Cola pays dividend: Share price loss was probably not Ronaldo's fault

Money scores goals, so footballers worth millions are believed to be able to move stock exchange prices.

No wonder that the price losses of the Coca-Cola share were associated with a memorable press conference at the beginning of the week, at which Portugal's star Ronaldo had the Coke bottles draped in front of his sensitive nose dumped in front of the cameras and instead publicized it after "Agua" required, so ordinary water.

That was before the game between Portugal and Hungary, in which the exceptional talent scored two goals.

Mark Fehr

Editor in business.

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At the press conference, Ronaldo was not even impressed by the fact that the beverage company supports the European Football Championship as a sponsor.

UEFA immediately emphasized that the players would of course also be served coke without sugar.

Even the listed company itself felt compelled to make a soothing statement, asserting that everyone has a right to ask for a drink of their own personal preference.

The communication specialists on the corporate floors know that the image of sugary drinks has a sour aftertaste because too much sugar is unhealthy.

Maybe that's even an Achilles' heel for the business model.

The change of drinks ordered by Ronaldo could also be felt on the stock exchange, at least apparently, because the Coca-Cola share fell significantly at the start of the week compared to its closing price from the previous week.

If you wanted to, you could even have fun and calculate how much stock market value was destroyed as a result - after all, a volume in the lower single-digit billion range.

For the beverage giant's stock, however, such dimensions are not yet uncommon.

It was noteworthy, however, that the price movement was linked to Ronaldo's publicly exhibited aversion to the soda.

There is also a far less spectacular explanation for the exchange rate losses, which can be found in the calendar.

Monday, i.e. the day of the memorable Ronaldo appearance, was also the day on which the Coca-Cola share was traded for the first time without the subscription right for the upcoming dividend.

Not only in the case of beverage manufacturers, the dividend refers to the distribution of profit to shareholders.

So they get cash.

Coca-Cola pays dividends quarterly.

In this case, it's about the dividend for the second quarter of 42 cents per share, which will flow on July 1st.

Without the subscription right for the dividend, the shares are correspondingly less valuable.

The most recent price losses therefore roughly corresponded to the expected profit distribution.

So Ronaldo has shown his best instinct for the right moment, just as he does again and again on the football field. Whether the action was a coincidence or followed the script of skilful PR strategists remains to be seen. After all, Ronaldo is not only a top athlete but also a media professional. As such, it should be clear to him what explosive communicative power lies in health awareness and the heroic fight against fattening sugar. It is not only luxury food manufacturers who experience that corporations can quickly become a public fine picture. Chemical and tobacco companies also have this experience again and again.