Coca-Cola Annual Report 2021 Form 10-K (NYSE:KO) Published: February 25th, 2021 PDF generated by stocklight.com UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File Number 001-02217 ko-20201231_g1.jpg COCA COLA CO (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 58-0628465 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) One Coca-Cola Plaza Atlanta, Georgia 30313 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (404) 676-2121 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, $0.25 Par Value KO New York Stock Exchange Floating Rate Notes Due 2021 KO21C New York Stock Exchange 0.75% Notes Due 2023 KO23B New York Stock Exchange 0.500% Notes Due 2024 KO24 New York Stock Exchange 1.875% Notes Due 2026 KO26 New York Stock Exchange 0.750% Notes Due 2026 KO26C New York Stock Exchange 1.125% Notes Due 2027 KO27 New York Stock Exchange 0.125% Notes Due 2029 KO29A New York Stock Exchange 1.250% Notes Due 2031 KO31 New York Stock Exchange 0.375% Notes Due 2033 KO33 New York Stock Exchange 1.625% Notes Due 2035 KO35 New York Stock Exchange 1.100% Notes Due 2036 KO36 New York Stock Exchange 0.800% Notes Due 2040 KO40B New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None __________________________________________________ Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report ☒ Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒ The aggregate market value of the common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant (assuming for these purposes, but without conceding, that all executive officers and Directors are "affiliates" of the Registrant) as of June 26, 2020, the last business day of the Registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $185,656,336,397 (based on the closing sale price of the Registrant's Common Stock on that date as reported on the New York Stock Exchange). The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant's Common Stock as of February 22, 2021 was 4,309,311,676. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the Company's Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareowners to be held on April 20, 2021 are incorporated by reference in Part III. THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES Table of Contents Page Forward-Looking Statements 2 Part I Item 1. Business 2 Item 1A. Risk Factors 11 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 25 Item 2. Properties 25 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 26 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 28 Item X. Information About Our Executive Officers 28 Part II Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 31 Item 6. Intentionally Omitted 33 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 33 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 61 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 63 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 136 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 136 Item 9B. Other Information 136 Part III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 136 Item 11. Executive Compensation 136 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 136 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 136 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 137 Part IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 137 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 146 Signatures 147 1 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This report contains information that may constitute "forward-looking statements." Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to volume growth, share of sales and earnings per share growth, and statements expressing general views about future operating results — are forward-looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. Our Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our Company's actual results to differ materially from historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the assumptions used to calculate our estimated aggregate incremental tax and interest liability related to the potential unfavorable outcome of the ongoing tax dispute with the United States Internal Revenue Service could significantly change; those described in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this report; and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Part I ITEM 1. BUSINESS In this report, the terms "The Coca-Cola Company," "Company," "we," "us" and "our" mean The Coca-Cola Company and all entities included in our consolidated financial statements. General The Coca-Cola Company is a total beverage company, and beverage products bearing our trademarks, sold in the United States since 1886, are now sold in more than 200 countries and territories. We own or license and market numerous nonalcoholic beverage brands, which we group into the following category clusters: sparkling soft drinks; water, enhanced water and sports drinks; juice, dairy and plant-based beverages; tea and coffee; and energy drinks. We own and market four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling soft drink brands: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. We make our branded beverage products available to consumers throughout the world through our network of independent bottling partners, distributors, wholesalers and retailers as well as our consolidated bottling and distribution operations — the world's largest nonalcoholic beverage distribution system. Beverages bearing trademarks owned by or licensed to the Company account for 1.9 billion of the approximately 62 billion servings of all beverages consumed worldwide every day. We believe our success depends on our ability to connect with consumers by providing them with a wide variety of beverage options to meet their desires, needs and lifestyles. Our success further depends on the ability of our people to execute effectively, every day. We are guided by our purpose, which is to refresh the world and make a difference, and rooted in our strategy to drive net operating revenue growth and generate long-term value. We are determined to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic a better and stronger company. The vision for our next stage of growth has three connected pillars: • Loved Brands. We craft meaningful brands and a choice of drinks that people love and that refresh them in body and spirit.