NEW YORK, Feb 17, 2026, 17:52 (EST) — After-hours
Coca-Cola (KO) climbed 1.12% to finish Tuesday at $79.56, sitting just shy of its 52-week peak, even as the broader indexes barely budged—S&P 500 up 0.1%, the Dow tacking on 0.07%. PepsiCo dropped 2.42%. Mondelez shed 4.36%. Roughly 16.1 million KO shares changed hands, lighter than the stock’s 50-day average. (MarketWatch)
Coca-Cola shares rose as executives made the rounds at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference, focusing squarely on marketing moves and digital updates—not fresh financial goals. CFO John Murphy pitched the ongoing marketing revamp as a way to get “more impact and less waste.” Henrique Braun, soon to take the CEO job, rolled out something he dubbed the “4Is,” a framework built around consumers. (Marketing Week)
That context looms large as consumer-staples names face muddled cues on demand and pricing. On Tuesday, General Mills slashed its full-year sales and profit outlook, cautioning that tighter budgets are pushing customers to cheaper brands and private labels—a move that rattled packaged-food shares across the board. (Reuters)
Coca-Cola has already staked out its targets for 2026. According to a Feb. 10 filing, the company is looking for organic revenue growth of 4% to 5%, and sees comparable earnings per share climbing 7% to 8%—that’s off a $3.00 base for 2025. Free cash flow is pegged at around $12.2 billion. Management also highlighted a leftover $5.2 billion share repurchase authorization. As for taxes, the effective tax-rate forecast doesn’t bake in any possible impact if the company loses its ongoing IRS case. (The Coca-Cola Company)
Rates lent more support to defensives during the session. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.017% at one point—marking its lowest level this year. That shift tends to help dividend payers, since the gap narrows between those stocks and the safer bond yields. (Barron’s)
For KO, it’s not so much about the narrative right now—it’s about evidence. Investors are looking for steady demand, and they’re watching to see if that holds up as consumers grow more price conscious, all without KO leaning harder on promotions.
The pitch now includes speed. With sharper data, more targeted marketing, and faster tweaks to products, the company hopes for more stable volumes and tidier margins—assuming it can deliver.
Still, this setup isn’t all upside. Shares are hovering near their highs, so a slip in volumes, a shift in commodity prices, or a firmer dollar could send the stock sliding in a hurry.
Traders are watching for more signals from the rest of the consumer-staples lineup at CAGNY, as companies face questions on demand, pricing, and promotions. (CAGNY)
The next big test for Coca-Cola will come from within. Braun steps in as CEO at the end of March, with plans to push the company to move faster on innovation and connect more directly with consumers—a response to the shift in demand driven by low-sugar preferences and the rise of weight-loss drugs. After the earnings call, Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala labeled Coca-Cola’s 2026 outlook as “conservative.” (Reuters)
