Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (COKE)

Price$190.00Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-04 16:23 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced because durable cash generation is offset by a fuller valuation and heavier debt.

The market value is about $12.9 billion, roughly 26 times trailing profit and 20 times trailing free cash flow. Free cash flow means cash left after running the business and paying for long-term equipment and facilities; it is about $644 million over the latest twelve months. A simple five-year check using a 9% required return and an 18-times ending cash-flow value needs roughly 6% yearly cash growth to match the market value. That looks possible, but not conservative, given higher interest costs and recent margin pressure.

Big pictureSales and operating cash have climbed steadily, while recent bottom-line growth has become less dependable.

Revenue rose from $5.01 billion in 2020 to $7.23 billion in 2025, while operating income increased from $313 million to $951 million and operating cash flow from $494 million to $932 million. That history suggests the bottling network can turn steady beverage demand into durable cash. In the first half of 2026, operating cash flow still increased to $421 million and capital spending was $147 million. Net income fell 7.1%, however, as higher interest expense and non-cash liability revaluations offset stronger operating results.

Business strengthThe company bought back shares aggressively, increasing each remaining stake while giving up much balance-sheet protection.

In 2025, Coca-Cola Consolidated spent $2.61 billion on share repurchases and $86.7 million on dividends, far above roughly $620 million of free cash flow. The largest purchase retired 18.8 million shares previously held by The Coca-Cola Company. The share count is now about 15.9% lower than a year ago, so dilution is not the concern. Debt is: by July 3, debt was $2.51 billion against $172 million of cash. Management repaid $275 million in the first half, but net debt remained about $2.34 billion.

What could change the storyDebt reduction and cheaper aluminum could unlock upside, while weaker pricing power would quickly weaken the case.

The bull case strengthens if annual free cash flow stays above roughly $650 million, net debt falls below about $2 billion, and gross margin moves back toward 39% to 40%. The bear case strengthens if aluminum stays expensive while price increases cannot keep up. Second-quarter gross margin fell to 37.9% from 40.0%, with aluminum adding about $45 million of cost, while quarterly net interest expense rose to $30.5 million from $5.9 million. Growth also has timing noise: the first quarter had six extra days, and second-quarter demand benefited from major events and holiday timing.

AI: News

Second-quarter growth versus costsStrong second-quarter demand beat cost pressure, showing both the franchise strength and the main near-term risk.

On August 5, 2026, second-quarter sales rose 10.6% and physical case volume increased 7.6%. Operating income was nearly flat because gross margin dropped 2.1 percentage points, with higher aluminum costs adding about $45 million versus the prior year. The next trading session, the shares gained 1.9% on more than one million shares of volume. That reaction is consistent with investors favoring the demand strength, but price timing alone cannot prove the earnings release caused the move.

First-quarter margin shockFirst-quarter headline growth masked weaker underlying profit, and investors reacted sharply to rising costs.

On May 6, 2026, reported sales rose 16.9% and operating income 25.1%, but the quarter included six extra selling days. Excluding that calendar benefit, adjusted sales rose 8.5%, adjusted operating income only 2.2%, and adjusted net income fell 12.3%. Aluminum added about $35 million of cost. Shares fell 15.6% on May 7 with unusually heavy trading. The timing suggests investors focused on cost pressure and weaker underlying profit, although it does not prove those factors alone caused the decline.

Large Coca-Cola stake repurchaseA huge share retirement increased ownership per remaining share but transformed the balance sheet with new debt.

On November 7, 2025, the company bought 18.8 million common shares from a Coca-Cola Company subsidiary for about $2.4 billion. Funding included cash plus a $1.2 billion, 364-day term loan. The deal removed a large block of shares and therefore increased each remaining shareholder's percentage ownership, but it also drove debt sharply higher and reduced cash reserves. That trade-off still matters to valuation because higher interest expense now absorbs part of the operating cash the business generates.

