New York - Coca-Cola, the world’s largest soft-drink company, posted second-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates as falling revenue abroad outweighed modest gains in the US.
Sales fell 5.1 percent to $11.5 billion, the Atlanta-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Analysts projected $11.6 billion, on average. Earnings were 60 cents a share, beating analysts’ 58-cent average estimate.
CEO Muhtar Kent has introduced new package sizes and started a $3 billion cost-cutting initiative to boost profit, but those efforts were outweighed by slowing international revenue.
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Second-quarter sales slipped in all of Coca-Cola’s regional units except for North America.
Shares of Coca-Cola fell 0.4 percent to $44.70 at 6:56 a.m. in early trading in New York. The stock was up 4.5 percent this year through Tuesday.
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