Coca-Cola Wins the Quarter With the Help of Smartwater and Fairlife Brands

 

• The stock surged after a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report.

• Higher selling prices for premium brands like Smartwater and Fairlife contributed to solid margins in the quarter.

• Solid margins and earnings support Coca-Cola's ability to continue growing its dividend.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) stock took a solid bounce following the third-quarter earnings report it delivered on Oct. 21. The company notched a solid increase in adjusted revenue and earnings per share. While there were pockets of softness, the report was enough to please investors. The stock has lagged the broader market in 2025, but is up 12.5% year to date at the time of this writing.

The quarter demonstrated the strength of Coca-Cola's diverse portfolio, which includes 30 billion-dollar brands, and especially the power of premium offerings like Smartwater and Fairlife, whose strong sales contributed to higher margins.

For investors who hold Coca-Cola stock for its dividend, the company's large brand portfolio provides steady annual sales and earnings that have allowed management to keep its 63-year streak of annual dividend hikes alive even during periods of weaker consumer spending.

Coca-Cola's premium brands delivered

Coca-Cola's unit case volume increased 1% year over year in the third quarter, reversing the second quarter's 1% decline. But higher prices and a shift in sales mix to premium brands helped boost adjusted operating income by 15% year over year.

Overall, sales performance across the brand portfolio was mixed. Trademark Coca-Cola is a high-margin business, but it only posted a 1% increase in sales for the quarter. Sales of water, sports, coffee, and tea grew by 3%, while juice, dairy, and plant-based beverages saw a 3% decline.

However, Coca-Cola excels at marketing and adjusting its selling prices to deliver optimal growth in both the top and bottom lines. The company's total growth in the quarter was mostly driven by a 6% increase in selling prices and a shift in demand toward premium brands, including Smartwater and Fairlife, which accounted for a third of the price/mix increase.

Despite a challenging sales environment overall, the company's large brand portfolio allows management to lean into whatever categories are strongest at any given time. With Fairlife in particular, Coca-Cola is tapping into the growing demand for more protein-centric beverage options.

Over the long term, management is confident in its ability to deliver adjusted revenue growth between 5% to 6% on an annualized basis, which would be consistent with its third-quarter results, while growing adjusted earnings at around 8% annually.

The diversity of brands and management's ability to adjust prices to keep its margins up is why Coca-Cola is a solid dividend stock. Coca-Cola benefits from operating in a beverage industry that can be resilient to macroeconomic headwinds. The company has gained market share for 18 straight quarters, and management still sees ample room for growth.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/coca-cola-wins-the-quarter-with-the-help-of-smartwater-and-fairlife-brands/ar-AA1PCGb8

Trump Targets Foreign-Owned Meatpacking Cartel To Arrest Beef Prices, Defend Small Ranchers

 President Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate the meatpacking cartel - JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef - for potential collusion, price-fixing, and price manipulation. The four companies, two of which are foreign-owned, now control 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, up from just 36% in 1980.

"I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The president continued, "We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by the Majority foreign-owned meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation's food supply."

"Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People. I am asking the DOJ to act expeditiously. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he noted in the post. 

The White House released four key takeaways of how America's beef supply chain has been hijacked by globalists that operate in what appears to be a cartel and have eliminated competition by crushing small mom-and-pop ranchers:

• For too long, a handful of giant meat packers have squeezed America's cattle producers, shrunk herds, and jacked up prices at the grocery store. By examining whether these companies have violated antitrust laws through coordinated pricing or capacity restrictions, this investigation will root out any illegal collusion, restore fair competition, and protect our food security.

• The "Big Four" meat packers — JBS (Brazil), Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — currently dominate 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, up from just 36% in 1980. Two of these companies, including the largest meat packer in the world, are either foreign-owned or have significant foreign ownership and control.

• Industry consolidation has crushed competition and hammered cattle producers. In the 1980s, the top four packers purchased one-third of all fed cattle; by the mid-1990s, that share exploded to over 80% and has only grown more concentrated since.

• This has led to the exploitation of American consumers, farmers, and ranchers. In fact, mounting evidence shows this monopoly power has slashed payments to ranchers, reduced herd sizes, driven up consumer prices, and threatened America's food supply chain.

Like Trump's wild success in tackling out-of-control egg prices, he's about to do it again with beef.

Important:

• Trump "Worked Magic" On Beef Deal - Likely With Argentina - As Cattle Futures Surge Most Since 1978

• Ground Beef Inflation Sizzles, Egg Prices Cool Off

• 12-Year Cattle Cycle Bottoms: Tyson CEO Predicts Rebuild Phase Beginning Next Year

• Got Beef? 12-Year Cycle Signals "Cyclical Low"

Great news for the Trump administration: In June, Goldman analysts Leah Jordan and Eli Thompson signaled that the 12-year cattle herd cycle has likely reached a cyclical low, suggesting a rebuilding phase may be approaching. 

