Coca-Cola (KO) stock has risen 0.8% over the past week, 10.1% over the past month, and 16.9% over the last year, underscoring steady momentum for the beverage giant. Wall Street’s analysts are firmly bullish, forecasting further gains with a 12‑month average price target of $84.93 versus a last close of $80.47, and assigning the shares a StrongBuy consensus.
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Among the most closely watched voices is Peter Galbo of BofA Securities, who reiterated his Buy rating on KO on February 26, 2026 and set a price objective of $88.00, signaling additional upside from current levels. His call leans on detailed bottler checks across eight of nine global public Coca-Cola bottlers, which he uses to track unit case volume trends and better anticipate the company’s reported results.
Galbo notes that updated country-level unit case volume analysis after Coca-Cola’s 4Q25 report supports a constructive view on demand across key regions. The strongest historical correlations between company-reported volumes and bottler data are seen in Latin America and EMEA, where UCV links reach 97% and 93% respectively, giving investors added confidence that current trends can translate into solid reported performance.
On profitability, Galbo maintains his FY26 earnings per share forecast of $3.23 for KO, but adjusts the quarterly cadence of gross margins as he refines expectations for seasonality. He sees Coca-Cola’s main margin expansion driver in 2026 as largely mechanical, tied to the sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, as well as benefits from divesting Nigerian juice and value-added dairy operations, which together should support a healthier margin mix in the back half of the year.
Regionally, his early 1Q read is that North America is showing a third straight quarter of sequential improvement, with an easier comparison helping volumes. In Latin America, softness in Mexico is being offset by resilience in Brazil, while EMEA is seeing modest UCV growth led by Africa and Eurasia/Middle East, and APAC faces a tougher comparison after strong prior growth. Never miss a stock rating. Find all the latest ratings on TipRanks’ Top Wall Street Analysts page.