Why Coca-Cola Could Gain Market Share as Global Economies Recover

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has been losing market share globally in the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink industry since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As governments worldwide instituted lockdown measures and placed restrictions on businesses in response to the outbreak, restaurants, theme parks, sports stadiums, and movie theaters closed down. Unfortunately, those were also the places where people consumed soft beverages, including those made by Coca-Cola.

To make matters worse, the Atlanta-based beverage company actually commands a large market share -- larger than those of rivals PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) and KeurigDrPepper (NASDAQ: KDP) -- at these outdoor venues, which meant a substantive loss in demand for the ubiquitous brand.  

Fortunately, the global vaccination campaign against the coronavirus has been effective with COVID-19 infections trending down in regions having higher vaccination rates. With close to 2 billion doses already administered worldwide, there's still progress to be made, however there seems to be light visible at the end of the tunnel. Restrictions against in-person activities are being lowered and businesses are reopening, and this is good news for Coca-Cola.

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Source Fool.com