ATLANTa — After the third quarter got off to a slow start, Coca-Cola Co.’s global unit case volume decreased 1% in the quarter ended Sept. 27. Declines in China, Mexico and Turkey more than offset growth led by Brazil, the Philippines and Japan. The decline came after a 2% volume increase in the second quarter.

“After a good first half of 2024, we navigated through a dynamic external landscape during the third quarter,” said James Quincey, chief executive officer, in an Oct. 23 earnings call. “Our business again proved to be resilient. Volume declined 1% in the quarter, driven by a slow start in July. However, our business trends improved each month and, notably, trademark Coca-Cola volume outperformed during the quarter.”

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola had net income of $2.85 billion, equal to 66¢ per share on the common stock, which was down 8% from $3.09 billion, or 71¢ per share, in the previous year’s third quarter. Net revenue declined 1% to $11.85 billion from $11.95 billion, but organic revenue increased 9%. Price/mix increased 10%, and concentrate sales declined 2%.

“Our price/mix growth of 10% was driven by two items,” said John Murphy, president and chief financial officer. “Approximately 7 points of pricing split somewhat evenly between normal pricing actions across our markets and intense inflationary pricing in a handful of markets experiencing currency devaluations, and approximately 3 points of mix across the markets, which was primarily driven by stronger growth in several developed markets versus developing and emerging markets.”

Coca-Cola’s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange closed at $68.01 per share on Oct. 23, down 2.1% from a close of $69.45 on Oct. 22. BofA kept its “Buy” rating for Coca-Cola, noting the organic sales growth of 9% was above the BofA forecast of 5.5%.

“We maintain our Buy rating and $77 PO that is based on 25X our FY ‘25 EPS estimate, a premium to non-alcoholic beverage peers of around plus 20%,” said Bryan D. Spillane, research analyst. “In our view, this magnitude of a premium in terms of relative multiple is warranted as (Coca-Cola) top-line management continues to fuel outperformance.”

Sparkling soft drinks and trademark Coca-Cola were even in volume when compared to the previous year’s third quarter. A decline in Europe, Middle East and Africa offset growth in Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume increased 11%.

“In North America, we generated robust top-line growth and won value share,” Quincey said. “Trademark Coca-Cola and sparkling flavors both grew volume. During the quarter and year-to-date, trademark Coca-Cola and fairlife were the leaders in the beverage industry in at-home retail sales growth.”

Volume in sparkling flavors declined 1% as declines in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America more than offset growth in North America and Asia Pacific.

Volume in juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages declined 3% despite growth in fairlife in the United States. Declines came in Minute Maid in Asia Pacific and Mazoe in Africa.

Unit volume declined 4% in water, sports, coffee and tea. Within the category, declines came in water, down 6%, sports drinks, down 3%, and coffee, down 6%. Tea volume increased 7% due to growth in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe.

Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, Coca-Cola had net income of $8.44 billion, or $1.96 per share on the common stock, which was down 3% from $8.74 billion, or $2.02 per share, in the same time of the previous year. Net revenues rose 2% to $35.52 billion from $34.91 billion.

Coca-Cola updated its guidance for fiscal 2024, increasing the outlook for organic revenue growth to about 10%, up from previous guidance of 9% to 10%, and updating comparable currency-neutral earnings-per-share growth to 14% to 15%, up from previous guidance of 13% to 15%.

“Based on current rates and our hedge positions, we now anticipate an approximate 5-point currency headwind to comparable net revenues and an approximate 9-point currency headwind to comparable earnings per share for full year 2024,” Murphy said. “We continue to expect comparable earnings-per-share growth of 5% to 6% versus $2.69 in 2023.

“While it is too early to provide specific guidance on 2025, we do want to share some considerations based on what we know today. We’re encouraged by our underlying performance and believe we’re well positioned to deliver on our long-term growth opportunity. We expect pricing from intense inflationary markets to moderate in 2025 and recycling the impact of currency devaluations from these markets in 2024.”