After more than 130-plus years of rivalry, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are in very different places rolling into 2019.
While Coca-Cola predicts the year ahead will be “volatile,” Pepsi seems more optimistic, predicting the year will be “favorable.”
And as far as business strategies, the two rivals have changed a lot over the last decade. Coke is extremely bullish on beverages, while Pepsi is getting bigger on snacks.
Top brands under Coke include Dasani, Honest Tea, Minute Maid, Powerade and Costa Coffee.
Last month, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told Maria Bartiromo that “coffee is a big industry” for them, however, its biggest barrier by far is selling coffee in someone else’s outlet.
Pepsi, meanwhile, is betting big on brands such Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Quaker and Tropicana. Also, last year Pepsi acquired SodaStream, the home seltzer company and Bare Foods, a dried fruit and vegetable snack company.
Both companies reported fourth-quarter earnings, this week, Coca-Cola shares slipped -- despite beating profit and revenue estimates -- but PepsiCo shares rose after the company reported sales that beat estimates helped by its snack unit.
Both companies, however, expect sales this year to grow around 4 percent.
On Friday, Pepsi CFO Hugh Johnston told CNN Business that he expects 2019 to be “benign and “favorable” in regards to profits, while Coca-Cola's Quincey told on Thursday that he believes the year will “be more volatile and uncertain than 2018.”
Here’s a look at each’s company’s latest results and where they stand for the year ahead.
PepsiCo
PepsiCo stock was up on Friday after reporting results in 2018 that matched analyst estimates -- and despite anticipating an earnings miss in 2019.
Pepsi also said that it will raise its annual dividend rate by 3 percent a share to $3.82 from $3.71 share.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola stock, on the other hand, fell hard on Thursday after revealing a disappointing 2019 outlook despite beating earnings and revenue estimates in 2018. However, the company said it expected organic revenue growth to be around 4 percent this year, only down a point from last year.
Thursday was Coke’s worst trading day since 2008. Despite the decline, the company's market capitalization, approximately $194 billion, remains greater than PepsiCo's market capitalization of $164 million.
