Bill Ackman Criticizes US Food Stamp Expenditures as 'Ridiculous,' Claims SNAP Supports Soda and Junk Food While Increasing Medicaid Costs | Intellectia.AI
Bill Ackman Criticizes US Food Stamp Expenditures as 'Ridiculous,' Claims SNAP Supports Soda and Junk Food While Increasing Medicaid Costs
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Ackman's Critique of SNAP: Billionaire investor Bill Ackman supports a critique of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), arguing it promotes unhealthy diets and increases healthcare costs for taxpayers.
Calley Means' Statement: Health policy advocate Calley Means highlighted that SNAP's budget is significantly larger than military spending, with 70% of funds going towards soda and ultraprocessed foods, contributing to high Medicaid costs.
Concerns Over Chronic Diseases: Ackman warns that subsidizing unhealthy food through SNAP exacerbates chronic diseases, echoing concerns about its impact on obesity and related health issues among over 40 million Americans.
Policy Changes and Backlash: Recent discussions include proposed restrictions on junk food purchases with SNAP, which have faced opposition from beverage companies, while billionaire Mark Cuban supports new policies targeting unhealthy food options.
KO
$70.37+Infinity%1D
Analyst Views on KO
Wall Street analysts forecast KO stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for KO is 79.08 USD with a low forecast of 71.00 USD and a high forecast of 85.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
15 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast KO stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for KO is 79.08 USD with a low forecast of 71.00 USD and a high forecast of 85.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
14 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 70.970
Low
71.00
Averages
79.08
High
85.00
Current: 70.970
Low
71.00
Averages
79.08
High
85.00
Barclays
Benjamin Theurer
Overweight -> Equal Weight
downgrade
$98
2025-12-02
Reason
Barclays
Benjamin Theurer
Price Target
$98
2025-12-02
downgrade
Overweight -> Equal Weight
Reason
Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer downgraded Coca-Cola Femsa to Equal Weight from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $98. The firm adjusted ratings in the Mexico consumer sector as part of its 2026 outlook. The group is moving into next year with "steady fundamentals but slower growth" along with elevated trade uncertainty, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays believes companies with scale, strong revenue management, and omnichannel depth are best positioned.
BofA
Buy
maintain
$78 -> $80
2025-11-07
Reason
BofA
Price Target
$78 -> $80
2025-11-07
maintain
Buy
Reason
BofA raised the firm's price target on Coca-Cola to $80 from $78 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Since reporting Q3 results on October 21, Coca-Cola has released its 10-Q and had 8 publicly traded Coke bottlers report, notes the firm, which correlates bottler performance with the company's reported results to enhance visibility into volume dynamics.
Freedom Capital
Georgy Vashchenko
Hold
maintain
$78
2025-10-31
Reason
Freedom Capital
Georgy Vashchenko
Price Target
$78
2025-10-31
maintain
Hold
Reason
Freedom Capital analyst Georgy Vashchenko raised the firm's price target on Coca-Cola to $78 from $73.20 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm said its investment thesis remains unchanged, though its new price target implies a 14% upside potential. The upward revision reflects improved expectations for operating profitability over the forecast period, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Barclays
Lauren Lieberman
Overweight
maintain
$71 -> $77
2025-10-23
Reason
Barclays
Lauren Lieberman
Price Target
$71 -> $77
2025-10-23
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Barclays analyst Lauren Lieberman raised the firm's price target on Coca-Cola to $77 from $71 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company cleared the bar this quarter and reinforced to the market its "best-in-class" sales visibility, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
About KO
The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company. The Company's segments include Europe, Middle East and Africa; Latin America; North America; Asia Pacific; Global Ventures; and Bottling Investments. It sells multiple brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Its portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Its water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Its juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. It operates in two lines of business: concentrate operations and finished product operations. Its concentrate operations sell beverage concentrates, syrups, including fountain syrups, and certain finished beverages to authorized bottling operations. Its finished product operations sell sparkling soft drinks and a variety of other finished beverages.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
