Coca-Cola 10-Q 2025-03-28

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 28, 2025

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-02217

COCA COLA CO

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (404) 676-2121

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock as of the latest practicable date.

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

Table of Contents

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains information that may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. Our Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our Company’s actual results to differ materially from historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the assumptions used to calculate our estimated aggregate incremental tax and interest liability related to the potential unfavorable outcome of the ongoing tax dispute with the United States Internal Revenue Service could significantly change; those described in Part II, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024; and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Part I. Financial Information

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(In millions except per share data)

1 Calculated based on net income attributable to shareowners of The Coca-Cola Company.

Refer to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In millions)

Refer to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In millions except par value)

Refer to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In millions)

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When used in this report, the terms “The Coca-Cola Company,” “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” mean The Coca-Cola Company and all entities included in our consolidated financial statements.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Recoverability of Equity Method Investments and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

Our Company faces many uncertainties and risks related to various economic, political and regulatory environments in the countries and territories in which we operate, particularly in developing and emerging markets. Refer to the headings “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part I and “Our Business — Challenges and Risks” in Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as the heading “Operations Review” below for additional information related to our present business environment. As a result, management must make numerous assumptions, which involve a significant amount of judgment, when performing impairment tests of equity method investments and indefinite-lived intangible assets in various regions around the world. The performance of impairment tests involves critical accounting estimates. These estimates require significant management judgment and include inherent uncertainties. Factors that management must estimate include, among others, the economic lives of the assets, sales volume, pricing, royalty rates, cost of raw materials, delivery costs, long-term growth rates, discount rates, marketing spending, foreign currency exchange rates, tax rates, capital spending and proceeds from the sale of assets. The variability of these factors depends on a number of conditions, and thus our accounting estimates may change from period to period. These factors are even more difficult to estimate given the highly volatile global financial markets. As these factors are often interdependent and may not change in isolation, we do not believe it is practicable or meaningful to present the impact of changing a single factor.

In November 2021, the Company acquired the remaining 85% ownership interest in, and now owns 100% of, BodyArmor, which offers a line of sports performance and hydration beverages. During 2021, in conjunction with acquiring the remaining ownership interest, we recognized a noncash gain of $834 million resulting from the remeasurement of our previously held equity interest in BodyArmor to fair value. The Company allocated $4.2 billion of the $5.6 billion purchase price to the BodyArmor trademark. During the three months ended March 29, 2024, the operating results related to the trademark were lower than expected. Therefore, the Company revised its projections of the future operating results related to the trademark, which triggered the need to update its impairment analysis. As a result, the Company concluded that the fair value of the trademark was less than its carrying value and recorded an impairment charge of $760 million. The decrease in fair value was primarily driven by the revised projections of future operating results as well as higher discount rates resulting from changes in macroeconomic conditions since the acquisition date. As of March 28, 2025, the fair value of this trademark approximates its carrying value. If the near-term operating results of this trademark do not achieve our revised financial projections, or if the macroeconomic conditions change causing the discount rate to increase without an offsetting increase in the operating results, it is likely that we would be required to recognize an additional impairment charge. Management will continue to monitor the fair value of this trademark in future periods.

OPERATIONS REVIEW

Sales of our ready-to-drink beverages are somewhat seasonal, with the second and third calendar quarters typically accounting for the highest sales volumes. The volume of sales in the beverage business may be affected by weather conditions.

While our operations are primarily local, we remain subject to global trade dynamics, which may impact certain components of our cost structure as well as the cost structures of our bottlers and our customers and may affect consumer sentiment across our markets.

The Global Ventures operating segment was established primarily to oversee the Company’s ownership of Costa, innocent and doğadan, as well as the fees earned pursuant to distribution coordination agreements between the Company and Monster. In November 2024, we announced plans to sunset our Global Ventures operating segment to streamline and simplify our operating structure. Effective January 1, 2025, the results of our Costa (excluding the ready-to-drink business), innocent and doğadan businesses are reported within the Company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa operating segment. Costa’s ready-to-drink business and the fees related to Monster are reported in the respective geographic operating segments. Our historical operating segment information disclosed below has been recast to reflect our current organizational structure.

Structural Changes, Acquired Brands and Newly Licensed Brands

In order to continually improve upon the Company’s operating performance, from time to time we engage in buying and selling ownership interests in bottling partners and other manufacturing operations. In addition, we periodically acquire brands and their related operations or enter into license agreements for certain brands to supplement our beverage offerings. These items impact our operating results and certain key metrics used by management in assessing the Company’s performance.

