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☆ These are the top 10 holdings of Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio as of March 31. With various portfolio changes in the first quarter of the year, Berkshire Hathaway's top 10 holdings of US stocks has shifted, though Apple still represents a near 50% of the portfolio. In fact, the top 10 positions in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio make up a massive 90.2% of its entire portfolio. These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion US stock portfolio as of March 31. American ExpressCredit cards fill a display at American Express headquarters John Moore/Getty ImagesTicker: AXPPosition: $25.0 billionPercent of portfolio: 7.7%2.

☆ Kraft Heinz lifts profit outlook on price hikes, easing costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Aatrayee Chatterjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -Kraft Heinz Co raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday on the back of higher prices and sustained demand for its packaged food items as raw material costs, which have plagued the industry, also ease. FILE PHOTO: A Heinz Ketchup bottle sits between a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a bottle of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce on a grocery store shelf in New York March 25, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoShares of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese maker were up 3.9% in early trading after it also reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The strong outlook echoes comments from peers PepsiCo Inc and Mondelez, who have also lifted annual forecasts supported by price increases. Excluding one-off items, Kraft Heinz earned 68 cents per share, topping analysts’ estimate of 60 cents per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ A 'Diet Coke break' is the latest example of Gen Zs and Millennials insisting on work-life balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea of "sharing a Coke," or taking a Diet Coke break, is also prominent in the soda brand's advertising history. Seninger says she's always been a "Diet Coke break girl" — even before she started posting about it on TikTok last year. A Diet Coke break helps me to romanticize that part of my day and take a break," Seninger said. In another TikTok, a creator captioned her Diet Coke break video: "Studies show Diet Coke breaks significantly improve one's mental health." In the past, he's said he drinks a minimum of five cans of Diet Coke or Cherry Coke a day.

Cost inflation rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and was exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which sent energy prices to record highs last year. Energy costs have since dropped, however, while global prices for some commodities are rising more slowly. Companies like Nestle (NESN.S), Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L) and Danone (DANO.PA) continued to raise prices sharply in the first quarter even though input costs are easing. First quarter price/mix, a basket of variables the company uses to help determine what prices to charge, rose 12.4% while sales volumes declined 4.5%. Similarly, Nestle increased its prices by 9.8% during the quarter and sales volumes - which the company calls real internal growth - fell only 0.5%.

☆ Coca-Cola’s CFO Expects to Slow Price Hikes as Inflation Cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Coca-Cola is using lessons learned over the past few years with the pandemic to keep up with and pivot based on consumer preferences. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated PressAfter increasing prices last year and into 2023 to offset the impact of inflation, Coca-Cola Co. is expecting to slow price hikes later this year. The Atlanta-based beverage giant anticipates that inflationary pressures will moderate this year, particularly in the second half of 2023, and that means it will institute fewer price increases. “Our approach to pricing, whether it’s in inflationary times or not, is to make sure that we keep pace with inflation,” said President and Chief Financial Officer John Murphy . “Our pricing in 2022 and even in some markets in the early part of 2023 reflects that.”

☆ Coca-Cola Posts Higher Sales as Consumers Buy Drinks Away From Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Coca-Cola’s global sales topped analysts’ expectations, as sales of its soft drinks and water ticked up. Photo: GABBY JONES for The Wall Street JournalCoca-Cola Co. saw first-quarter sales rise as customers bought more beverages on the go. The beverage company said global sales rose 5% in the first three months of the year to $10.98 billion, topping analyst expectations for $10.8 billion.

☆ Coca-Cola Earnings Posts Higher Sales as Consumers Buy Drinks Away From Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo illustration: Adele MorganCoca-Cola Co. saw first-quarter sales rise as customers bought more beverages on the go. The beverage company said global sales rose 5% in the first three months of the year to $10.98 billion, topping analyst expectations for $10.8 billion.

April 24 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) on Monday topped estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on resilient demand for its sodas and multiple price increases by the beverages maker to combat higher commodity and shipping costs. Average selling prices increased 11%, the maker of Fanta and Sprite said, while global unit case volumes rose 3%. Coca-Cola said in February it would raise soda prices further in 2023 "across the world" to combat the stubbornly high costs but at a moderating pace, while rival PepsiCo (PEP.O) hit a pause on price hikes. Still, Pepsi and Coca-Cola faced little or no pushback from consumers, thanks to their near domination of the global carbonated drinks market. Coca-Cola's first-quarter operating margin was 30.7%, compared to 32.5% a year earlier, as price hikes did not fully help offset an impact from higher operating costs, an increase in marketing spending, investments and a stronger dollar.

