Coca-Cola (KO)
Key Statistics
EV/EBIT = 19.6x
ROE = 43.85%
Debt/Equity = 153%
FCF Yield = 3.8%
Dividend Yield = 3.09%
Market Cap = $257.54 billion
The Company
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is an American icon and one of the best-performing companies in the history of capitalism.
Coca-Cola has grown from an Atlanta-based pharmaceutical store concoction to a global brand spanning more than 200 countries and territories. It is a cultural icon with a diverse portfolio that spans Trademark Coca-Cola, sparkling flavors, water, sports, coffee and tea, juice, value-added dairy, plant-based beverages, and emerging beverages.
The roots of Coca-Cola go back the 1800s, when Colonel John Pemberton created the drink. A Confederate soldier wounded in the Civil War, Pemberton sought an alternative to morphine, to which he had become addicted.
He formulated Pemberton's French Wine Coca nerve tonic, drawing inspiration from a French-Corsican coca wine. As the specter of prohibition loomed, he introduced Coca-Cola in 1886, transforming it into a nonalcoholic version marketed as a temperance drink.
Amusingly, the ‘temperance drink’ contained cocaine. The cocaine was removed from the formula in 1904.
The fledgling concoction found its first consumers in Atlanta, Georgia. However, ownership complexities arose, and after Pemberton died in 1888, Asa Candler emerged as a critical figure, gaining control of the company. In 1892, Candler incorporated the Coca-Cola Company, setting the stage for its future as a global giant.
A defining characteristic of Coca-Cola's allure lies in the closely guarded secret formula, a well-kept mystery that adds to the beverage's mystique.
The company initially stored the formula in a bank vault. Now, it resides at the World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta. If you ever find yourself in Atlanta, don't miss the chance to visit the museum. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.