Coca-Cola's (KO) financial performance in Q3 2024 shows a slight decline in net operating revenues compared to the same period in 2023. The total net operating revenues for the three months ended September 27, 2024, were $11,854 million, down from $11,953 million in the previous year. This decrease is primarily due to a decline in international revenues, which fell from $7,542 million to $6,951 million, despite an increase in U.S. revenues from $4,411 million to $4,903 million.

Segment results reveal varied performance across regions. The operating margin for the consolidated company decreased to 21.2% from 27.4% in the same quarter of the previous year. Notably, the Europe, Middle East & Africa segment saw a decline in operating margin from 56.6% to 52.9%, and Latin America from 62.5% to 56.9%. North America and Asia Pacific also experienced slight decreases in operating margins.

Strategic initiatives include refranchising efforts in the bottling operations, particularly in the Philippines and Bangladesh, which impacted the Bottling Investments segment. This segment saw a significant decrease in unit case volume by 22%, largely due to these refranchising activities.

Growth drivers include favorable pricing initiatives across various regions, such as inflationary pricing in Nigeria, Türkiye, and Zimbabwe, and favorable geographic mix in Latin America and North America. However, these were partially offset by unfavorable channel mix in North America and product mix in Global Ventures.

Risk drivers are highlighted by potential tax liabilities. The company faces a potential aggregate remaining incremental tax and interest liability of approximately $10 billion for the tax years 2010 through 2023, with an additional $1.1 billion for the nine months ended September 27, 2024. This could increase the company's effective tax rate by approximately 3.5%.

Interest income and expense trends show an increase. Interest income rose by 23% for the nine months ended September 27, 2024, driven by higher average investment balances. Conversely, interest expense increased by 10% due to higher debt balances and interest rates on derivative instruments.

Coca-Cola's equity income increased by 5% in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023, reflecting favorable operating results from equity method investees and a decrease in net charges from significant items recorded by these investees.