Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. makes, sells and distributes drinks for The Coca-Cola Company and other beverage partners across parts of the United States. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bottler trades as COKE on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. It earns revenue from beverage sales, manufacturing, distribution and related services.

Quarterly financial record

Quarterly cash figures are derived by subtracting first-half amounts from the nine-month statements. Cash remaining after capital spending was $172.2 million versus $264.1 million. Adjusted operating profit excludes commodity-hedge fair-value changes; adjusted net profit also removes valuation changes in acquisition-related contingent consideration, including their tax effects.

Costs and earlier expectations

In August, management expected operating-expense growth to moderate in the second half as the company passed the anniversary of its earlier frontline wage investment. Adjusted selling, delivery and administrative expense growth slowed from 6.9% in Q2 to 0.8% in Q3.

Q3 sales grew 5.4%, with volume up 1.4%. Higher aluminum and fuel costs and changes in product mix reduced adjusted gross margin to 38.6% from 39.6%, while the slower overhead growth helped operating margin improve. The company estimates that Fourth of July timing reduced Q3 volume growth by about one percentage point, after helping Q2 by about the same amount.

The approximately $300 million annual capital-spending expectation is unchanged from August. The first quarter had six extra days versus 2025 and Q4 will have six fewer, with the same number of days in both full fiscal years. Year-to-date adjusted earnings remove the estimated contribution from those extra Q1 days in addition to the valuation adjustments.

Completed repurchase and financing

On November 7, 2025, Coca-Cola Consolidated bought all 18,835,460 common shares held by Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Investments, a Coca-Cola Company subsidiary, for $127 a share. The approximately $2.4 billion purchase used cash and a $1.2 billion bridge loan. A December 2025 refinancing replaced that bridge with $1.35 billion of term facilities.

The repurchased shares were retired. This reduced the share count used in 2026 earnings comparisons, while debt financing increased interest expense. Quarterly net interest expense was $28.8 million versus $4.7 million. The repurchase also reduced retained earnings, leaving a $339.8 million accounting equity deficit at October 2.

No shares were bought under the separate discretionary repurchase program in the first nine months of 2026. Remaining authority was $136.3 million at October 2, an amount already disclosed after the November 2025 transaction.

Debt repayment and liquidity

The company had repaid $275 million of its five-year term loan by the end of the first half. In October it repaid $100 million of maturing notes and another $75 million of term debt, bringing total repayments through October to $450 million. A November 4 notice schedules a further $25 million term repayment for November 9, which would leave $75 million on that facility.

At the October 2 balance-sheet date, cash was $311.9 million and debt carrying value was $2,513.9 million. The $500 million revolver was undrawn. Operating-lease liabilities of $103.9 million and finance-lease liabilities of $1.3 million are separate from that debt figure.

In the first nine months, operating cash was $664.8 million versus $722.9 million a year earlier, and cash capital spending was $219.3 million versus $210.0 million. Collections, inventories and supplier-payment timing affected operating cash. Dividends paid during that period totaled $49.9 million.

The October 9 declaration set a Q4 dividend of $0.25 per common and Class B share, payable November 6 to shareholders of record October 23.

Older territory obligations

Distribution territories acquired in earlier years carry continuing sub-bottling payment obligations. Their estimated liability was $751.0 million at October 2. The company paid $54.7 million in the first nine months, split between operating and financing cash flow.

Changes in that liability's estimated value are noncash charges or gains. The Q3 charge fell to $8.0 million from $49.4 million a year earlier, helping reported net profit. Actual payments under the territory agreements continue alongside those accounting adjustments.