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Shares of Coca-Cola (KO +0.04%) rose on Tuesday, as investors applauded the soda leader's third-quarter results. As of 1:55 p.m. ET, Coca-Cola's stock price was up more than 4%. Coke's third-quarter results Coca-Cola's revenue rose 5% year over year to $12.5 billion, driven by price increases and a 1% rise in unit case volume. Strong sales of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which jumped 14%, contributed to the gains. Notably, Coca-Cola continued to win market share in the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink segment. Fuze Tea has increased its retail value by a whopping five times the industry average so far in 2025. Powerade and Bodyarmor also gained share in the sports drink category. Better still, cost reduction initiatives helped to boost Coca-Cola's profitability. Its comparable operating margin increased to 31.9% from 30.7% in the year-ago quarter. The soda king's adjusted earnings, in turn, improved by 6% to $0.82 per share. That bested Wall Street's estimates, which called for adjusted earnings per share of $0.78. Thriving in a challenging environment On a conference call with analysts, chief operating officer Henrique Braun noted that lower-income consumers were pulling back a bit on spending. Coca-Cola is adjusting to the current challenging financial environment by offering more affordable options like mini cans and other products with smaller serving sizes. Looking ahead, management forecasts full-year organic revenue growth of 5% to 6% in 2025. Coca-Cola also expects to generate adjusted earnings growth of 3% -- and 8% when stripping out the effects of foreign currency fluctuations. "While the overall environment has continued to be challenging, we've stayed flexible -- adapting plans where needed and investing for growth," CEO James Quincey said.
