What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Coca-Cola Q1 Earnings?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Coca-Cola in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Lohia now expects that the company will earn $0.79 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.78. The consensus estimate for Coca-Cola’s current full-year earnings is $2.96 per share.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.88 and a 200-day moving average of $66.77. The stock has a market cap of $309.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 52.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.