Coca-Cola’s Got A Rival Brewing On Home Ground
Don’t confuse the bottle with the brand — one’s clearly winning over Wall Street’s heart. Coca-ColaKO may be the global face of fizzy drinks, but it’s not the top performer. Its bottling partner, Coca-Cola Europacific PartnersCCEP, has surged 19% year-to-date, outpacingKO’s 12% gain. Both are now part of the Nasdaq 100, but their fortunes have split.KO has battled currency headwinds and sliding revenue, whileCCEP has kept momentum steady — suggesting that efficient operations can sometimes outshine brand power.
- CCEP’s Q1 2025 results showed resilient revenue growth of 5%, thanks to smart pricing strategies and strong brand performance, particularly from Monster energy drinks.
- Conversely, whileKO saw its operating margin expand to 32.9% from 18.9%, it faced massive currency headwinds that offset its 6% organic revenue growth.
Bottles up for growth: Looking ahead, CCEP’s operational leverage as a bottler provides distinct advantages over Coca-Cola’s concentrate-focused model. The bottler’s ability to navigate macroeconomic volatility while delivering shareholder returns through a ~$1.3B share buyback program and ~50% dividend payout ratio demonstrates operational superiority over its franchisor partner. WithCCEP maintaining stronger profit margins through local production efficiencies and showing pricing power thatKO lacks at the retail level, investors are betting the bottler’s business model has more fizz left in it.