Unit case volume growth is a key metric used by management to evaluate the Company’s performance because it measures demand for our products at the consumer level. The Company’s unit case volume represents the number of unit cases (or unit case equivalents) of Company beverage products directly or indirectly sold by the Company and its bottling partners to customers or consumers and, therefore, reflects unit case volume for both consolidated and unconsolidated bottlers. Refer to the heading “Beverage Volume” below.

Concentrate sales volume represents the amount of concentrates, syrups, source waters and powders/minerals (in all instances expressed in unit case equivalents) sold by, or used in finished products sold by, the Company to its bottling partners or other customers. For Costa non-ready-to-drink beverage products, concentrate sales volume represents the amount of beverages, primarily measured in number of transactions (in all instances expressed in unit case equivalents), sold by the Company to customers or consumers. Refer to the heading “Beverage Volume” below.

When we analyze our net operating revenues, we generally consider the following factors: (1) volume growth (concentrate sales volume or unit case volume, as applicable); (2) changes in price, product and geographic mix; (3) foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; and (4) acquisitions and divestitures (including structural changes as defined below), as applicable. Refer to the heading “Net Operating Revenues” below. The Company sells concentrates and syrups to both consolidated and unconsolidated bottling partners. The ownership structure of our bottling partners impacts the timing of recognizing concentrate revenue and concentrate sales volume. When we sell concentrates or syrups to our consolidated bottling partners, we do not recognize the concentrate revenue or concentrate sales volume until the bottling partner has sold finished products manufactured from the concentrates or syrups to a third party. When we sell concentrates or syrups to our unconsolidated bottling partners, we recognize the concentrate revenue and concentrate sales volume when the concentrates or syrups are sold to the bottling partner. The subsequent sale of the finished products manufactured from the concentrates or syrups to a third party does not impact the timing of recognizing the concentrate revenue or concentrate sales volu

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We have no material changes to the disclosures on this matter made in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 28, 2025.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 28, 2025 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Part II. Other Information

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

Information regarding reportable legal proceedings is contained in Part I, “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. The following updates and restates the description of the previously reported U.S. Federal Income Tax Dispute matter and describes a new environmental matter. Management believes that, except as disclosed in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Dispute” below, the total liabilities of the Company that may arise as a result of currently pending legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the Company taken as a whole.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Dispute

On September 17, 2015, the Company received a Notice from the IRS seeking approximately $3.3 billion of additional federal income tax for years 2007 through 2009. In the Notice, the IRS stated its intent to reallocate over $9 billion of income to the U.S. parent company from certain of its foreign affiliates that the U.S. parent company licensed to manufacture, distribute, sell, market and promote its products in certain non-U.S. markets.

The Notice concerned the Company’s transfer pricing between its U.S. parent company and certain of its foreign affiliates. IRS rules governing transfer pricing require arm’s-length pricing of transactions between related parties such as the Company’s U.S. parent and its foreign affiliates.

To resolve the same transfer pricing issue for the tax years 1987 through 1995, the Company and the IRS had agreed in 1996 on an arm’s-length methodology for determining the amount of U.S. taxable income that the U.S. parent company would report as compensation from its foreign licensees. The Company and the IRS memorialized this accord in the Closing Agreement resolving that dispute. The Closing Agreement provided that, absent a change in material facts or circumstances or relevant federal tax law, in calculating the Company’s income taxes going forward, the Company would not be assessed penalties by the IRS for using the agreed-upon tax calculation methodology that the Company and the IRS agreed would be used for the 1987 through 1995 tax years.

The IRS audited and confirmed the Company’s compliance with the agreed-upon Closing Agreement methodology in five successive audit cycles for tax years 1996 through 2006.

The September 17, 2015 Notice from the IRS retroactively rejected the previously agreed-upon methodology for the 2007 through 2009 tax years in favor of an entirely different methodology, without prior notice to the Company. Using the new tax calculation methodology, the IRS reallocated over $9 billion of income to the U.S. parent company from its foreign licensees for tax years 2007 through 2009. Consistent with the Closing Agreement, the IRS did not assert penalties, and it has yet to do so.

The IRS designated the Company’s matter for litigation on October 15, 2015. Litigation designation is an IRS determination that forecloses to a company any and all alternative means for resolution of a tax dispute. As a result of the IRS’ designation of the Company’s matter for litigation, the Company was forced to either accept the IRS’ newly imposed tax assessment and pay the full amount of the asserted tax or litigate the matter in the federal courts. The matter remains subject to the IRS’ litigation designation, preventing the Company from any attempt to settle or otherwise mutually resolve the matter with the IRS.

