Squawk on the Street SOTS 2nd Hour: Coca-Cola CEO, & The State of Activist Investing w/Keith Meister, Lauren Taylor Wolfe 10/21/25
Oct 21, 2025
James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola, shares insights on quarterly results, highlighting consumer trends and the use of AI in marketing. He discusses challenges in key markets like India and China. Keith Meister, founder of Corvex Management, explores the state of activist investing, emphasizing the importance of collaboration over confrontation. Lauren Taylor-Wolfe of Impactive Capital offers her perspective on the AI bubble, noting similarities to the dot-com era and advocating for long-term value investments amid market volatility.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Premium Mix Drives Coke's Growth
- Coca-Cola is growing through premium products and pricing while lower-income consumers seek value.
- James Quincey says price (≈4%) tracks inflation and mix (~2%) comes from faster-growing premium brands.
Consumer Split Shapes Performance
- Coca-Cola is gaining market share by adapting to varied consumer dynamics worldwide.
- Quincey notes high-income consumers keep spending while lower-income buyers trade down.
Refranchising Completed After 10 Years
- Refranchising bottlers was a decade-long strategic move to improve system performance.
- Quincey says the right local partners ran bottling companies better and grew the total system.