Dive Brief:
- At Coca-Cola's annual meeting, Warren Buffett appeared as a surprise guest, introduced via a video of him playing "I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke" on a ukulele with a red body and acoustic hole shaped like a Coke bottle.
- Buffett told CEO Muhtar Kent that "he believes in the company, its products and its ability to adjust to consumer tastes," according to Bloomberg. Buffett told meeting attendees that the company should listen to consumers and keep prices reasonable to be successful. He also negated health concerns, saying that he consumes one-quarter of his daily calories through Coca-Cola and still feels healthy.
- Meanwhile, "Coca-Cola shareholders backed a controversial executive pay package Wednesday and nearly approved a 'proxy access' proposal that would have made it easier for investors to nominate directors," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Dive Insight:
This pick-me-up comes at a crucial time for Coca-Cola, which faces a decades' worth of down years for the soda industry. Diet Coke saw a 6% loss in volume over last year's first quarter, which Coca-Cola announced in its most recent earnings report.
However, the company did see a 1% increase in net revenue and an 8% boost in organic revenue. The company is also looking toward its nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages segment, where it saw global value share growth, for increased sales and volume as well. Buffett's song and dance may have been uplifting, but improvement in next quarter's earnings would please shareholders and executives even more.