The Company consequently initiated litigation by filing a petition in the Tax Court in December 2015, challenging the tax adjustments enumerated in the Notice.

Prior to trial, the IRS increased its transfer pricing adjustment by $385 million, resulting in an additional tax adjustment of $135 million. The Company obtained a summary judgment in its favor on a different matter related to Mexican foreign tax credits, which thereafter effectively reduced the IRS’ potential tax adjustment by $138 million.

The trial was held in the Tax Court from March through May 2018, and final post-trial briefs were filed and exchanged in April 2019.

On November 18, 2020, the Tax Court issued the Opinion in which it predominantly sided with the IRS but agreed with the Company that dividends previously paid by the foreign licensees to the U.S. parent company in reliance upon the Closing Agreement should continue to be allowed to offset royalties, including those that would become payable to the Company in accordance with the Opinion. On November 8, 2023, the Tax Court issued a supplemental opinion, siding with the IRS in concluding both that certain U.S. tax regulations (known as the blocked-income regulations) that address the effect of certain Brazilian legal restrictions on royalty payments by the Company’s licensee in Brazil apply to the Company’s operations and that the Tax Court opinion in 3M Co. & Subs. v. Commissioner (February 9, 2023) controlled as to the validity of those regulations.

The Company believes that the IRS and the Tax Court misinterpreted and misapplied the applicable regulations in reallocating income earned by the Company’s foreign licensees to increase the Company’s U.S. tax. Moreover, the Company believes that

the retroactive imposition of such tax liability using a calculation methodology different from that previously agreed upon by the IRS and the Company, and audited by the IRS for over a decade, is unconstitutional. The Company intends to assert its claims on appeal and vigorously defend its positions. In addition, for its litigation with the IRS and for purposes of its appeal of the Tax Court decision, the Company continues to evaluate the implications of several significant administrative law cases recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, most notably Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overruled the Chevron case. Since 1984, the Chevron case had required that courts defer to agency interpretations of statutes and agency action. In Ohio v. EPA and Garland v. Cargill, two of the recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court demonstrated how courts are to rule on agency interpretations and actions without the deference previously required by the Chevron case*.*

On August 2, 2024, the Tax Court entered a decision reflecting additional federal income tax of $2.7 billion for the 2007 through 2009 tax years. With applicable interest, the total liability for the 2007 through 2009 tax years resulting from the Tax Court’s decision is $6.0 billion, for which the IRS issued the Company invoices on September 3, 2024. The Company paid the IRS Tax Litigation Deposit on September 10, 2024, which stopped interest from accruing on the additional tax due for the 2007 through 2009 tax years. That amount, plus interest earned, would be refunded in full or in part if the Company’s tax positions are ultimately sustained on appeal. For the three months ended March 28, 2025, the Company recorded net interest income of $53 million related to this tax payment in the line item income taxes in our consolidated statement of income, in accordance with our accounting policy. The payment of the IRS invoices and the related accrued interest were recorded in the line item other noncurrent assets in our consolidated balance sheets as of March 28, 2025 and December 31, 2024. On October 22, 2024, the Company appealed the Tax Court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The Company filed its principal appellate brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on March 12, 2025.

In determining the amount of tax reserve to be recorded as of December 31, 2020, the Company completed the required two-step evaluation process prescribed by Accounting Standards Codification 740, Accounting for Income Taxes. In doing so, we consulted with outside advisors, and we reviewed and considered relevant laws, rules, and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Opinions and relevant caselaw. We also considered our intention to vigorously defend our positions and assert our various well-founded legal claims via every available avenue of appeal. We concluded, based on the technical and legal merits of the Company’s tax positions, that it is more likely than not the Company’s tax positions will ultimately be sustained on appeal. In addition, we considered a number of alternative transfer pricing methodologies, including the Tax Court Methodology, that could be applied by the courts upon final resolution of the litigation. Based on the required probability analysis, we determined the methodologies we believe the federal courts could ultimately order to be used in calculating the Company’s tax. As a result of this analysis, we recorded a tax reserve of $438 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 related to the application of the resulting methodologies as well as the different tax treatment applicable to dividends originally paid to the U.S. parent company by its foreign licensees, in reliance upon the Closing Agreement, that would be recharacterized as royalties in accordance with the Opinions and the Company’s analysis.

