Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents, beating the street view of 57 cents. Quarterly sales of $4.07 billion (+5.2% year over year), outpaced the analyst consensus estimate of $4.02 billion.
Adjusted operating income increased by 3.4% to $1.129 billion. Adjusted operating margin in the quarter under review was 27.7%, lower than 28.5% in the year-ago period.
Operating cash flow for the fourth quarter increased 185.9% to $849 million and free cash flow increased 380.4% to $687 million.
US Refreshment Beverages saw a 10.3% increase in net sales, reaching $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter. US Coffee experienced a 2.4% decline in net sales, totaling $1.1 billion. International net sales grew by 0.8%, reaching $0.5 billion in the same period.
The Plano, Texas-based company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $510 million.
Outlook: The company expects mid-single-digit net sales growth and high-single-digit adjusted diluted EPS growth in 2025 on a constant currency basis, factoring in the 60% stake of Ghost.
"Though the operating backdrop is demanding, we are confident that our strategic progress and business momentum will translate into yet another set of compelling, on-algorithm results in 2025," CEO Tim Cofer stated.
However, foreign currency translation is projected to create a one- to two-percentage point headwind to both top- and bottom-line growth for the full year.
Price Action: KDP shares are trading higher by 2.98% to $34.99 premarket at last check Tuesday.
