KO News & Events

Shares of Bellring Brands (BRBR) after Coca-Cola (KO) CEO James Quincey highlighted the strength of protein demand during an interview with CNBC. BellRing's brands include Premier Protein, a ready-to-drink protein brand, and Dymatize, a hydrolyzed protein powder. Quincey said customers are moving towards coffee as well as protein sports drinks. Coca-Cola's Fairlife power protein product was one of its biggest growing brands U.S. last year, according to Quincey. "It's still relatively early days in the consumption of GLP-1, but you definitely see a shift across food and beverages," Quincey added. Shares of BellRing are up 9% to $25.98 in midday trading.

The major averages were broadly lower for the second straight day as investors navigate a busy week of earnings and economic data. Sentiment has softened after Tuesday's session saw key benchmarks retreat amid political and monetary policy uncertainty despite a cooler-than-expected inflation reading that underpinned rate-cut hopes. Financial stocks have been under pressure with mixed earnings results from major banks, and geopolitical and policy risks have further tempered risk appetite.Precious metals continue to be a standout theme, with gold and silver reaching fresh all-time highs as traders hedge against economic and policy uncertainty and lean into the safe-haven trade.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Bank of Americareported, though the company said it expects its headcount to "come down" this yearCitireportedand provided guidance for FY26Wells Fargoreported upbeat Q4 earnings, though revenue for the quarter wasPalo Alto Networks, Broadcom'sVMware, and Fortinetare among U.S. firms whose cybersecurity software has been banned in China, while Check Pointis among Israeli companies banned there,Google'sGemini introduced AI personalization tool2. WALL STREET CALLS:StephensOktaand Check Pointto Overweight amid durable growth in cybersecurityRivianto Sell at UBSTD CowenBlackRockto HoldTapestryat Hold from Buy at JefferiesUberwith an Outperform at BNP Paribas3. AROUND THE WEB:Metaconfirmed that it is cutting more than 1,000 jobs from the Reality Labs division as part of a plan to redirect resources from virtual reality and metaverse products toward AI wearables and phone features, Bloomberg saysNvidiais denying that it will require Chinese customers to pay upfront for its H200 chips, saying it "would never require customers to pay for products they do not receive," Reuters reportsXpengis looking to sell 550,000-600,000 vehicles this year, or a 28%-40% increase from its sales last year, when the automaker delivered 429,445 cars, up 126% from 2024, Reuters saysCoca-Colahas ended talks to sell Costa Coffee after bids from potential private equity suitors fell below expectations, FT reportsShelland Exxon Mobilhave halted the intended sale of natural gas assets in Britain's Southern North Sea to Viaro Energy, Reuters reports4. MOVERS:Clover Healthhigher after announcing 3% year-over-yearin its Medicare Advantage PPO plans for the 2026 plan yearTG Therapeuticsincreases afterand providing guidance for FY26ImmunityBiogains after the Saudi Food and Drug Authority hasof ANKTIVATrip.comlower in New York after receiving afrom the State Administration for Market Regulations of the People's Republic of ChinaBitfarmsfalls in New York afterof the Board5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCEInfosys, with CEO Salil Parekh commenting, "Infosys delivered a strong Q3 performance"RedCloudview and provided guidance for FY26Aveannafor FY25Intuitive SurgicalHorizon Aircraft, with EPS lower year-over-yearINDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was down 0.61%, or 301.74, to 48,890.25, the Nasdaq was down 1.63%, or 386.02, to 23,323.85, and the S&P 500 was down 1.09%, or 75.65, to 6,888.09.

To unify digital, data and operational excellence across the company, Coca-Cola is creating the new role of Chief Digital Officer. Sedef Salingan Sahin, who currently serves as president of the company's Eurasia and Middle East operating unit, will take on this new position, reporting to Braun. Sahin will lead the next chapter of Coca-Cola's digital journey, integrating the company's digital network and connecting work across related functions. Sahin, who joined Coca-Cola in 2003, served as president of the company's nutrition, juice, dairy and plant category in the marketing organization before taking her current role in the Eurasia and Middle East operating unit.

Coca-Cola has ended talks to sell Costa Coffee after bids from potential private equity suitors fell below expectations, Sam Chambers, Ivan Levingston and Ashley Armstrong of The Financial Times report. According to two people familiar with the matter, Coca-Cola ended talks with remaining bidders, including Asda owner TDR Capital and Bain Capital's special situations fund, for Costa in December. Coca-Cola had been seeking about GBP 2B after paying GBP 3.9B for the U.K. coffee chain in 2018.