In this rough market, investors are turning to pantry powerhouses like Coca-Cola to find stability
Have a Coke and a smile… Coca-Cola sales have taken off as more people sip on Gatorades and super-sized movie-theater Sprites. Coke’s stock hit an all-time high yesterday after smashing Wall Street's earnings expectations, posting growth in every category:
- Soda-licious sales: Coke notched a 16% jump in revenue (up 3X since last year), thanks to strong demand for everything from tea to its signature soda line.
- Bubbling over: Blaming higher ingredient and packaging costs, Coke hiked prices by nearly 10% — but kept its upbeat annual forecast (translation: it expects consumers to keep paying).
High-fructose frenzy… Between inflation, rising interest rates, and the war in Ukraine, investors have had a tough time finding stable profits in the market. But pantry powerhouses like Coke have weathered the recent volatility as consumers keep splurging on brands they can’t live without.
- Pampers or bust: Last week Gillette and Tide parent P&G notched its biggest sales gain in decades, with its most expensive products seeing the highest demand.
- Sugar high: Shares of Coke, Pepsi, and Cheerios maker General Mills are all up about 20% in the past year, while the S&P has gained only 3% and the Nasdaq is down 8%.
Consumer staples are the port in an economic storm… along with other non-cyclical stocks — aka companies selling essential goods and services (think: groceries, gas). When the economy is booming, non-cyclicals tend to be less popular than their high-growth cyclical peers (like: tech, travel, and cars). But when growth slows, investors gravitate toward necessity-driven non-cyclicals since sales and earnings tend to remain stable regardless of the broader economic conditions.