The Company’s conclusion that it is more likely than not the Company’s tax positions will ultimately be sustained on appeal is unchanged as of March 28, 2025. However, based on the required probability analysis and the accrual of interest through the current reporting period, we updated our tax reserve as of March 28, 2025 to $483 million.

While the Company strongly disagrees with the IRS’ positions and the portions of the Opinions affirming such positions, it is possible that some portion or all of the adjustments proposed by the IRS and sustained by the Tax Court could ultimately be upheld. In that event, the Company would not receive a refund of the applicable portion or all of the $6.0 billion it paid in response to the IRS invoices issued in September 2024 and the related accrued interest receivable of $171 million as of March 28, 2025. Additionally, the Company would likely be subject to significant additional liabilities for subsequent years, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

The Company calculated the potential impact of applying the Tax Court Methodology to reallocate income from foreign licensees potentially covered within the scope of the Opinions for the 2010 through 2024 tax years, assuming such methodology were to be ultimately upheld by the courts, and the IRS were to decide to apply that methodology to subsequent years, with consent of the federal courts. This impact would include taxes and interest accrued through December 31, 2024. The calculations incorporated the estimated impact of correlative adjustments to the previously accrued transition tax payable under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Company estimates that the potential aggregate remaining incremental tax and interest liability for the tax years 2010 through 2024 could be approximately $12 billion as of December 31, 2024. Additional income tax and interest on any unpaid potential liabilities for the 2010 through 2024 tax years would continue to accrue until the time any such potential liability, or portion thereof, were to be paid. The Company estimates the impact of the continued application of the Tax Court Methodology for the three months ended March 28, 2025 would increase the potential aggregate incremental tax and interest liability by approximately $400 million. We currently project the continued application of the Tax Court Methodology in 2025, assuming similar facts and circumstances as of December 31, 2024, would result in an incremental annual tax liability that would increase the Company’s effective tax rate by approximately 3.5%.

Environmental Matter

On April 11, 2025, the Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs and the Government of the United States Virgin Islands (“USVI”) filed a lawsuit against the Company, CC One Virgin Islands as well as other unrelated parties in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Croix, concerning the environmental impacts of plastic packaging in the USVI. The complaint asserts claims for (1) violations of USVI consumer protection statutes and (2) public nuisance. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, restitution and civil penalties but does not specify an amount of damages sought. The Company believes it has strong defenses to the claims.

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. The risks described in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only risks facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

The following table presents information with respect to purchases of common stock of the Company made during the three months ended March 28, 2025 by the Company or any “affiliated purchaser” of the Company as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act:

1The total number of shares purchased includes: (1) shares purchased, if any, pursuant to the 2019 Plan described in footnote 2 below and (2) shares surrendered, if any, to the Company to pay the exercise price and/or to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with so-called stock swap exercises of employee stock options and/or the vesting of restricted stock issued to employees.

2In February 2019, the Company publicly announced that our Board of Directors had authorized a plan (“2019 Plan”) for the Company to purchase up to 150 million shares of our common stock. This column discloses the number of shares purchased, if any, pursuant to the 2019 Plan during the indicated time periods (including shares purchased pursuant to the terms of preset trading plans meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act).

During the fiscal quarter ended March 28, 2025, none of our Directors or officers (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act) adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as each term is defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K, except as follows:

Bruno Pietracci, President, Latin America operating unit, adopted a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement on March 5, 2025 for the potential exercise of vested stock options and the associated sale of up to 75,727 shares of common stock of the Company, subject to certain conditions. The arrangement’s expiration date is March 5, 2027, or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed.

James Quincey, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, adopted a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement on February 28, 2025 for the potential exercise of vested stock options and the associated sale of up to 604,227 shares of common stock of the Company, subject to certain conditions. The arrangement’s expiration date is February 8, 2027, or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed.

These trading plans were adopted during an open trading window.

In reviewing the agreements included as exhibits to this report, please remember they are included to provide you with information regarding their terms and are not intended to provide any other factual or disclosure information about the Company or the other parties to the agreements. The agreements contain representations, warranties, covenants and conditions

by or of each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations, warranties, covenants and conditions have been made solely for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and:

• should not in all instances be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate;

• may have been qualified by disclosures that were made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement, which disclosures are not necessarily reflected in the agreement;

• may apply standards of materiality in a way that is different from what may be viewed as material to you or other investors; and

• were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement, or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement, and are subject to more recent developments.

Accordingly, these representations, warranties, covenants and conditions may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time. Additional information about the Company may be found elsewhere in this report and the Company’s other public filings, which are available without charge through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.