We recently published a list of 10 Best Stocks to Invest in for Long Term. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) stands against other best stocks to invest in for long term.
The markets have had two monster years with the S&P 500 index surging 24.73% and 24.01% in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index increased by a whopping 54.9% and 27.01% during the same periods. This was on the back of an AI boom, which benefitted the stocks of big tech companies. However, policy uncertainties and the risk of a stagflation, where inflation remains high without a significant economic growth, have caused a downtrend in those markets in 2025.
While Risks are Elevated, Opportunities Present Themselves
CNBC recently interviewed Souls’ Dan Greenhaus, Robinhood’s Stephanie Guild, and Invesco’s Brian Levitt. Greenhaus suggested that a lot of the worse-case scenarios have been priced into the market. While he conceded that he still remains cautious, he feels that the effects of the tariffs on inflation may not be as dire as most people think. This is in line with a Morgan Stanley research which suggested that while the worst may be over, the coast is not clear yet.
However, Stephanie Guild and Brian Levitt are a bit more cautious. Levitt added that he sees uncertainty persisting for longer, which means that volatility is likely to persist. According to Greenhaus, there are times of persistent uncertainty, that cause the risk premium on assets to rise, and present long-term opportunities. However, Levitt pointed out that S&P 500 valuations still remain elevated and are not at prior recession levels. Whereas Guild added that market expectations remain quite high, despite the uncertainty. She said that earnings growth expectations are at 11% and suggested that there is room for earning misses given the risks to the economy, which, in turn, could cause the markets to fall.
While the market is probably going to remain risk-off for a bit, it is likely to offer great discounts on some of the best stocks in the market, sooner or later. Some companies with long runways are already trading at multi-year low levels. Also, these companies with good balance sheets should be able to navigate through a recession, if we were to enter into one, with ease.
Our Methodology
We sifted through the financial media reports to compile a list of the best stocks to invest in for the long-term. We then selected the 10 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A row of factory workers assembling bottles of sparkling soft drinks on a conveyor belt.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is a global beverage leader with products sold in over 200 countries. It owns or licenses many well-known drink brands like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and Minute Maid, offering a wide range of beverages including sodas, juices, water, tea, coffee, dairy, plant-based drinks, and even alcoholic beverages in some markets. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) operates through a mix of concentrate sales (to bottling partners) and finished product sales. It focuses on offering a variety of drinks to suit different lifestyles and preferences.
As the market mood is turning risk-off, many analysts are suggesting that it’s time to go defensive. Coca-Cola is one of the best defensive stocks, as customers consume the company’s products come hail or high water. JPMorgan continues to be bullish on the stock. The investment bank kept its “Overweight” rating on the stock, while increasing its price target from $74 to $78. According to JPMorgan, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is well-positioned to navigate through the continued uncertainty in the market caused by the current administrations constant tariff threats. The JPMorgan analyst wrote:
While KO is not immune to tariffs and macro headwinds, it is a relatively more defensive stock that will likely deliver among the highest (organic sales growth) in our coverage universe in 2025.
Overall, KO ranks 9th on our list of best stocks to invest in for long term. While we acknowledge the growth potential of KO, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
