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What is the story about?
Speaking to analysts after the earnings, James Quincey, the outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the $330 billion beverage giant, The Coca-Cola Company, said India is one of the markets with long-term volume growth potential that needs to improve this year.
Consumer demand in key markets such as India and China has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to Quincey.
Revenue and profit from the Asia Pacific— which accounts for a quarter of total volumes— declined during the quarter due to softer consumer spending and a high base from the previous year.
The decline was particularly steep in India, where both industry dynamics and weather conditions added to the pressure, according to Henrique Braun, the incoming CEO to replace Quincey, who has held the position since 2017.
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Its APAC bottling unit saw volume decline 6% in the latest quarter, largely due to declines in India and the impact of refranchising (the sale of company-owned, corporate-operated outlets to new or existing franchisees).
However, the company made a $102 million gain in 2025 from the refranchising of its bottling operations in select territories in India.
Globally, Coca-Cola's unit case volume grew 1% for the quarter and was flat for the full year.
Despite this, Coca-Cola, along with its bottling partners, is investing in new production lines in India and expects the business to be back on track in 2026.
Citing the Coke Buddy platform, which connects bottlers to retailers via a digital interface, management highlighted its efforts to use technology to revive its business.
The company plans to deploy digital ordering tools and artificial intelligence (AI), including agentic AI, to recommend the next best stock-keeping unit (SKU) to the retailers.
It also aims to build an end-to-end digital ecosystem that links consumer engagement to transactions.
Separately, the company said divestitures, including the sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and CHI Nigeria, will act as a headwind to net revenue and earnings per share in the second half of 2026.
Coca-Cola has added 12 billion-dollar brands, taking the total to 32.
Now, 75% of all billion-dollar brands are not sparkling soft drinks.
The average annual organic revenue growth rate during Quincey's tenure was 7%, while comparable earnings increased by $3 per share in 2025.
Read more: India built the solar plants faster than the grid could handle
Consumer demand in key markets such as India and China has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to Quincey.
Revenue and profit from the Asia Pacific— which accounts for a quarter of total volumes— declined during the quarter due to softer consumer spending and a high base from the previous year.
The decline was particularly steep in India, where both industry dynamics and weather conditions added to the pressure, according to Henrique Braun, the incoming CEO to replace Quincey, who has held the position since 2017.
Read more: A rare bet: Top stocks where promoters, DIIs and FPIs buy together
Its APAC bottling unit saw volume decline 6% in the latest quarter, largely due to declines in India and the impact of refranchising (the sale of company-owned, corporate-operated outlets to new or existing franchisees).
However, the company made a $102 million gain in 2025 from the refranchising of its bottling operations in select territories in India.
Globally, Coca-Cola's unit case volume grew 1% for the quarter and was flat for the full year.
Despite this, Coca-Cola, along with its bottling partners, is investing in new production lines in India and expects the business to be back on track in 2026.
Citing the Coke Buddy platform, which connects bottlers to retailers via a digital interface, management highlighted its efforts to use technology to revive its business.
The company plans to deploy digital ordering tools and artificial intelligence (AI), including agentic AI, to recommend the next best stock-keeping unit (SKU) to the retailers.
It also aims to build an end-to-end digital ecosystem that links consumer engagement to transactions.
Separately, the company said divestitures, including the sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and CHI Nigeria, will act as a headwind to net revenue and earnings per share in the second half of 2026.
Here's a snapshot of what James Quincey achieved as the CEO of Coca-Cola:
Coca-Cola has added 12 billion-dollar brands, taking the total to 32.
Now, 75% of all billion-dollar brands are not sparkling soft drinks.
The average annual organic revenue growth rate during Quincey's tenure was 7%, while comparable earnings increased by $3 per share in 2025.
Read more: India built the solar plants faster than the grid could handle
