Key Takeaways
- Coca-Cola’s price targets moved after its Oct. 27 third-quarter report. Five of them run from Freedom Broker’s $89 to DBS’s $106.
- On analysts’ 2028 EPS estimate, Freedom’s $89 matches Coca-Cola’s five-year average forward P/E, and DBS’s $106 matches its five-year high.
- Analysts’ 2027 and 2028 EPS estimates each rose a penny after the quarter, while DBS raised its target by $8.
- Coca-Cola’s 2027 guidance, due with fourth-quarter results, is the next real test for the top-end targets.
Coca-Cola (KO) has had quite a year. At $96.22 on Nov. 4, the stock is up 38% in 2026 and 12% since Oct. 2 alone.
Wall Street is still catching up. Here are five of the firms that updated their targets after the Oct. 27 third-quarter report, four of which raised them:
- DBS: Buy, $106 (from $98) on Oct. 28
- TD Cowen: Buy, $104 (from $100) on Oct. 28
- Evercore ISI: Outperform, $100 (unchanged) on Oct. 28
- Bernstein: Market Perform, $95 (from $93) on Nov. 3
- Freedom Broker: Hold, $89 (from $85) on Oct. 28
At $96.22, Coca-Cola already trades above both Freedom’s and Bernstein’s targets. Only the Buy-rated targets leave any upside, at 4% to 10%.
A Strong Quarter, With Some Help
The quarter gave the bulls plenty to work with. Unit case volume grew 5%, organic revenue grew 7%, and comparable EPS rose 11%. Coca-Cola also raised its 2026 outlook. It now expects comparable EPS growth of at least 11% from last year’s $3.00 and free cash flow of at least $13 billion.
But 2 points of the quarter’s 11% EPS growth came from currency, and the full-year outlook assumes about 3. And price/mix added just 1%, because a weaker mix took back 3 of the 4 points pricing added. Coca-Cola’s long-term model calls for 2 to 3 points from price and mix.
Analysts Expect Growth to Slow After This Year
The consensus has Coca-Cola’s normalized EPS growth slowing after 2026.
The $3.34 for 2026 is in line with management’s new guide. After that, analysts expect about 6% growth in 2027 and 7% in 2028.
The report barely changed the later years. Before it, consensus stood at $3.52 for 2027 and $3.78 for 2028. Now it’s $3.53 and $3.79, a penny higher each, while DBS raised its target by $8.
TIKR Tracks 25 Analysts on Coca-Cola. How Many Say “Buy”?
See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Coca-Cola, along with Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Coca-Cola’s Analyst Ratings
The Targets Followed the Stock
So most of the target increases came from the stock’s run. Coca-Cola’s forward P/E is near the top of its five-year range:
At about 28x, it’s just under the five-year high of 28.1x it set on Oct. 22. That’s well above its 23.4x average and a long way from the 19.3x it hit in October 2023.
A target a year out mostly prices the stock on 2028 earnings. Put 2028’s $3.79 on the five-year average of 23.4x, and you get about $89, which is Freedom’s target. Put it on the five-year high of 28.1x, and you get about $106, which is DBS’s. On the Street’s own estimates, the multiple accounts for the whole $17 gap between the lowest and highest of these targets.
At the average multiple, $106 would need $4.53 of EPS. That’s 19.5% more than analysts expect for 2028.
Africa Is the Next Margin Boost
The bulls’ best case for faster earnings is the margin. Coca-Cola’s operating margin has climbed more than 8 points in a decade:
Selling low-margin company-owned bottlers drove much of that rise. Comparable operating margin rose about 110 basis points in the third quarter. The pending sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa should lift margins again when it closes. But management expects the sale to take about 8 points off 2027 revenue.
Then there’s the IRS. Coca-Cola is still waiting on the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling in its tax appeal, which was argued on June 25. If Coca-Cola loses, the company estimates it would owe about $14 billion more in tax and interest for 2010 through 2025.
The Hold Camp Has the Stronger Numbers on Coca-Cola
The estimates support the middle of the range. On 2028’s estimate, Evercore’s $100 and TD Cowen’s $104 need 26.4x and 27.4x, and DBS’s $106 needs the stock to hold its five-year-high multiple for another year. Even Bernstein’s $95 needs 25.1x, which is above the stock’s 23.4x average.
Coca-Cola is a better business than it was a year ago. Volume is growing again, and margins keep rising. But at 28x forward earnings, I’d want to see faster growth before paying for the top end.
That evidence could come soon. Management will give 2027 guidance with fourth-quarter results, which last year came on Feb. 10. If it points to EPS growth well above the 6% analysts expect, the Buy-rated targets start to look a lot more reasonable.
So what is Coca-Cola stock actually worth?
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
