Coca-Cola and Ecolab reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter early Tuesday. The S&P 500 dividend stocks gapped up above key levels. Ecolab stock broke out and Coca-Cola flashed an early entry.
Investors continue to look for safe havens, such as gold and dividend payers, in an uncertain market. Both Coca-Cola and Ecolab reside in the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF, which holds stocks that have grown dividends for 25 straight years or more.
Coca-Cola Earnings, Ecolab Earnings
For the final quarter of 2024, Coca-Cola reported EPS of 55 cents vs. analyst consensus expectation for 52 cents, FactSet research shows. Revenue of $11.4 billion also beat. Coca-Cola earnings grew 12% year over year, accelerating from a 9% gain in the prior third quarter. Global unit case volume grew 2% during the fourth quarter, the Dow Jones beverage giant said on Tuesday.
Free cash flow plunged 51% for the full year. But it rose 11% excluding a deposit related to IRS tax litigation, the earnings release said.
During 2024, Coca-Cola said that dividends totaled $8.4 billion. The company has raised its dividend payout in each of the last 62 years.
For Q4, Ecolab delivered EPS of $1.81, edging past views by a penny. Revenue of $4 billion also beat. For 2025, the provider of cleaning and sanitizing products on Tuesday guided earnings per share in the $7.42 to $7.62 range, with the midpoint above FactSet consensus for $7.46.
Ecolab reported a record 2024 for sales, earnings, margins and free cash flow. The earnings release said the company expects "further market share gains" in 2025.
In December, Ecolab declared a 14% dividend increase, its 33rd consecutive annual dividend raise. All told, the company has paid cash dividends on its common stock for 88 consecutive years.
S&P 500 Dividend Stocks Jump Above Key Levels
Coca-Cola stock surged 4.7% to 67.61 in Tuesday's stock market trading. Coca-Cola stock gapped above its 200-day moving average, and offered an early entry at 65.10. It continues to work on a traditional 73.53 buy point, still 8% below the entry, the MarketSurge chart shows.
Shares of Ecolab jumped 6.1% in big volume. Ecolab stock topped a 262.61 buy point from a flat base, bouncing above the 10- and 21-day exponential moving averages.
The two dividend-paying stocks bucked a modest decline for the S&P 500 on Tuesday, amid tariff and rate worries. They helped lift the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF to a 0.8% gain.
On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Coca-Cola and Intel led advancing stocks on Tuesday. Intel stock soared after Vice President JD Vance vowed AI chips will be made in the U.S.
Currently, Coca-Cola stock offers a 2.91% dividend yield, MarketSurge shows. Twenty-five-plus years of dividend increases doesn't necessarily mean a high-yielding stock. Ecolab stock offers a 1% yield.
Notably, Coca-Cola is one of the oldest and biggest equity holdings of dividend-loving Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
Please follow Aparna Narayanan on X @IBD_Aparna for more coverage.