☆ How PepsiCo is trying to get Doritos and Cheetos bags into compost bins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But more chip bags and snack containers being sold also means more waste from plastic and other packaging materials, something PepsiCo is aiming to take on. "Two years ago, if you think about our multipack packages, there was one plastic [packaging] outside, and each multipack serving," he said. McDonald's recently agreed under pressure from activist shareholders to produce a report on reusable packaging in exchange for having a shareholder vote on the issue rescinded. As far back as 2019, both Coke and Pepsi had already cut ties with a plastics industry association, and issued previous goals related to recyclable, compostable and reusable packaging. Taking what it learned from creating the Off The Eaten Path's packaging, Frito-Lay has introduced other packaging made from 85% renewable plant materials that produce roughly 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional snack bags.

☆ Costa Coffee raises UK staff pay for third time in a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Costa Coffee has followed rival Pret A Manger in raising pay for its British store staff for the third time in a year. The UK government-mandated National Living Wage will rise to 10.42 pounds an hour from April, an increase of 9.7%. Costa Coffee said its latest rise takes the increase over the last 12 months to over 14%. Rival Pret announced another pay rise for its staff last week, while food retailers Tesco (TSCO.L), Asda and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) have also all recently announced increases. Costa Coffee said it also provides workers with a store performance related bonus, free drinks while on shift and a 50% staff discount.

☆ EU antitrust regulators scrap investigation into Coca-Cola, bottlers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday scrapped an investigation into potential anti-competitive practices by The Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and its bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCHB.UL), citing insufficient ground for the case. It subsequently collected information from Coca-Cola and its bottlers, retailers and competitors. "Based on the evidence collected, the Commission has concluded that there is insufficient ground to further pursue the investigation," the EU competition enforcer said in a statement. "The closure of the investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules," it said. (This story has been refiled to correct the company's name in the headline)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods remain easy to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market. Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia. IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.

☆ Walmart cautious on economy, forecasts annual earnings below estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) forecast full-year earnings below estimates on Tuesday, saying it was cautious about the economic outlook for 2023 and that consumers were likely to continue shopping for lower-priced items that could pressure its margins. "There's still a lot of trepidation and uncertainty with the economic outlook. "So, that makes us cautious on the economic outlook because we simply don't know what we don't know." Walmart forecast fiscal 2024 earnings of $5.90 to $6.05 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of $6.50 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Still, Walmart reported strong demand in the quarter ended Jan. 31, posting total revenue of $164.05 billion, a 7.3% increase from last year.

☆ Analysis: To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But, there are small signs the pressure is easing, with U.S. consumer prices a month earlier declining for the first time in two-and-a-half years, due in part to gas prices. Price hikes - or halts - are set to take center stage at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference on Feb. 20 in Boca Raton, Florida. DIFFERENT PREDICTIONSAfter more than a year of consistent price hikes, some consumer goods makers such as Kraft Mac & Cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) are pressing pause as they weigh consumer demand for their items. Frozen pizza prices have risen about 14% in the last year, according to IRI data. "Retailers cannot truly push back on prices … if the company has an important brand," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said.

☆ Fashion Faces Recycling Fees Similar to Other Industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Electronics and packaging companies have banded together to help pay for recycling programs under government rules. EPR programs charge producers tiny fees—often a fraction of a penny—on individual items to fund waste collection and recycling. The fees from the relevant products, such as packaging, electronics or clothing, then fund recycling, including infrastructure, collection, sorting and public communications. Recycling successEPR programs can significantly boost recycling rates, according to a study published this month from the Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit group. It is expanding its textile recycling beyond its customer network, which includes Levi Strauss & Co. and VF Corp. -owned The North Face.

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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoFeb 16 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc's (WMT.N) results on Tuesday will provide Wall Street with new details on what items American shoppers are buying as rising grocery prices squeeze their wallets. In December, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said "we do not like" that some suppliers were hinting at raising prices further in 2023. He warned that Walmart would allocate space to private and tertiary brands if prices got too high. KitKat maker Nestle on Thursday said further price hikes were necessary to offset commodity costs. Still, Wall Street expects Walmart sales and revenue to rise in 2023 as its shipping and logistics costs moderate, even as labor expenses go up.

"Consumers are looking for convenient, filling, and nutritious meals, while at the same time paying more attention to the price tag," Kraft's chief executive Miguel Patricio said, adding the company would halt fresh price hikes in North America, Europe, Latin America and most of Asia. Retailers have also been increasingly opposing food manufacturers' price hikes. Last year, Kraft briefly stopped supplying some products to Tesco (TSCO.L) due to pricing disagreements with the British supermarket chain. It said average selling prices rose 15.2 percentage points in the fourth quarter, while sales volumes declined 4.8 percentage points. Net sales rose 10% to $7.38 billion, beating the estimate of $7.27 billion.

