Coca-Cola's new CEO can boast about something that 'Magnificent 7' members Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg can't

Coca-Cola's new CEO can boast about something that 'Magnificent 7' members Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg can't Brian Sozzi · Executive Editor Tue, August 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM GMT+2 2 min read KO META TSLA It has been a good start to the CEO reign of Coca-Cola's ( KO ) Henrique Braun, a company lifer who took over the corner office in March. Shares of the beverage giant are trading at a record high, up 32% year to date alone. What's more, Coca-Cola shares — often thought of as a boring investment because, hey, they sell soda and juice — have outperformed every member of the "Magnificent Seven" tech complex this year, per  Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace  data.

While Coke's stock has bubbled up, Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta ( META ) is down by 15%, and Elon Musk's Tesla ( TSLA ) is off by 22% (the latter being the worst-performing Magnificent Seven member in 2026). Score one for the expense-watching middle managers at Coke — a completely different approach than the likes of Meta (aggressively building massive AI data centers) and Tesla (aggressively building robots and robotaxis). The investment thesis at Coke has been a classic case of an old-school consumer-products business being reinvented, with a heavy dose of cost cuts and safe-haven appeal in an uncertain world.

Coca-Cola posted a solid second quarter, delivering $13. 4 billion in net revenue (up 7% year-over-year) and a 16% jump in earnings per share to $1. 03.

The outperformance was fueled by a 6% increase in organic revenue and a 5% increase in global unit case volume, driven by high-margin products like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and by key international growth markets. Pricing power, operational efficiencies, and favorable currency tailwinds allowed the company to expand its comparable operating margins and raise its full-year earnings guidance. Furthermore, investors have bid up shares as a premier defensive haven, seeking Coca-Cola's reliable cash flow and dividend stability amid recent market volatility and fluctuating bond yields.

"KO continues to demonstrate why it's the leading large cap global beverage company and deserves a relative valuation ahead of recent history," Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein wrote in a note. "We believe it is a must own name for long-term income-oriented investors looking for the potential to compound returns at ~10% rate. " Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the ' Power Players With Brian Sozzi' podcast and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team.

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sozzi@yahoofinance. com.