Coca-Cola Hosts Investor Day: Company Reaffirms Guidance and Updates Long-Term Growth Targets

Senior leaders from The Coca-Cola Company, led by President and CEO James Quincey, will meet with investors and analysts today. As part of that meeting, the company is reaffirming its full year 2017 guidance as well as its previously provided full year 2018 outlook considerations.

The company is also reiterating its long-term targets of mid single-digit organic revenue growth (non-GAAP) and high single-digit comparable currency neutral EPS growth (non-GAAP). The company is now targeting comparable currency neutral operating income growth (non-GAAP) of 6 to 8 percent. In addition, the company is introducing a new long-term target of 95 to 100 percent for adjusted free cash flow conversion ratio (non-GAAP) (refer to "Long-Term Targets" below for a definition of this ratio).

The company has set a target for comparable currency neutral operating margin* (non-GAAP) of at least 35 percent by 2020. The company is also providing a near-term expectation for 2018 capital expenditures of $1.9 billion and a long-term expectation for capital expenditures of 4.5 to 5 percent of net revenues.

Presentations and a Q&A session will be broadcast live through an audio and video webcast from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. The company invites interested parties to join the webcast on its website at www.coca-colacompany.com/investors. Downloadable files of the audio and video recordings, as well as presentations and transcripts, will be available within 24 hours after the event on the company's website. Materials for the event will also be available through an app on Apple iOS and Google Android devices. The app is available through the App Store or Google Play under the name Coca-Cola Investor Day 2017.

*Target margin for 2020 is currency neutralized based on 2017 foreign currency exchange rates.

2017 Outlook

Our 2017 outlook for organic revenues, comparable income before income taxes, comparable currency neutral income before income taxes (structurally adjusted) and comparable EPS are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude or have otherwise been adjusted for items impacting comparability, the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, acquisitions and divestitures, and the impact of structural items, as applicable. We are not able to reconcile our full year 2017 projected organic revenues (non-GAAP) to our full year 2017 projected reported net revenues, our full year 2017 projected comparable currency neutral income before income taxes (structurally adjusted) (non-GAAP) to our full year 2017 projected reported income before income taxes, or our full year 2017 projected comparable EPS (non-GAAP) to our full year 2017 projected reported EPS without unreasonable efforts because we are unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the actual impact of items impacting comparability, changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the exact timing of acquisitions, divestitures and/or structural changes that may occur during the remainder of 2017. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on our full year 2017 GAAP financial results.

Long-Term Targets

Our long-term targets for organic revenue growth, comparable currency neutral operating income growth, comparable currency neutral operating margin, comparable currency neutral EPS growth, and adjusted free cash flow conversion ratio are based on non-GAAP financial measures that exclude or have otherwise been adjusted for items impacting comparability, the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, acquisitions and divestitures, and the impact of structural items, as applicable. We are not able to reconcile our long-term targets for organic revenue growth (non-GAAP), comparable currency neutral operating income growth (non-GAAP), comparable currency neutral operating margin (non-GAAP), comparable currency neutral EPS growth (non-GAAP), and adjusted free cash flow conversion ratio (non-GAAP) to our long-term projections for reported net revenue growth, reported operating income growth, reported operating margin, reported EPS growth, and reported cash flow conversion ratio, respectively, without unreasonable efforts because we are unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the actual impact of items impacting comparability, changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the exact timing of acquisitions, divestitures and/or structural changes that may occur in future periods. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on our GAAP financial results for future periods.

The company defines adjusted free cash flow conversion ratio (non-GAAP) as free cash flow adjusted for certain cash payments for pension plan contributions (non-GAAP) divided by net income attributable to shareowners of The Coca-Cola Company adjusted for non-cash items impacting comparability (non-GAAP). The company defines free cash flow (non-GAAP) as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company KO is the world's largest total beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- and no-sugar options to help people everywhere more easily control added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our household names around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we're serious about making positive contributions to our world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and bringing new and different drinks to people everywhere. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates, and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. In fact, together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world. For more information, visit our digital magazine Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow The Coca-Cola Company on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements, estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks include, but are not limited to, obesity and other health-related concerns; water scarcity and poor quality; evolving consumer preferences; increased competition and capabilities in the marketplace; product safety and quality concerns; perceived negative health consequences of certain ingredients, such as non-nutritive sweeteners and biotechnology-derived substances, and of other substances present in our beverage products or packaging materials; an inability to be successful in our innovation activities; increased demand for food products and decreased agricultural productivity; changes in the retail landscape or the loss of key retail or foodservice customers; an inability to expand operations in emerging and developing markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; interest rate increases; an inability to maintain good relationships with our bottling partners; a deterioration in our bottling partners' financial condition; increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or unfavorable resolution of tax matters; increased or new indirect taxes in the United States and throughout the world; increased cost, disruption of supply or shortage of energy or fuels; increased cost, disruption of supply or shortage of ingredients, other raw materials or packaging materials; changes in laws and regulations relating to beverage containers and packaging; significant additional labeling or warning requirements or limitations on the marketing or sale of our products; an inability to protect our information systems against service interruption, misappropriation of data or breaches of security; unfavorable general economic conditions in the United States; unfavorable economic and political conditions in international markets; litigation or legal proceedings; failure to adequately protect, or disputes relating to, trademarks, formulae and other intellectual property rights; adverse weather conditions; climate change; damage to our brand image and corporate reputation from negative publicity, even if unwarranted, related to product safety or quality, human and workplace rights, obesity or other issues; changes in, or failure to comply with, the laws and regulations applicable to our products or our business operations; changes in accounting standards; an inability to achieve our overall long-term growth objectives; deterioration of global credit market conditions; default by or failure of one or more of our counterparty financial institutions; an inability to renew collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms, or we or our bottling partners experience strikes, work stoppages or labor unrest; future impairment charges; multi-employer pension plan withdrawal liabilities in the future; an inability to successfully integrate and manage our Company-owned or -controlled bottling operations; an inability to successfully manage our refranchising activities; failure to realize the economic benefits from or an inability to successfully manage the possible negative consequences of our productivity initiatives; failure to realize a significant portion of the anticipated benefits of our strategic relationship with Monster; inability to attract or retain a highly skilled workforce; global or regional catastrophic events, including terrorist acts, cyber-strikes and radiological attacks; and other risks discussed in our Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which filings are available from the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Coca-Cola Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171116005238/en/