The Coca-Cola Company

Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton created Coca-Cola in 1886. On May 8 that year the first glass sold for five cents at Jacobs’ Pharmacy, a soda fountain.⁠[1]

Businessman Asa Candler began buying the formula rights in 1888 and in 1892 founded The Coca-Cola Company as a Georgia corporation.⁠[1]

In 1899 Candler sold most U.S. bottling rights to Thomas and Whitehead for $1, and Chattanooga became the first city to bottle under the contract.⁠[2]

The early formula used cocaine from the coca leaf and kola nut extracts. The cocaine was removed in about 1903.⁠[3]

In 1919 Candler sold the company to Ernest Woodruff for $25 million. That year it made its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, selling half a million shares at $40 each.⁠[4]

Robert W. Woodruff was elected president of the company in 1923.⁠[2]

Fanta Orange was introduced in Naples, Italy, in 1955, the first new product the company distributed.⁠[2]

The company bought Minute Maid in 1960 to enter citrus juice, introduced Sprite in 1961 and launched Tab, its first diet cola, in 1963.⁠[3]

The company introduced Diet Coke in 1982 and held a controlling interest in Columbia Pictures from 1982 to 1989.⁠[3]

On April 23, 1985, under CEO Roberto Goizueta, the company changed its formula for the first time in 99 years. New Coke drew a consumer backlash, and on July 11, 79 days later, the original returned as Coca-Cola Classic.⁠[5]

The company’s stock was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 12, 1987.⁠[6]

In October 1997 Roberto Goizueta, who had led the company for 16 years, died of lung cancer at 65, and the board elected M. Douglas Ivester chairman and CEO.⁠[7]

In 1999 a contamination scare that began in Belgium spread across Europe and hurt the brand. On December 6, 1999, Ivester announced he would resign in April 2000, and Douglas Daft was named president and chief operating officer.⁠[8]

On November 16, 2000, the company agreed to pay $192.5 million to settle a race discrimination class action filed in April 1999 by salaried Black U.S. employees, and to set up a task force to review its employment practices. It denied the claims.⁠[9]

On December 6, 2007, the company announced that Muhtar Kent would become CEO on July 1, 2008, and that Neville Isdell, who had returned in June 2004, would remain chairman until April 2009.⁠[10]

On March 18, 2009, China rejected the company’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Huiyuan Juice, saying it would hurt competition. It was a major first test of the anti-monopoly law in force since the previous August.⁠[11]

On October 3, 2010, the company completed its roughly $12.3 billion acquisition of bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises’ North American business, renamed Coca-Cola Refreshments.⁠[12]

In September 2015 the IRS sought about $3.3 billion in additional federal income tax for 2007 through 2009. On August 2, 2024, the U.S. Tax Court entered a decision of about $2.7 billion, or $6.0 billion with interest, and the company said it would appeal.⁠[13]

The Eleventh Circuit heard oral argument on June 25, 2026. The company has paid $6 billion and may owe up to $14 billion more if it loses.⁠[14]

On December 9, 2016, the company announced that president and chief operating officer James Quincey would succeed Muhtar Kent as CEO on May 1, 2017, with Kent remaining chairman.⁠[15]

On January 3, 2019, after approvals in the European Union and China, the company completed its $4.9 billion acquisition of coffee chain Costa from Whitbread PLC.⁠[16]

The company acquired the rest of dairy company fairlife from Select Dairy Producers, having held 42.5% through a joint venture.⁠[17]

On November 1, 2021, the company paid $5.6 billion for the remaining 85% of sports drink BodyArmor, its largest-ever brand acquisition. It had bought a 15% stake in 2018.⁠[18]

In May 2025 the company refranchised bottling operations in certain territories in India, and in October 2025 it sold its finished product operations in Nigeria.⁠[19]

On October 21, 2025, the company agreed to sell 41.52% of its 66.52% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to Coca-Cola HBC AG, valuing all of it at $3.4 billion. The bottler operates in 14 countries.⁠[20]

On December 10, 2025, the company named chief operating officer Henrique Braun to succeed James Quincey, CEO for nine years, effective March 31, 2026, with Quincey becoming executive chairman.⁠[21]

In 2025 net operating revenues were $47.941 billion, up 2%, and net income attributable to shareowners was $13.107 billion. The company made a $6.1 billion contingent payment related to the 2020 fairlife acquisition.⁠[19]

Its operating segments are EMEA, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Bottling Investments. The system sold 33.8 billion unit cases in 2025, and the company had about 65,900 employees on December 31, 2025.⁠[22]

On October 27, 2026, the company announced third-quarter net revenues of $13.4 billion, up 7%, and raised its full-year organic revenue growth outlook to at least 5%. It expected the sale of its African bottling operations to close in the fourth quarter.⁠[23]