I keep buying Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO | KO Price Prediction) and am not embarrassed about it. Every paycheck, every dividend reinvestment, every stock pullback sends me back to the buy button. The reason is simple: I want to own the company that just raised its quarterly dividend for the 63rd consecutive year while growing organic revenue at a double-digit clip, and I want as many shares as I can accumulate before the next decade of compounding starts.
The thesis is human before it is financial. Coca-Cola sells a habit that travels: a mini-can at a North American convenience store, a ‘Superfan’ 500ml Premier League can in the United Kingdom, and an AI-enabled connected pack in China. That distribution machine is what I am buying. The dividend is the receipt.
The data behind the conviction
Start with Q1 2026, reported on April 28, 2026. EPS came in at $0.86 against a $0.81 estimate, the fourth straight quarter of EPS beats. Revenue of $12.47 billion grew 12.07% year over year, with 10% organic growth and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume up 13% across every geographic segment.
Operating margin expanded to 35% from 32.9%. Free cash flow rose 131.85% to $1.76 billion. These are the numbers of a franchise still compounding.
The quarterly payout moved from $0.48 in 2024 to $0.51 in 2025 to $0.53 in Q1 2026. The company paid out $8.8 billion in dividends during 2025 and still has roughly $5.2 billion in buyback authorization left. Management guided 2026 free cash flow to about $12.2 billion and raised comparable EPS growth to 8% to 9% off a $3 base. That funds the next raise.
Valuation is where I must be honest. At $78.87 the stock trades at a trailing P/E near 25 with a 1.95% yield. Not cheap. But the beta of 0.361 and the 140.89% ten-year price return signal durability. On April 1, 2026, all 11 board directors acquired Phantom Share Units at the same $75.81 price. When the board moves in unison, I pay attention.
The honest risk
The risk I respect most is category drift. Coca-Cola took a $960 million non-cash trademark impairment on BODYARMOR in Q4 2025 because the sports-drink category slowed and competition intensified.
Asia Pacific comparable currency neutral operating income fell 17% in Q1 on higher costs and unfavorable mix, and juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages declined 1% globally. Add the ongoing IRS tax litigation and the pending Coca-Cola Beverages Africa divestiture, and the bear case writes itself.
The thesis still holds because the core sparkling business carries the load. North America revenue grew 12% with a 17% jump in comparable currency neutral operating income. Latin America revenue grew 14%, EMEA grew 13%. One impaired acquisition does not break a portfolio that gained value share in total NARTD beverages globally.
Why the buy button stays active
I am buying a 43.4% return on equity business with $10.57 billion in cash, a 63-year track record of treating shareholders as partners, and a CEO in Henrique Braun whose first quarterly result expanded margins, raised guidance, and grew unit cases in China, the U.S., and India simultaneously.
When a company can raise its dividend for a 64th straight year and still self-fund $12 billion of free cash flow, the thesis is straightforward. I keep buying the bottle.
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