Updated on Febaury 19th, 2026 by Felix Martinez
Investors should focus on high-quality dividend growth stocks for superior long-term returns. This is the case when reviewing the Dividend Aristocrats, a select group of 69 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have achieved at least 25 consecutive years of dividend increases.
We have created a free Excel list of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats, along with relevant financial metrics such as P/E ratios and dividend payout ratios.
You can download the full list by clicking on the link below:
Disclaimer: Sure Dividend is not affiliated with S&P Global in any way. S&P Global owns and maintains The Dividend Aristocrats Index. The information in this article and downloadable spreadsheet is based on Sure Dividend’s own review, summary, and analysis of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and other sources, and is meant to help individual investors better understand this ETF and the index upon which it is based. None of the information in this article or spreadsheet is official data from S&P Global. Consult S&P Global for official information.
We review all 69 Dividend Aristocrats each year. The 2025 Dividend Aristocrats In Focus series continues with a review of beverage giant The Coca-Cola Company (KO).
Not only is Coca-Cola a Dividend Aristocrat, but it is also a Dividend King. The Dividend Kings have increased their dividends for 50+ consecutive years. You can see all the Dividend Kings here.
Related: Dogs of the Dow: The Highest Yielding Dow Jones 30 stocks.
In addition, it has been diversifying away from sparkling beverages in recent years, and those efforts have paid off. This article will examine Coca-Cola’s investment prospects in detail.
Business Overview
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, owning or licensing more than 500 unique non-alcoholic brands and 200 master brands.
Since its founding in 1886, the company has expanded to more than 200 countries worldwide. It currently has a market capitalization of more than $341 billion, making it a mega-cap stock.
Its brands account for about 2 billion beverage servings worldwide every day, generating more than $47 billion in annual revenue.
The sparkling beverage portfolio includes the flagship Coca-Cola brand, as well as other soda brands like Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and more.
The still beverage portfolio includes water, juices, coffee drinks, and ready-to-drink teas, such as Dasani, Minute Maid, Vitamin Water, and Honest Tea.
Source: Investor Relations
Coca-Cola reported solid fourth-quarter 2025 results, with comparable EPS of $0.58, beating estimates, while revenue rose 2% year over year to $11.8 billion despite slightly missing expectations.
Organic revenue grew 5%, driven primarily by 4% price/mix improvement and modest 1% global unit case volume growth. Reported operating income declined 32% due mainly to a $960 million non-cash BODYARMOR impairment, though comparable currency-neutral operating income increased 13%, reflecting strong pricing power and cost discipline.
For full-year 2025, revenue increased 2% to $47.9 billion, while EPS rose 23% to $3.04 and comparable EPS reached $3.00 (+4%). The company generated $7.4 billion in operating cash flow and $11.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow excluding the fairlife payment, supporting $8.8 billion in dividends and continued shareholder returns.
Growth was led by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volumes (+14% for the year) and steady expansion in water, sports drinks, coffee, and tea categories, while overall global beverage volume remained flat.
Looking ahead, Coca-Cola expects 2026 organic revenue growth of 4%–5% and comparable EPS growth of 7%–8%, supported by pricing, marketing execution, and digital transformation initiatives.
Management forecasts approximately $12.2 billion in free cash flow, reinforcing the company’s strong cash-generation profile and ability to sustain dividend growth while investing in innovation and global brand expansion.
Growth Prospects
To return to growth, Coca-Cola has invested heavily in categories beyond soda, such as juices, coffee, teas, dairy, and water, to appeal to changing consumer preferences.
Due to the success of its growth initiatives, we continue to see a favorable long-term growth outlook for Coca-Cola.
One reason we like the stock is that it competes in an industry that continues to grow globally at a rate exceeding that of broader economic growth. This leads to strong overall industry growth, which Coca-Cola has certainly been capitalizing on in recent years.
In addition, the ready-to-drink category is sold through highly diversified channels and is projected to grow at mid-single-digit rates, both for Coca-Cola and the industry.
Source: Investor Presentation
This is particularly true for still beverages like tea, coffee, and water. Coca-Cola’s years-old strategy to diversify away from sparkling beverages is due to this, and it is undoubtedly bearing fruit.
Coca-Cola also continues to acquire brands to grow, including Costa, a UK-based coffee brand.
Coca-Cola is doing what it takes to secure its future. In the relatively short time Coca-Cola has owned the coffee brand, it has expanded its offerings, including combining Coca-Cola and coffee in ready-to-drink packages.
Considering all of this, along with the company’s buyback program and productivity improvement efforts, we see total earnings-per-share growth of 7% annually over the next five years.
Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance
Coca-Cola enjoys two distinct competitive advantages: its strong brand and global scale.
In addition, Coca-Cola has an unparalleled distribution network. It has the world’s largest beverage distribution system. A new entrant would be hard-pressed to recreate this distribution system, even with billions of dollars to invest.
These advantages allow Coca-Cola to remain highly profitable, even during recessions. The company held up very well during the Great Recession:
- 2007 earnings-per-share of $1.29
- 2008 earnings-per-share of $1.51 (17% increase)
- 2009 earnings-per-share of $1.47 (3% decline)
- 2010 earnings-per-share of $1.75 (19% increase)
Not only did Coca-Cola survive the Great Recession, but it thrived. Earnings per share grew by 36% from 2007 to 2010, demonstrating the durability and strength of Coca-Cola’s business model.
The company’s dividend also appears very safe, even after 60 years of consecutive increases. We would expect Coca-Cola to perform well during any future recessions.
Valuation & Expected Returns
We expect Coca-Cola to generate adjusted EPS of $3.25 for 2026. Based on this, Coca-Cola stock trades for a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3x. This is above our fair value estimate of 23.5 times earnings, indicating the stock is somewhat overvalued.
An expanding P/E multiple could decrease annual returns by -0.6% over the next five years.
The stock will also generate positive returns through future earnings-per-share growth (estimated at 7%) and the 2.6% dividend yield. Combined, we expect total annualized returns of 9.0% through 2031.
Overall, we expect Coca-Cola stock to generate solid shareholder returns at the current share price, and we rate it a hold.
Final Thoughts
Coca-Cola has made great strides in repositioning its portfolio to meet changing consumer tastes. It has built a large portfolio of juices, coffees, and teas to cater to more health-conscious consumers.
Diversifying away from sparkling beverages requires more work, but we see solid growth prospects looking ahead.
We rate the stock a hold, but it remains a strong choice for income investors due to its above-average dividend yield and long history of annual dividend increases.
These qualities make Coca-Cola a time-tested Dividend Aristocrat and a blue-chip stock.
Additionally, the following Sure Dividend databases contain the most reliable dividend growers in our investment universe:
- The Dividend Contenders List: 10-24 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Challengers List: 5-9 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Champions: Dividend stocks with 25+ years of dividend increases, including those that may not qualify as Dividend Aristocrats.
- The Dividend Achievers: dividend stocks with 10+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
If you’re looking for stocks with unique dividend characteristics, consider the following Sure Dividend databases:
- The Complete List of Monthly Dividend Stocks: stocks that pay dividends each month, for 12 payments over the year.
- The Blue Chip Stocks List: this database contains stocks that qualify as either Dividend Achievers, Dividend Aristocrats, or Dividend Kings.
The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly: