Coca-Cola has raised guidance twice. Tuesday asks for a third.

Haverhill Financial Research · News · Earnings · October 26, 2026

Coca-Cola reports third-quarter results on Tuesday, October 27, before the New York Stock Exchange opens, with a call at 8:30am Eastern. The company has raised its full-year outlook already this year, and the question is whether the quarter supports doing it again.

Second-quarter net revenue was $13.38 billion, up 7%, with organic revenue up 6%. Comparable operating margin reached 35.6%, against 34.7% a year earlier. Comparable earnings were $0.97 a share, up 11%, and reported earnings $1.03, up 16%. Free cash flow for the first half was $6.9 billion.

Underneath the totals was something unusual for Coca-Cola.

For three years Coca-Cola's growth came mostly from charging more. Unit case volume was flat or slightly negative in many quarters while price and mix did the work. In the second quarter that reversed: volume rose 5% and price and mix contributed only 2%.

Volume-led growth is the healthier kind. It means more people drinking more of the product rather than the same people paying more for it, and it is far more durable. It also arrives with a catch — volume is harder to sustain than price, and the comparisons get tougher from here.

Whether the balance holds. Management has said it expects volume and price to even out across the full year with variation between quarters, so a quarter where price does more work again is not a problem in itself. A quarter where neither does is.

The second item is the guidance. At the half year Coca-Cola raised organic revenue growth to about 5%, comparable earnings growth to 9% to 10%, and free cash flow to about $12.4 billion, while cutting its underlying tax rate to 19.9%. Currency has turned into a roughly 1% tailwind to revenue after years as a headwind.

Third, the pending sale of the African bottling business. The current guidance assumes it closes late in the third quarter or in the fourth, and that assumption is embedded in the revenue headwind the company has flagged. A change in timing moves the reported numbers without changing the business.

Figures come from Coca-Cola's own second-quarter 2026 results release and its announcement of the third-quarter release timing.

Disclosures. Haverhill Financial Research is a publisher of general financial commentary. This article is not personalized investment advice and does not consider any reader's financial situation; readers should do their own research. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Company figures and guidance can change. The author of this post does not hold a position in Coca-Cola. Data as of October 26, 2026.