The Coca-Cola Company has confirmed it will retain full ownership of Costa Coffee, ruling out an immediate sale and pledging to focus on improving performance – as the drinks giant posted steady top-line growth for 2025.
Chief financial officer John Murphy told Bloomberg the company had decided to keep Costa “100 per cent owned inside our portfolio”, adding there are “no immediate plans to do anything with Costa other than to get it performing even better”.
Murphy said Costa continues to trade well in core markets including the UK, Ireland and parts of Western Europe. However, he acknowledged that the China business has underperformed expectations, describing the market as “more challenging than we expected” and confirming it remains under review throughout 2026. No decision has been taken on a potential exit, he added.
He also highlighted mixed progress for Costa’s Express self-serve touchscreen kiosks. While the format has performed strongly in the UK and Ireland convenience and forecourt channels, scaling internationally has proved more complex, with supply chain and logistics expansion “more difficult than we thought”.
Reports last year said Coca-Cola had been working with investment bank Lazard to review options, including a potential sale, of the British coffee chain, which the soft drink giant acquired in 2018 for over $5 billion.
The update came as Coca-Cola reported fourth-quarter net revenues up 2 per cent to $11.8 billion (£8.66bn), with organic revenues rising 5 per cent. Full-year net revenues also increased 2 per cent to $47.9bn, with organic revenues up 5 per cent, driven by 4 per cent price/mix growth.
Global unit case volume grew 1 per cent in the quarter and was flat for the full year. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar delivered standout performance, up 13 per cent in Q4 and 14 per cent across the year, while water, sports, coffee and tea grew 3 per cent in the quarter and 2 per cent for the full year.
Operating income declined 32 per cent in Q4, reflecting a $960m non-cash impairment charge linked to the BODYARMOR trademark and currency headwinds. For the full year, operating income rose 38 per cent, while comparable currency-neutral operating income increased 13 per cent.
Full-year EPS grew 23 per cent to $3.04, with comparable EPS up 4 per cent to $3.00. Cash flow from operations reached $7.4bn, with free cash flow of $5.3bn.