Coca-Cola (KO +0.50%) is a global icon, with products sold in more than 200 countries around the world. With a business dating back to 1886, the Dividend King beverage maker could be worth stocking up on right now.
Here are three reasons why you shouldn't wait until some distant tomorrow to buy Coca-Cola.
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1. Coca-Cola is a giant
With a market cap of roughly $300 billion, Coca-Cola is one of the largest consumer staples companies you can buy, the fourth-largest, to be exact. The company's size gives it some important advantages over smaller competitors. The most obvious is that Coca-Cola can easily buy upstart companies with exciting brands to round out its product portfolio. But there's more.
Coca-Cola's distribution strength is impressive. Its marketing skills are top-notch. Its research and development team is cutting-edge. Essentially, it can stand toe to toe with any consumer staples maker. In reality, it stands head and shoulders above most of the companies with which it competes. While Coca-Cola has a focus on nonalcoholic beverages, its ability to effectively compete within the consumer staples sector is not limited to just beverage companies. It truly has very few equals.
One of the best examples of Coca-Cola's enduring strength comes from its dividend, which has been increased every year for more than six decades. You can't reach Dividend King status without having a strong business model that is executed well in both good times and bad. Procter & Gamble is the only consumer staples maker with a longer dividend streak. If you like buying great companies, Coca-Cola will be right up your alley.
2. Coca-Cola is performing well right now
In the third quarter of 2025, Coca-Cola was able to increase its case volume by 1%. That's not a huge figure, but it comes amid a difficult backdrop. Consumers have been leaning toward healthier food options, which makes selling sugary drinks a lot more difficult. What's impressive here is what Coca-Cola was able to do with that 1% increase.
Net revenues increased 5%. Organic sales rose 6%. And comparable earnings jumped by 6%. Coca-Cola is executing very well, especially when you compare it to its closest competitor, PepsiCo (PEP +0.76%).
In the third quarter, PepsiCo's income statement reveals that its revenues increased just 2.6%. Its organic sales inched up just 1.3%. And earnings declined 11%. There are reasons an investor might prefer PepsiCo over Coca-Cola, but from a business performance perspective, Coca-Cola is the clear leader right now.
NYSE: KO
Key Data Points
3. Coca-Cola is fairly priced
So, Coca-Cola is a good company that is performing relatively well, despite a difficult operating environment. The last piece of the puzzle is valuation. Wall Street knows full well how great a business Coca-Cola operates, so it doesn't often go on sale. Even a fair price is usually a good buying opportunity.
Right now, Coca-Cola's price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book value ratios are all close to or below their five-year averages. The stock's 2.9% dividend yield is about middle of the road, historically speaking (though it happens to be attractive on an absolute basis). All in, Coca-Cola looks fairly priced to a little cheap.
Putting the Coca-Cola puzzle together
You are not getting a screaming deal if you buy Coca-Cola today. Value investors will probably prefer competitor PepsiCo. But if you want a reliable dividend stock that is backed by a strong, well-run business, getting Coca-Cola at a fair to slightly cheap price is a worthwhile long-term opportunity. In this case, it is probably better to be about right with your timing than to perfectly time a low point in the share price.
