Reviewing Something That Is Not Pepsi…

$COKE.

No, that’s not a meme coin created by some edgelord nerd. It’s the ticker symbol for Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States.

A boring business? Yes.

But, putting soda in plastic bottles is surprisingly lucrative.

Coca-Cola Consolidated achieved an eye-popping average annual return of 30.80% over the past decade. Running the numbers, this weird soda bottling stock outperformed Apple and Microsoft.

And, Coca-Cola Consolidated is raising dividends and buying-back stock at an incredible rate.

In 2024, Coca-Cola Consolidated paid a special dividend of $16 per share. And, the company hiked its dividend from $0.50 per quarter to $2.50 per quarter. And, Coca-Cola Consolidated initiated $3 billion in stock buybacks.

Looking at the price tag, Coca-Cola Consolidated seems outrageously expensive.

The stock currently trades for $1,360 per share. However, the company’s price to earnings is actually lower than the S&P 500. Coca-Cola Consolidated is valued at a price to earnings ratio of 22.95, roughly in-line with The Coca-Cola Company ($KO) which has only delivered an average annual total return of 7.60%.