Coca-Cola raises earnings guidance as CFO says Diet Coke is having 'a moment'

Coca-Cola (KO) stock jumped more than 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company beat Wall Street's earnings expectations and raised its guidance as consumers turned to lower-calorie trademark Coke options, such as Coke Zero and Diet Coke.

The soda giant was able to tap into health-conscious consumers, who may have leaned into America 250 and FIFA World Cup celebrations. Global unit case volume rose 5%, above the previous quarter's 3% gain and the 2.5% growth Wall Street expected, per Bloomberg consensus data. In North America, volume grew 3%.

Yet again, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was the driving force, with volume up 16% in the quarter. Right behind it were Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light, up 7%.

"Diet Coke was up 7% for the quarter, also, having its moment," CFO John Murphy told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday. "We have Coke Zero in certain parts of Europe beginning to build scale. You're going to hear a lot more about that in the next 12 to 18 months."

"Coke Zero, the current iteration of Coke Zero, has a taste profile that people like," Murphy added on the winning formula. "It's not much more complicated than that."

Innovation will be a key tactic to keep the momentum.

"We're open to exploration," Murphy said when asked about a recent trademark filing for the term "Spricy."

"Explore, learn, and move on if it's not [working]," Murphy continued. "Spricy is one of those potential opportunities in the future. Nothing much more to say about it at the moment."

The company raised its full-year guidance, and Murphy said Coca-Cola is seeing consistent growth and momentum heading into the back half of the year. Coca-Cola now expects revenue to grow by 5%, compared to a previous range of 4% to 5%, while earnings are expected to grow in the 9% to 10% range, just above the 8% to 9% previously expected.

Murphy said the recent ransomware attack that impacted its Fairlife production facilities last week will not have a "material financial impact" on the quarter, but the company is still "still working through and reviewing all that has happened" as most of its production is back up and running.

Something the team is keeping a close eye on for 2027 is higher input costs.

"We are very mindful of the input costs that come our way, and the conflict in the Middle East this year … has had a pretty significant impact on fuel prices," Murphy said. That has impacted aluminum prices as well, "which are pretty substantial input drivers for our bottling partners."

He said raising prices on consumers is just "one lever" to offset these higher costs, but that decision is handled regionally based on "the competitive environment [and] where consumers are."

Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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