The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), the world’s most well known soft drink manufacturer, released its earnings for the opening quarter of 2012 before the market opened earlier today. The company showed an earnings per share of $0.89 during the period and gathered revenues of $11.1 billion. When analysts tackled the forecast they saw the company making around $0.87 per share on revenue of $10.8 billion. The company is still growing and still well outperforming rivals in a very competitive market.
Last year in the same quarter the company recorded earnings per share of $0.82 made on revenues collected of 10.5 billion. The firm is still seeing year on year growth, mostly due to expansion in the emerging markets, though that could be expected to begin to fall going forward. High commodity prices, particularly oil, will make Coca Cola a relatively more expensive product and should slow the company’s sales growth across the world. The firm has previously promised investors a widescale cost cutting plan that would save the company more than half a billion per year by 2015.
Where those cuts will really come from it is difficult to know and the company’s investors will want to see moves made in actually making those cuts some time soon. Despite worries of a slow down or vague cost cutting measure’s the company’s stock has remained one of the most stable in the NYSE with a range of only just over 10 points in the last year. The company pays a dividend each year, one that has risen year for the last fifty years. The stock’s stability have made it a good store of value for investors looking to collect dividends but not take a high level of risk.
Despite the company’s solid outlook it is still the leader in a competitive market and so nothing should be taken for granted. Generic alternatives to the world’s most famous beverage are popping up all over and the company still faces stiff competition from traditional enemies like Pepsi Co. There is also the matter of changing attitudes toward soft drinks in the west culminating in projects like Michelle Obama’s child obesity initiative. Program’s like that are targeted against sugary and acidic beverages and could lead to a decline in demand in the future.
Coca Cola’s shares were as unmovable as usual before the market opened today showing gains of less than eight hundreds of a percent. The shares will open at $72.44 later today.
