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The Coca-Cola Co. said sales of premium beverages and mini cans helped boost its third-quarter results despite tepid demand in the U.S. and elsewhere. The Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday it continues to see a divergence among consumers in North America and Europe, with higher-income buyers opting for its more expensive brands like Smartwater, Topo Chico, and Fairlife, while middle- and lower-income consumers are under more pressure. Henrique Braun, Coke’s chief operating officer, said the company has focused on affordability by shrinking package sizes and leaning into sales of mini cans. Earlier this month, Coke announced it will sell individual, 7.5-ounce mini cans for the first time at North American convenience stores starting Jan. 1. The mini cans have a suggested retail price of $1.29. We’re pivoting accordingly. We know that the consumer landscape has not changed, Braun said during a conference call with investors. Coca-Cola said its organic revenue rose 6% to $12.41 billion in the July-September period. That was in line with what Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Unit case volumes were up 1% worldwide, reversing a 1% slide in the second quarter. Case volumes were flat in North America and Latin America and down 1% in Asia. But they rose 4% in the companys Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Coke said prices grew 6% in the quarter, partly due to the mix of beverages sold. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was a standout in the third quarter, with unit case volumes up 14% globally, while Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light sales grew 2%. Case volumes for water, sports drinks, coffee and tea rose 3%, while dairy and juice volumes fell 3%. The companys net income jumped 30% to $3.69 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, Coke earned 82 cents per share. That was also higher than the 78 cents analysts forecast. Coca-Cola reiterated its full-year financial guidance, including organic revenue growth of 5% to 6% and adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 3%. Coke also said it continues to expect the impact of tariffs to be manageable. Coca-Cola shares rose 3.5% in morning trading Tuesday. Coca-Cola also said Tuesday it is refranchising its bottling operations in Africa. Coke and Gutsche Family Investments, a private South African company, have agreed to sell a 75% controlling interested in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to Coca-Cola HBC AG, a major bottler for the company based in Switzerland. The deal is worth $2.55 billion. Coca-Cola will retain a 25% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The transactions are expected to close by the end of 2026. Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is the largest bottler on the continent, operating in 14 countries and accounting for 40% of Cokes product volume in Africa. Coca-Cola HBC operates in 29 countries in Europe and Africa, including Nigeria and Egypt. Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said Tuesday that the deal in Africa and a similar transaction in India in July were the last two big pieces of a bottler refranchising plan that Coke set in motion a decade ago. Quincey said the strategy helps Coke focus more on brand building and innovation while bottlers can invest in the manufacturing system. The bottler performs better and it helps us drive overall growth for the total system, so that the combination grows faster and is more profitable, Quincey said. Rival PepsiCo is under some pressure from an activist investor, Elliott Investment Management, to refranchise its bottling operations in North America. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP business writer
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E-Commerce
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN and HBO, announced Tuesday that it is up for sale after receiving unsolicited interest from multiple potential buyers. The news adds a new wrinkle to an already-planned shakeup at the media giant. In June, WBD announced plans to cleave the company into two separate publicly traded companies. The companys streaming and studio brandswhich include HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, and New Line Cinemawould be part of Warner Bros., while Discovery Global would oversee its cable networks that include CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery. Though its not abandoning plans to split the company, WBD indicated in its announcement on Tuesday that its now reviewing strategic alternatives, with no set timeline for this process. This move merely confirms what many people had already suspectedthat the company wants to be acquired. Earlier this month, the newly merged Paramount Skydance Corporation reportedly made a lowball offer for the company. WBD rejected a takeover offer from Paramount of about $20 per share, according to reporting by Bloomberg. The newly appointed Paramount CEO, David Ellison, has made it clear hed like to buy Warner Bros. Discovery before that split can occur. INTEREST FROM MULTIPLE PARTIES But Ellison isnt the only interested buyer, it seems, and that news sent shares of WBD surging more than 10% in midday trading Tuesday to as high as $20.58. And it may scuttle plans that Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has for completing another mega-consolidation in the media industry. “It’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market, David Zaslav, president and CEO of WBD, said in a statement. After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets.” Among the other companies interested in a possible acquisition of part or all of WBD? The list includes Netflix and Comcast, sources told CNBCs David Faber. SHAREHOLDER VALUE While splitting up the companysimilar to what NBCUniversal did this year with its networks and various entititesis still WBDs preferred path forward, its board decided to consider all opportunities, according to chair Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. We determined taking these actions to broaden our scope is in the best interest of shareholders.” WBD shares have nearly doubled in value this year. And the acquisition interest means its likely that Warner Bros. Discovery could sell before that split occurs. And if theres a bidding war, the winner may have to pay upwards of $60 million to acquire the media company, according to estimates, even though the company is saddled with more than $40 million in debt related to its 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc.
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E-Commerce
JPMorgan Chase unveiled its new 60-story headquarters to the public on Monday, one of the first major office buildings to be constructed after the COVID-19 pandemic and one that will remake the New York City skyline for decades. The bronze and steel tower at 270 Park, which reportedly cost $3 billion, replaced the Union Carbide Building, which sat on a full city block at 48th Street and Park Avenue for nearly 60 years. JPMorgan expects to house roughly 10,000 of its 24,000 New York-based employees in the new building, with employees starting their first workday at the tower at the same time as the company holds its ribbon cutting ceremony. For 225 years, JPMorgan Chase has always been deeply rooted in New York City. The opening of our new global headquarters is not only a significant investment in New York, but also testament to our commitment to our clients and employees worldwide, said Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JPMorgan, in a statement. The building contains 2.5 million square feet and a blocks worth of public space. The bank also commissioned five new artworks for the building, adding to the banks already substantial art collection. The bank will house its trading operations in the building across eight floors. At 1,388 feet, the new building is taller than the Empire State Buildings roofline and is now the fourth-largest building in Manhattan. The building was a major engineering and architectural undertaking by Norman Foster, the buildings lead architect and Tishman Speyer. Engineers had to systematically demolish the old Union Carbide building over a period of two years the site sits above the rails of the Metro North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road that run underneath Park Avenue. For years, JPMorgan has worked out of several buildings around Grand Central Station, a result of the banks growth and acquisitions over the years. Corporate execs and investment bankers still use 383 Madison Ave, the former headquarters of Bear Stearns, and 277 Park, which housed Chemical Bank, also a predecessor of the current JPMorgan Chase. Parts of JPMorgan started using 270 Park in the mid-1990s, but the bank always struggled to fit all its operations in the building. With 270 Park finished, the bank says it will now start a renovation of 383 Madison. The completion of 270 Park is a major accomplishment for Dimon, who has been one of loudest voices about the need for employees to report to an office for work. The building was designed before the COVID-19 pandemic and was completed after the pandemic, when remote work became more common. Ken Sweet, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
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