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What happened in two down calendar years?
A third-party annual total-return series, with dividends reinvested, reports that KO lost less than SPY in 2008 and gained while SPY fell in 2022. SPY is an ETF used as a proxy for the S&P 500 benchmark, not the index itself.
| Calendar year | KO total return | SPY total return |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | −24.10% | −36.79% |
| 2022 | +10.61% | −18.18% |
These are calendar-year total returns with dividends reinvested, as reported by Total Real Returns (accessed October 3, 2026). They are not price-only changes and do not show what happened during every market decline within those years.
How did KO compare with the S&P 500 over five years?
The Coca-Cola Company’s 2025 Form 10-K reports that a hypothetical $100 invested on December 31, 2020 grew to $148 in KO by December 31, 2025, compared with $196 for the S&P 500 Index. The graph measures cumulative total shareholder return and reinvests dividends on their issuance dates. Over that particular five-year period, KO underperformed the index.
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The graph also includes the Dow Jones U.S. Food & Beverage Total Return Index, but the figures above address the comparison with the S&P 500. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K reports year-end values, not the path of each investment between those dates.
Why “holds up” depends on how you measure it
Price return or total return
Price return measures the change in a share price. Total return also accounts for dividends, commonly assuming they are reinvested. The annual comparison and Coca-Cola’s five-year graph both use total-return measures, but a price chart alone would not be directly comparable to them.
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Calendar-year return or drawdown
A calendar-year result compares one year-end with the next. A drawdown measures a decline from a peak to a later trough, and a full assessment may also track how long recovery takes. Annual endpoints can miss sharp falls and rebounds within the year; the cited figures do not establish KO’s maximum drawdown, recovery time, or performance across every market sell-off.
Matched dates and benchmark
A fair comparison uses the same start and end dates and the same return definition for KO and the benchmark. The annual examples compare KO with SPY, while Coca-Cola’s five-year graph compares the company with the S&P 500 Index. Keep that distinction in mind when comparing the results.
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What the figures do—and do not—tell investors
The examples support a limited conclusion: KO has outperformed the SPY proxy in some down calendar years, but those observations do not show that it always falls less than the S&P 500 or that it protects a portfolio. The five-year result is a reminder that relative performance changes with the measurement window. Historical returns describe past periods; they are not a forecast or a personalized buy-or-sell recommendation.
Coca-Cola’s year-end stock-information table separately lists a 2025 closing price of $69.91 and an annual dividend of $2.04 per share. Those are distinct price and dividend figures, not a substitute for a total-return comparison. The company’s Stock Info page links to historical price and dividend resources for readers who want to inspect those records.
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