The Coca-Cola Company (KO.N): What we're watching for in 3Q26 results

Deutsche Bank's earnings preview for The Coca-Cola Company (KO.US) ahead of its 3Q26 results, to be reported on Tuesday, October 27 pre-market. Acknowledging already-constructive investor sentiment, we see KO well positioned to deliver solid organic growth and EPS in the quarter and reiterate FY26 guidance, consistent with DB/consensus expectations. We model 3Q organic growth of 4.3% (Street +4.4%), with price/mix of +1.9%, all-in revenue of $12.910 billion, gross margin of 61.8%, operating margin of 31.8%, and EPS of $0.85 (consensus $0.88), driven largely by SG&A timing and our lower operating margin estimate. For FY26 we model organic growth of +5.1%, EBIT of $16.199 billion, and EPS of $3.30; for FY27 we forecast organic growth of +5.3% and EPS of $3.54, broadly consistent with consensus, while flagging a -LSD FX headwind and a -MSD/-LSD CCBA refranchising headwind. We reiterate our Buy rating and $98 price target, viewing KO as a best-in-class compounder in US CPG.