☆ Coca-Cola Earnings Drop as Stronger Dollar Weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Coca-Cola’s earnings were in line with analyst expectations on an adjusted basis. Coca-Cola Co. said profit fell in the fourth quarter from a stronger dollar, while revenue rose 7% as higher prices offset a decline in sales volume. For the current year, Coke expects sales growth to slow, with organic revenue, which strips out the effects of foreign-currency fluctuations, acquisitions and divestitures, projected to grow between 7% and 8%. That is down from 16% in 2022.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) recovered after a weak open, boosted by 4% gains in Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O). Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors rose, with consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) and technology (.SPLRCT) leading the gains. "I don't think (this report) moves the needle for the Fed, and I suspect they're taking a hard look at the data. The rally, however, stalled last week on signs of a tight labor market and hawkish commentary from Fed policymakers. Money market traders have priced in at least two more 25 basis point rate hikes this year and see interest rates peaking at 5.2% by July.

☆ Coca-Cola forecasts upbeat annual profit on steady demand, price hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Ananya Mariam Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of the company rose about 1% in premarket trading. Average selling prices rose 12% in the fourth quarter, the maker of Sprite and Fanta said, while unit case volumes slipped 1%. Last week, PepsiCo said it would not raise prices of its sodas and snacks further after multiple rounds of price hikes last year. The company sees 2023 organic revenue growth of 7% to 8%. The beverage maker's fourth-quarter net revenue rose 7% to about $10.1 billion compared with estimates of about $10 billion.

Futures were volatile after the Labor Department report showed consumer prices climbed 0.5% in January following a 0.1% rise in December. That was the smallest gain since October 2021 but slightly above market forecast of a 6.2% rise. "I don't think (this report) moves the needle for the Fed, and I suspect they're taking a hard look at the data. Money market traders have priced in at least two more 25 basis point rate hikes this year and see interest rates peaking at 5.2% by July. Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) slipped 0.4% despite a strong full-year profit forecast from the soda maker.

☆ Coca-Cola partners with Rosalia on new drink
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Coca-Cola is releasing a new limited-edition flavor, Coca-Cola Move, in collaboration with Grammy-award winning singer Rosalía. As with its other high-concept flavors, Coca-Cola isn’t sharing what Move is actually supposed to taste like. Coca-Cola partners with Rosalía on a new drink, "Coca-Cola Move". The Coca-Cola CompanyFor Coca-Cola, the limited-edition items are a way to build buzz around its core product, Coke. In June, it co-created a Coke drink with Marshmello, a masked celebrity DJ and electronic music producer.

☆ PepsiCo says no more price hikes after better-than-expected quarterly results
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Ananya Mariam Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PepsiCo is in a "real sweet spot" in terms of consumers since they have enough money to buy themselves affordable treats, Johnston said. PepsiCo's North America beverages unit, which houses brands such as Mirinda and 7UP, posted an organic revenue growth of 10% in the fourth quarter. Average prices jumped 16% in the quarter, while organic volume slipped 2%. On an adjusted basis, PepsiCo earned $1.67 per share in the fourth quarter, beating estimates of $1.65, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kellogg beats sales and profit estimates, to keep plant-based business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Pringles maker, which is in the process of a three-way break-up of its business, also said it has decided to keep its plant-based business, which represents 2% of net sales, in-house. Kellogg had last June announced plans to explore strategic options for its profitable MorningStar Farms business. The company forecast organic sales growth of 5% to 7% for full year 2023, as it expects sustained demand for its snacks and emerging markets business region. Shares of the Michigan-based company rose 1.5% before the bell. Kellogg's net sales rose 12% to $3.83 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

☆ PepsiCo's price increases drive quarterly results beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PepsiCo expects inflationary pressures to persist in 2023 and even though it sees resilient consumer demand, the company said it was keeping an eye out for a shift in consumer spending. The Frito-Lay maker forecast annual profit below Wall Street estimates, signaling multiple price hikes were likely to dampen demand for its sodas and snacks amid a cost-of-living crisis. PepsiCo's shares rose 1.6% to $174 in premarket trading after it also raised its annualized dividend by 10% to $5.06 per share. PepsiCo's Quaker Foods North America unit saw operating profit fall about 3% to $188 million as higher production costs took a bite out of margins. PepsiCo said it expects fiscal 2023 core constant currency earnings of $7.20 per share, compared with estimates of $7.28.

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