The new DoJ investigation could mark the early innings of a broader MAHA-aligned effort gaining traction into the 2026 midterm election cycle, aimed at restoring fair competition, ending foreign control of America's meat supply, and empowering Americans to buy from local farmers and ranchers. At its core, the initiative seeks to break the toxic grip of globalist corporations that have hijacked the food supply chain and flooded the nation's food supply chain with chemicals, pesticides, and monopolistic control.

https://www.zerohedge.com/food/trump-targets-foreign-owned-meatpacking-cartel-new-crackdown-move-restore-small-ranchers

NYPD already losing officers with morale plunging as anti-cop Mamdani prepares to take reins

 An NYPD exodus is already underway, with a surge of officers quitting in the month leading up to anti-cop socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win — and more might go if Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch exits, according to data and department sources.

The NYPD saw a 35% hike in cops of all ranks leaving in October – 245 police officers compared to 181 in the same month last year, according to Police Pension Fund data.

“Morale is down because everyone is concerned about the policies Mamdani wants to put in place,” said Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro.

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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has said he’ll do away with SRG and make CCRB the decision-maker in police complaint cases.AP

“You have a person who is supposed to be running New York City that does not believe in law enforcement,” said Munro, a police officer for more than three decades. “What’s coming out of everyone’s mouth is, ‘We’re in trouble.'”

Whether more cops leave in the coming months will depend on the “Tisch factor,” a police union source said.

“If she leaves it may result in an uptick,” the source said. “If she stays, maybe not.”

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Detective Endowment Association President Scott Munro worries detectives will be even more overloaded if they have to police protests.Helayne Seidman

The Police Benevolent Association, which will have to negotiate a new contract with Mamdani, bemoaned that the number of cops leaving could get worse.

“Every single month, we’re losing enough cops to staff an entire precinct,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said.

“It will certainly get worse if our city leaders don’t work with us to fix our unsustainable workload, our expired contract and the constant second-guessing that is driving good cops away from the job.”

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SRG Commanding Officer Deputy Chief John D’Adamo opted to retire the day after Mamdani was elected.Matthew McDermott

So far new hires have helped the force keep up with attrition this year. The department has a uniformed headcount of 33,745, compared to the 33,812 in 2024. The Force’s peak staffing was 40,285 in 2000, according to Independent Budget Office data.

The most notable exit so far since the Mamdani election is that of Deputy Chief John D’Adamo, the head of the Strategic Response Group — the unit that polices protests — which Mamdani has criticized and threatened to decommission.

SRG officers were deployed to the 2024 anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, where hundreds of protesters were arrested by the unit. The left has tried to paint SRG as the problem — not the protesters who spewed hate and encouraged chaos at the Ivy.

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Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said retirements were already soaring but could get worse.Dennis A. Clark

D’Adamo quit on Wednesday, the day after Mamdani was elected.

A friend said the chief was simply ready to retire and that the move had nothing to do with the mayor-elect.

If Mamdani disbands the SRG, it will have a domino effect on detectives.

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The NYPD was already seeing high retirment numbers in recent years in part because of the number of officers who came on the job after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in NYC.Matthew McDermott

“If they get rid of SRG they’re going to put detectives on protests,” Munro said. “That’s going to take them away from solving crimes and lead to more CCRB complaints.”

Adding to plummeting post-Election Day morale is that Mamdani has also said he would create a new Department of Community Safety (DCS) that would dispatch mental health professionals to 911 calls about people in crisis, rather than cops.

“How’s that going to work when the person pulls out a gun or a knife?” a Bronx cop pondered.

Mamdani also wants to take final authority on officer discipline away from the commissioner and hand it to the ultra-liberal Civilian Complaint Review Board.

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The department has also had recruitment problems in recent years, officials have said.Matthew McDermott

“Anyone who has ever sat in on a CCRB hearing, they know it’s a kangaroo court,” a recently retired cop said.

NYPD officers have also been angry with past Mamdani comments calling cops racist and homophobic. Mamdani later apologized.

“How do you work for somebody who considers you racist and anti-queer and wants to defund the police?” the retired cop said. “Things are hard enough already. If you’re eligible to leave, why would you want to stay in that situation?”

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Mamdani has previously called cops racist and backed defunding the department.REUTERS

A police union consultant, who asked to remain anonymous, said NYPD recruitment will become more difficult under Mamdani.

“Nobody wants to be a New York City cop,” the source said. “It’s not worth the money, the stress, the danger, especially working for a mayor who wants to take the department apart.”

https://nypost.com/2025/11/08/us-news/nypd-already-losing-officers-with-morale-plunging-as-anti-cop-zohran-mamdani-prepares-to-take-reins/