E-mart Inc. | lead1 | -18.4 | -19.5 | -25.3 | -14.6 | +44.7 | -7.8 |
| McDonald's | lead1 | +27.8 | +0.5 | +15.1 | +0.1 | +7.9 | -9 |
| The Coca-Cola Company | node | +11.4 | +10.6 | -4.4 | +8.9 | +15.6 | +21 |
YTD as of 2026-07-10 · source: Yahoo Finance
The thesis is that this is a pure defensive stock independent of the AI cycle — a brand business selling high-margin concentrate and syrup to bottlers in 200-plus countries rather than making finished goods, so bottlers bear most of the sugar, aluminum and logistics cost while Coca-Cola keeps the brand and pricing power. Of $47.9bn in 2025 revenue (+2%, +5% organic), concentrate is ~59%, so results move on consumption and price, FX (84% of volume outside the US) and the commodity cycle. A dividend king that has raised its payout for 60-plus years, it returns large dividends and buybacks each year; the risks are emerging-market FX, sugar taxes and health regulation, and the shift toward sugar-free and functional drinks.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-02-10Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 3 · Hold 0 · Sell 0 · Avg. target $88 · Price $83.49 (07-10) · Upside +5%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley · Dara Mohsenian | Overweight | $89 | Jun 10, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Barclays | Overweight | $89 | May 21, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| JPMorgan | Overweight | $85 | Apr 29, 2026 | Report ↗ |
Buy consensus holds with average targets around $87-88, as Morgan Stanley and Barclays raised targets to $89 citing 2026 earnings visibility, pricing power and sustained share gains.
Analyses covering this node
- Consumption does not run on one clock: staples, discretionary, luxury diverge Jul 5, 2026
- AI money stays inside the chain: consumption and capital run on other clocks Jul 5, 2026