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Coca-Cola's Asset-Light Model Delivers Resilient Q3 2025 Results

Bottlers absorb rising costs, preserving concentrate margins.

Overview

  • Coca-Cola reported a 5% increase in revenue and a 15% rise in non-GAAP operating income for the third quarter of 2025.
  • The company’s concentrate model keeps corporate operations asset-light by focusing on brand, product strategy, and syrup production while bottlers handle manufacturing and distribution.
  • This structure supports consistently high operating margins, very low capital spending, and steady free cash flow across economic cycles.
  • A decades-built bottler network gives Coca-Cola extensive global distribution that functions as a durable competitive moat.
  • Rising costs for fuel, labor, and packaging are largely borne by bottlers, which helps protect Coca-Cola’s high-margin concentrate revenue despite supply chain pressures.