Coca Cola HBC (C0Q) Q2 2026 Earnings Report

The call conveyed a clearly positive operating and financial performance for H1 2026: strong volume-led revenue growth, notable margin expansion and double-digit EBIT/EPS growth, coupled with upgraded full-year guidance. Management highlighted broad-based category momentum (Sparkling, Energy, Coffee out‑of‑home), meaningful commercial capability improvements (Promo360, single-serve mix gains) and progress on the CCBA acquisition and sustainability. The primary near-term headwinds are higher energy-related COGS risk in H2, increased finance costs from acquisition financing, modest moderation in revenue-per-case due to country mix, and a planned step-up in CapEx that slightly reduced free cash flow. Overall, positives (robust growth, margin expansion, guidance upgrade, portfolio momentum) materially outweigh the manageable challenges and one-off items.

Management upgraded 2026 guidance, now expecting full‑year organic revenue growth around the top end of its 6–7% range and organic EBIT growth of 8–10%. The upgrade follows a strong H1 (organic revenue +9.6%, organic volume +7.5% with Q2 +5.8%), comparable EBIT +15.2% to EUR 760m (EBIT margin +60bps to 12.2%), EPS +15.2% to EUR 1.51 and robust H1 free cash flow (c. EUR 216–260m) despite a >EUR100m YoY step‑up in CapEx (CapEx/revenue 6.1%; full‑year target 6.5–7.5%). Management cautioned H2 will grow more slowly than H1 due to four fewer selling days and higher energy‑related COGS pressure (COGS per case expected low‑ to mid‑single‑digit higher in H2/full year), while hedging on key commodities is >85% and finance costs guidance was updated to EUR 40–50m (with FX translation guidance also revised).