Can This Dividend King Outlast A Recession And Grow Its Payout For 7 More Years?

• Coca-Cola has accrued its dividend for 63 consecutive years.

• The planetary beverage elephantine generates durable and increasing currency flows.

• Its already beardown equilibrium expanse is astir to get adjacent stronger.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Coca-Cola ›

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has been an highly durable dividend banal implicit the decades. The planetary beverage elephantine has accrued its dividend for 63 consecutive years. That much than qualifies it arsenic a Dividend King, a institution that has raised its dividend for 50 oregon much consecutive years. Coca-Cola continued to rise its payout contempt galore economical downturns passim the years.

Here's a look astatine whether Coca-Cola tin outlast a aboriginal recession and scope 70 years of dividend increases, a milestone lone 3 different companies person presently achieved.

Only 56 companies presently conscionable the qualifications of being a Dividend King, underscoring the awesome show of Coca-Cola implicit the years. The biggest origin contributing to the company's accordant maturation is the durable and steadily rising request for its increasing portfolio of refreshing beverage products. Coca-Cola owns astir 200 brands that it sells crossed much than 200 countries and territories, including 30 brands that make implicit $1 cardinal successful yearly sales. Notable brands see Coca-Cola, Sprite, Dasani, Gold Peak, and Minute Maid.

Coca-Cola benefits from integrated maturation drivers such as measurement maturation and terms increases. The institution besides routinely launches caller products. It invests heavy successful marketing, productivity improvements, merchandise innovation, and different areas to thrust steadfast integrated gross maturation rates. Over the past 5 years, Coca-Cola has delivered an mean integrated gross maturation complaint of 9%. Its planetary beverage portfolio generates robust and durable currency flow, providing the institution with the funds to wage a rising dividend and put successful expanding its operations.

The institution besides routinely acquires caller beverage products. Since 2016, acquisitions specified arsenic Topo-Chico and BodyArmor person driven a 4th of its earnings-per-share growth.

Coca-Cola besides maintains a beardown equilibrium sheet. It has an A+/A1 bond rating, giving it lots of fiscal flexibility. The institution has importantly enhanced its fiscal flexibility implicit the past decennary by refranchising its bottling operations. That strategy provided it with currency to repay debt, marque strategical acquisitions, and repurchase shares.

Coca-Cola's strategy to refranchise its bottler operations has importantly strengthened its equilibrium sheet. The institution has driven its leverage ratio down toward the low extremity of its 2.0-2.5 times target range. As a result, it presently has the capableness to instrumentality connected $12.6 cardinal of further indebtedness earlier it would scope the precocious extremity of its leverage ratio people range. That gives it a tremendous magnitude of fiscal flexibility to upwind immoderate aboriginal recession.