Should You Buy The Coca-Cola Company (KO)?

However, there’s also the undeniable headwind in the form of a more health-conscious consumer.

At this point, the shift in consumer tastes is more of a certainty than a possibility. Every year, Americans are waking up to the obesity epidemic our population struggles with. Particularly among children, it’s becoming an imperative to consumer fewer calories.

For this reason, investing in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is not the slam-dunk most investors would like to believe. Whereas Pepsi has embraced the shift in consumer sentiment, meaningfully broadening its product portfolio to include healthier alternatives such as Baked Lays chips and its Quaker brand, Coca-Cola has stood still as a soda company. In all, Pepsi holds 22 brands that each brings in at least $1 billion in annual sales. Moreover, Pepsi’s revenue is evenly split between food and beverages.

It’s true that Coca-Cola has a few products other than soda, including Dasani and Vitamin Water. That being said, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s sparkling beverage division, which includes such brands as Coca-Cola and Sprite, account for roughly 75% of the company’s sales.

Coca-Cola is falling dangerously behind the trend toward fewer calorie consumption. As a result, while I absolutely admire Coca-Cola’s history and success, at this point, I’d recommend investors prefer Pepsi.

Robert Ciura has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP). The Motley Fool owns shares of PepsiCo.

The article Should You Buy Coca-Cola? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Robert is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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