Coca-Cola: Second Quarter Should Be Better Than First, JPMorgan Says

JPMorgan’s John Faucher and team think Coca-Cola’s (KO) second-quarter results should be better than its first. They explain why:

Bloomberg

[Coca-Cola's stock] has performed well since reporting Q1 results that were better than feared heading into the quarter. Given the stock’s underperformance over the past two-plus years, we are not surprised by the performance over the past several months as earnings growth should improve in the back half of the year as Fx becomes less of a headwind and the company cycles easier comparisons. While we think the better EPS performance will help, we think stronger organic top line growth is needed to drive multiple expansion.

Shares of Coca-Cola, which is scheduled to report earnings on July 22, have gained 0.7% to $42.33 at 12:50 p.m. today, while Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) has risen 0.7% to $59.30 and PepsiCo (PEP) has ticked up 0.2% to $90.19.