Coca-Cola (KO) Analysis

Coca-Cola Corporation and its Competitors
Coca-Cola was discovered as a result of an accident. In 1886 a pharmacist named John Pemberton cooked up medicinal syrup. When he was done, he figured he had created a fine tonic for people who were tired, nervous, or plagued with sore teeth. He and his assistant mixed it with ice water, sipped it, and proclaimed it tasty. They wanted some more, and the assistant accidentally used carbonated water to mix the second batch. Instead of medicine, these men had created a fizzy beverage - one that is now consumed around the world. Today people guzzle 1 billion drinks a day from the Coca-Cola Company. But this new beverage was not an instant success. In the first year,
Resources are inputs into a firm's production process, such as capital, equipment, skills of individual employees, patents, finance, and talented managers. Resources are either tangible or intangible in nature. With increasing effectiveness, the set of resources available to the firm tends to become larger. Individual resources may not yield to a competitive advantage. It is through the synergistic combination and integration of sets of resources that competitive advantages are formed.

Coca-Cola Company resources might be divided into five categories: (1) Financial Capital; (2) Physical Capital; (3) Human Capital; (4) Organizational Capital; (5) Brand Capital. Net operating revenues, gross profit, operating income, income before income taxes, and net income per share are key measurements of the key operating performance of the company. In 2004, net operating revenues totaled approximately $22B, a 4% increase from 2003. Gross profit totaled approximately $14.3B in 2004, an 8% increase from 2003. Operating income was approximately $5.7B, a 9% increase from 2003. Net income per share was $2 for 2004, a 13% increase from 2003. (SEC, 2005). Based on the financial results of the first quarter of 2005, cash from operations was $1.4B, compared with $1.2B in the prior year period, an increase of 18 percent. The Company intends to