Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) stock fell 1.21% (As on October 24, 11:28:08 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company beat Wall Street’s forecasts for the third quarter of FY 24. Coke hiked prices 10% in the July-September period. The company said that was partly due to hyperinflation in markets like Argentina. Coke has raised prices every quarter since the end of 2020. But those higher prices are hurting demand. Demand for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was up 11% but sales of juice, dairy, water, sports drinks and coffee were down. Operating margin, which includes items impacting comparability, was 21.2% versus 27.4% in the prior year, while comparable operating margin (non-GAAP) was 30.7% versus 29.7% in the prior year. The operating margin decline was driven by items impacting comparability, including a charge of $919 million related to the remeasurement of the contingent consideration liability to fair value in conjunction with the acquisition of fairlife, LLC (“fairlife”) in 2020, as well as currency headwinds. The company gained value share in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages. Cash flow from operations and free cash flow (non-GAAP) were $2.9 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. Both decreased versus the prior year, primarily due to a $6.0 billion payment made to the IRS related to ongoing tax litigation.

KO in the third quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 77 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 74 cents. Still, total unit case volume was down by 1% in the quarter. Analysts had estimated an increase of .42% in unit case volume. The Atlanta-based maker of Sprite and Fanta sodas reported a 9% increase in third-quarter organic revenue, which excludes the impact of currency shifts and acquisitions. The average estimate of analysts was for growth of 6.3%.  The company had reported the adjusted revenue decline of 1 percent to $11.9 billion in the third quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $11.6 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue performance included 10% growth in price/mix and a 2% decline in concentrate sales. Concentrate sales were 1 point behind unit case volume, primarily due to the timing of concentrate shipments.

The company now expects full-year organic growth of about 10%, compared with previous guidance for a range of 9% to 10%. The company expects comparable EPS (non-GAAP) growth of 5% to 6%, versus $2.69 in 2023.