Coca-Cola’s (KO) 4Q

Tailwinds turning to headwinds

The uncertainty in the market has investors reconsidering the virtues of defensive staples names. One such perennial favorite on the list of defensive names is The Coca-Cola Company (KO). However, we see some concerns with recent earning quality that investors should consider before jumping in.

KO posted 4Q22 non-GAAP EPS of $0.45 met which was in line with the Street consensus. However, we saw multiple unsustainable benefits to results and note several potential headwinds ahead for the company which we discuss below.