The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2014 results on Oct 21, before the market opens. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 0.4%.
Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors to Consider this Quarter
Improved volume trends, better pricing and strong international performance helped Coca-Cola to turn around in the first half of 2014 after posting lower-than-expected revenues and profits in 2013. Volume improvement in Coca-Cola’s sparkling beverages, especially its namesake brandin the second quarter encouraged investors.
Accelerating sparkling beverage growth led by the Coca-Colabrand is one of its strategic priorities as discussed during the first-quarter conference call. Other priorities include expanding the still beverage portfolio, increasing brand investments by maximizing productivity and winning at the point of sale. The company has been executing these priorities considerably well in the first half of 2014.
In the second half, volume trends, in general, are expected to improve through the company’s aggressive marketing investments, innovation, product development, infrastructure, distribution and overall improved execution.
An expanded launch of Coca-Cola Life, a naturally sweetened mid-calorie cola, in newer markets should boost the top line. It was launched in Argentina and Chile this year.
Though we are encouraged by the overall growth of Coca-Cola in the first half, sustaining the momentum through the second will significantly depend on how it deals with the soft consumer spending environment, increasing business volatility in the emerging markets due to currency fluctuations and other structural issues, and a rising commodity cost environment.
Moreover, peer PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), which reported the third-quarter results last week saw softer beverage volumes in the Americas and Europe which raises concern about Coca-Cola’s ability to sustain improved beverage performance.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Coca-Cola is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: The Earnings ESP is 0.00%.
Zacks Rank: Coca-Cola has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
We caution against stocks with Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.
Stocks to Consider
A couple of stocks in the consumer staples sector that have both a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank are:
The WhiteWave Foods Company (WWAV), with an Earnings ESP of +3.85% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The Hershey Company (HSY), with an Earnings ESP of +2.78% and a Zacks Rank #3.
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