Coca-Cola Company (The) management check
KO · Consumer Staples · Soft Drinks & Non-alcoholic Beverages · CEO James Quincey
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $148, against $113 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.31 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.2% of net income$31.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $13.1bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are selling4 insiders sold $145.2m in the last six months and none bought. 12 of 16 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.3% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
11 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: James Quincey. 11 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Staples.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 89 | 31 | |
| Pay for performance | 65 | 84 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 65 |
| Dilution | 54 | 60 | |
| Stable leadership | 70 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Soft Drinks & Non-alcoholic Beverages, by management score. Coca-Cola Company (The) is 5th of 33 in its sector.
- 57CLColgate-Palmolive80
- 58KOCoca-Cola Company (The)80
- 70PEPPepsiCo78
- 71COSTCostco78
- 193MNSTMonster Beverage69
- 367KDPKeurig Dr Pepper57
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 16, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | James Quincey | $31.2m | $61.6m | $9.5m | $148 | $113 | $13.1bn |
| 2024 | James Quincey | $28.0m | $40.6m | $8.9m | $128 | $112 | $10.6bn |
| 2023 | James Quincey | $24.7m | $19.3m | $7.3m | $118 | $117 | $10.7bn |
| 2022 | James Quincey | $22.8m | $54.5m | $7.7m | $123 | $122 | $9.6bn |
| 2021 | James Quincey | $24.9m | $60.5m | $8.7m | $111 | $113 | $9.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Organic revenue (non-GAAP) growth. Its other key measures: Organic Revenue (non-GAAP) Growth (Company-Selected Measure), Comparable Currency Neutral Operating Income (non-GAAP) Growth, Comparable Currency Neutral Earnings Per Share (non-GAAP) Growth, Cumulative Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
4 insiders sold $145.2m in the last six months and none bought. 12 of 16 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldJames QuinceyChairman$98.8mJul 29, 2026
- SoldJennifer K MannExecutive Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$26.0mJun 10, 2026
- SoldJohn MurphyPresident and CFO$13.3mJul 31, 2026
- SoldNancy QuanExecutive Vice President$7.1mAug 19, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 25, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 20, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 14, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 10, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 16, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 11, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 17, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 21, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 2, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 19, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 1, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $46.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 86% of net income, and $1.5bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $38.7bn | $43.0bn | $45.8bn | $47.1bn | $47.9bn |
| Net income | $9.8bn | $9.5bn | $10.7bn | $10.6bn | $13.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $337.0m | $356.0m | $254.0m | $286.0m | $279.0m |
| Buybacks | $111.0m | $1.4bn | $2.3bn | $1.8bn | $746.0m |
| Dividends | $7.3bn | $7.6bn | $8.0bn | $8.4bn | $8.8bn |
| Diluted shares | 4340m | 4350m | 4339m | 4320m | 4313m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.