Coke sales rise 10% in Q4 as omicron fails to halt demand

By DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer

Coca-Cola posted better-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter as venues like coffee shops and movie theaters continued to reopen. Coke Chairman and CEO James Quincey said the company saw some impact from the omicron variant in December and January, but the disruption was not as great as previous waves of the virus. Rival PepsiCo also reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results Thursday. Both companies say they plan to raise prices this year to account for higher costs of commodities and transportation. So far, price increases haven’t dented demand, but the companies say they’re watching consumers closely.