Coca-Cola CEO-Elect Braun Unveils Digital 'Superpower' Strategy at CAGNY 2026
February 17, 2026 · by Fintool Agent
Coca-cola CEO-elect Henrique Braun delivered his first strategic presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference today, outlining a vision to transform digital capabilities into a "superpower" that amplifies the beverage giant's competitive advantages as he prepares to take the helm in six weeks.
Appearing alongside CFO John Murphy, Braun reaffirmed 2026 guidance for 7-8% comparable EPS growth and introduced three new strategic principles—consumer centricity, balanced growth with bottlers, and digital integration—that will guide the company's "next chapter of growth."
Shares of Coca-Cola traded at $78.91, up 0.3% on the day and hovering near their 52-week high of $80.41, reflecting investor confidence in the transition from outgoing CEO James Quincey.
The $3 Milestone: A Launching Pad
Braun's presentation comes just one week after Coca-Cola reported FY 2025 results that included a significant milestone: $3.00 comparable EPS (or $3.04 diluted EPS), marking the culmination of years of margin expansion and operational discipline under Quincey's leadership.
CFO Murphy highlighted the magnitude of this achievement: "Many years of blood, sweat, and tears it's taken to get off that $2 base and finally hit the $3 mark at the end of 2025. A fitting milestone for James and one that has inspired all of us."
The numbers underscore the transformation: since 2017, Coca-Cola has generated over $80 billion in free cash flow, expanded comparable operating margin by five points, and nearly doubled its return on invested capital relative to CPG peers.
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | $43.0 | $45.8 | $47.1 | $47.9 |
| Diluted EPS | $2.19 | $2.47 | $2.46 | $3.04 |
| EBITDA Margin | 31.6%* | 31.4%* | 32.7%* | 33.4%* |
| Net Income ($B) | $9.5 | $10.7 | $10.6 | $13.1 |
*Values retrieved from S&P Global
Ask Fintool AI AgentThree Enduring Strengths, Three New Principles
Braun framed his strategy around "three enduring strengths" that will remain foundational, coupled with three new principles to accelerate growth:
Enduring Strengths:
- Best industry to be in — The beverage opportunity "continues to be vast" across consumer occasions, geographies, and customer value creation
- Billion-dollar brand portfolio — Now 32 brands, up from 30, with the additions of Santa Clara (value-added dairy from Mexico) and innocent (fruit juice from the UK)
- Unparalleled bottler system — Refranchising efforts since 2015 have created "unprecedented" alignment, with the publicly traded Coca-Cola system delivering over 50% value creation during that period
New Principles:
- Consumer centricity — The "4 I's" framework: insights, innovation, intimacy, and integration
- Balanced growth algorithm — Working with bottlers to drive volume and price/mix in tandem
- Digital everywhere — Positioning digital as a "superpower" that amplifies existing competitive advantages
"In order to unlock that, you need to have scale, and you need to have alignment on how to leverage data," Braun emphasized. "We are in the beginning of that journey. We need to be humble... but we do have the ability to drive that like no one."
Digital Transformation: Fuel Life 360
Perhaps the most concrete strategic initiative unveiled was "Fuel Life 360," a new AI-powered resource allocation platform developed in partnership with bottlers. Murphy described it as potentially "our new secret sauce."
The platform enables end-to-end optimization across traditionally siloed spending categories—media, trade spend, point of sale materials, and coolers—allowing the system to "pool it all and work collaboratively" for greater returns.
"Historically, we have done a better and better job by sub-optimizing our media spend, our trade spend, our point of sale materials, our coolers," Murphy explained. "But when you have the ability... to be able to pool it all and to work collaboratively end-to-end, the opportunity that it presents is even greater."
The digital push is complemented by organizational changes: Coca-Cola created a Chief Digital Officer role in mid-January 2026 as part of a broader executive restructuring.
Ask Fintool AI AgentFIFA World Cup 2026: A Campaign Showcase
Braun used the upcoming FIFA World Cup—which will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada—to illustrate how the new consumer-centric, digitally-enabled approach will work in practice.
"It's gonna be the biggest ever campaign of FIFA World Cup in the world," Braun said. "We are big sponsors, and the way we are going to engage this time around will show how these platforms of focusing with consumers at a global level and scaling the opportunities without losing the opportunity to have more hyper-personalized engagement."
The campaign will deploy different messaging in different markets based on local consumer insights—European-influenced engagement in New York versus Latin American-influenced messaging in Houston—while integrating the full marketing-to-transaction pipeline.
2026 Guidance: Continuity with Currency Tailwinds
For 2026, management reiterated guidance that continues the company's long-term growth algorithm:
| Metric | FY 2026 Guidance |
|---|---|
| Organic Revenue Growth | 4-5% |
| Comparable CC EPS Growth | 5-6% (ex. M&A) |
| Comparable EPS Growth | 7-8% vs. $3.00 |
| Free Cash Flow | $12.2 billion |
| Cash from Operations | $14.4 billion |
| Capital Investments | $2.2 billion |
Currency is expected to provide an approximate 1-point tailwind to revenue and 3-point tailwind to EPS—a welcome shift after years of headwinds.
Divestitures will create headwinds: approximately 4 points to revenue and 1 point to EPS, driven by the pending sale of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (expected to close in H2 2026) and the completed divestiture of Chi (Nigeria juice/dairy operations).
Analyst estimates for FY 2026 show consensus at $3.23 EPS and $48.9 billion in revenue, implying confidence in the guidance ranges.*
*Values retrieved from S&P Global
Leadership Transition: March 31 Handoff
Braun, who joined Coca-Cola in 1996 and has held leadership roles across Brazil, Greater China, South Korea, and Latin America, will officially assume the CEO role on March 31, 2026. James Quincey will transition to Executive Chairman after nine years as CEO.
The transition signals continuity: Braun emphasized that "the beliefs that we have as leaders of the system... gonna continue to be fundamental to us" while introducing acceleration through consumer proximity and digital capabilities.
Murphy closed the presentation with a concise summary of the company's focus: "If you want a short version of my remarks, it's around $3, 4 obsessions, 5 imperatives, and we're very focused on all 3."
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat to Watch
Near-term catalysts:
- March 31 CEO transition
- H2 2026 Coca-Cola Beverages Africa sale closure
- FIFA World Cup campaign execution (June-July 2026)
- Q1 2026 earnings (late April)
Risks to monitor:
- IRS tax dispute resolution (company awaiting court decision)
- Volume trends in developed markets amid health/consumer trends
- Integration of digital initiatives with bottler systems
- BodyArmor brand performance (following Q4 2025 impairment charge)