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009
Revenue	$7.23B	$6.90B	$6.65B	$6.20B	$5.56B	$5.01B	$4.83B	$4.63B	$4.29B	$3.13B	$2.31B	$1.75B	$1.64B	$1.61B	$1.56B	$1.51B	$1.44B
Gross profit	$2.87B	$2.75B	$2.60B	$2.28B	$1.95B	$1.77B	$1.67B	$1.56B	$1.50B	$1.19B	$901.0M	$705.2M	$658.6M	$654.3M	$629.2M	$640.8M	$620.0M
Gross margin	39.74%	39.90%	39.06%	36.74%	35.13%	35.33%	34.61%	33.63%	35.10%	38.00%	39.07%	40.38%	40.13%	40.53%	40.30%	42.31%	42.97%
Operating expenses	$1.92B	$1.83B	$1.76B	$1.64B	$1.52B	$1.46B	$1.49B	$1.50B	$1.40B	$1.06B	$802.9M	$619.3M	$585.0M	$565.6M	$541.7M	$544.5M	$525.5M
Operating income	$950.7M	$920.4M	$834.5M	$641.0M	$439.2M	$313.4M	$180.8M	$57.9M	$101.5M	$131.2M	$98.1M	$86.0M	$73.6M	$88.7M	$87.5M	$96.3M	$94.5M
Operating margin	13.15%	13.34%	12.54%	10.34%	7.89%	6.26%	3.74%	1.25%	2.37%	4.19%	4.26%	4.92%	4.49%	5.49%	5.61%	6.36%	6.55%
EBITDA	$1.15B	$1.09B	$987.9M	$812.6M	$619.7M	$492.4M	$360.7M	$245.2M	$252.0M	$242.8M	$176.2M	$147.1M	$132.3M	$150.3M	$149.6M	$155.5M	$155.5M
EBITDA margin	15.85%	15.81%	14.85%	13.11%	11.14%	9.83%	7.47%	5.30%	5.88%	7.76%	7.64%	8.42%	8.06%	9.31%	9.59%	10.27%	10.78%
Net income	$570.6M	$633.1M	$408.4M	$430.2M	$189.6M	$172.5M	$11.4M	−$19.9M	$96.5M	$50.1M	$59.0M	$31.4M	$27.7M	$27.2M	$28.6M	$36.1M	$38.1M
Net profit margin	7.89%	9.18%	6.14%	6.94%	3.41%	3.44%	0.24%	−0.43%	2.25%	1.60%	2.56%	1.80%	1.69%	1.69%	1.83%	2.38%	2.64%
Basic EPSper basic share	$6.82	$7.01	$4.36	$4.59	—	—	$0.12	-$0.21	$1.04	$0.54	$0.64	$0.34	$0.30	$0.30	$0.31	—	—
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$6.81	$6.99	$4.35	$4.57	—	—	$0.12	-$0.21	$1.03	$0.54	$0.63	$0.34	$0.30	$0.29	$0.31	—	—

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

Reported holdings Number of shares

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of COKE
Holder	Shares held
BlackRock, Inc.	5.33M
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	2.98M
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	2.56M
Boston Partners	2.29M
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP	1.95M
STATE STREET CORP	1.79M
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	1.69M
DIVERSIFIED TRUST CO	1.47M
AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	1.33M
NORGES BANK	1.32M
Vinva Investment Management Ltd	979.31K
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC	965.55K
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	820.22K
VAUGHAN NELSON INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, L.P.	554.11K
MORGAN STANLEY	483.05K
NORTHERN TRUST CORP	459.74K
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC	438.87K
FULLER & THALER ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC.	435.03K
CAPTRUST FINANCIAL ADVISORS	423.43K
Bank of New York Mellon Corp	402.63K

Bars compare reported share counts. A matching total for this share class and reporting period is unavailable, so percentages are not shown.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)3$2.95B disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Nov 7, 2025Form 4	COCA COLA COTenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock, $1.00 par value · indirect	18.84M	$127.00	$2.39B	0
Jul 5, 2024Form 4	COCA COLA COTenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock, $1.00 par value · indirect	598.6K	$925.00	$553.72M	1.88M
Apr 5, 2024Form 4	Everett Morgan HarrisonVice Chair	SellCommon Stock · indirect	4	$817.57	$3.3K	0

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (COKE)

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