Bus340

Analyzing

Business Communications 340

May 8, 2011

Analyzing Annual Reports

I chose to analyze the annual reports of Coca Cola and Pepsi. If the question of who are the biggest rivals in the soft drink industry were asked to anyone what answer could be correct other than Coca-Cola and Pepsi. For years they have gone head to head in taste and consumer preference but who has the lead from a financial perspective? The purpose of this paper is to provide a financial analysis comparison of the two biggest competing giants in the soft drink industry to determine what company is the strongest financially and what company is the best investment.

Coca-Cola has their main interest and ownership in the beverage industry. They are the largest manufacturer and distributer of over 500 non- alcoholic beverages including Dasani water, Vitamin water, Powerade, and Minute Maid and that only names a few. They also have ownership investment in some bottling and canning operations and maintain great partnerships with other operations. These relationships between Coca-Cola and the numerous bottling companies allow them to collaborate and expand their growth together. Coca-Cola also makes a substantial amount of profit from collectibles they have created over the years for advertising and those who choose to collect them. PepsiCo is slightly different in where they strategized growth. They have diversified themselves by merging with companies like Frito Lay, Quaker, Tropicana, and Gatorade. They are one of the leading global snack manufacturers and the merger with Quaker in 2001 put them as one of the top leaders in food manufacturing. Some of the major products and brands include: Rice-a-Roni, Aunt Jemima's, Frito Lay, Aquafina water, and Tropicana juices. They profit from their food divisions and also their beverage divisions as a whole.

In comparing financial ratio's between both corporations, the Coca Cola company is not as attractively valued as PepsiCo. On...