Coca-Cola sees 'dodgy' global economy, but still manages to blow Wall Street away

·Executive Editor

Updated Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 6:47 AM

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It will be hard for Wall Street to punch holes in Coca-Cola’s (KO) second quarter results.

Shares of the beverage giant popped 6% on Tuesday following better than expected second quarter earnings. Coca-Cola’s adjusted earnings per share came in at 63 cents, higher than analyst forecasts for 61 cents a share. Total revenue rose 6% to $10 billion, in-line with forecasts.

Organic revenue growth, a key measure for Coke closely watched by Wall Street, rose 6%. Analysts had anticipated 4% growth.

Coca-Cola’s new chief financial officer John Murphy told Yahoo Finance the company did see “dodgy” economic conditions in some parts of the world, namely Argentina and Brazil. But the overall portfolio continued to perform well, Murphy said, due to demand for namesake Coke drinks in developed markets like Europe and North America.

FILE- In this Aug. 8, 2018, file photo bottles of Coca-Cola sit on a shelf in a market in Pittsburgh. The Coca-Cola Co. reports earnings Tuesday, Oct. 30. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The company grew core operating income faster than sales in all geographic regions. And to top off the day, Coke raised its full-year sales and operating income growth guidance slightly. Coke did reaffirm it sees full-year earnings falling 1% to rising 1% year-over-year.

“Today’s 2Q results provide further evidence that Coca-Cola’s strategy to drive the top line is working and gaining momentum. Longer-term, we now expect the company to achieve more than 5% organic sales growth over the next few years driven by innovation, global market share gains, and pricing power without sacrificing margin,” said veteran beverage industry analyst Laurent Grandet at Guggeheim.

All in all, solid quarter for a company that in many respects is caught in the middle of global geopolitical tensions. Not to mention continuing to be hurt by the strength of the U.S. dollar, which lapped off close to 2% of revenue growth in the second quarter.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-host of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @BrianSozzi