If you look at the list of the most valuable brands in the world, you will find a reflection of the development on the stock exchanges in the past decades in the first places.

The tech top dogs Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google occupy the first four places.

In fifth place follows a large tech stock, Samsung.

Only in sixth place can you see a well-known brand steeped in tradition that has absolutely nothing to do with high-tech, but whose founding dates back to 1886.

Coca-Cola, Coke for short - the most important brand of the Coca-Cola Company.

As a health-conscious consumer, you may only be able to cope with sweet drinks to a limited extent, but Coke shares are one of the most popular securities among investors.

Whether this is due to the fact that the American star investor Warren Buffett has Coca-Cola in his portfolio remains to be seen.

For many decades, the group has simply shown how you can continuously earn money with a strong global brand position - and this despite all the crises.

The contact restrictions, lockdowns and closures of bars and restaurants had also hit Coca-Cola in the course of the corona pandemic.

However, the manufacturer of the well-known carbonated soft drink was able to recover recently and returned to pre-crisis levels in sales volumes in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In addition, quarterly revenue increased 10 percent year-over-year to $9.5 billion, ahead of the corresponding figure for 2019. Coca-Cola exceeded market expectations on both sales and earnings.

Effects of the pandemic are fading

The outlook was a bit restrained.

The group sees inflation as a negative factor in the 2022 financial year.

This is noticeable, for example, in the form of higher packaging, transport and raw material costs.

Nevertheless, Coca-Cola wants to increase sales organically by 7 to 8 percent in the current financial year.

The effects of the corona pandemic should no longer be as serious as they were in 2020, for example, said CEO James Quincey recently.

In addition, the group is now better positioned to deal with the burdens associated with the corona pandemic.

However, it's not just the pandemic that Coca-Cola needs to keep an eye on: The company has increasingly had to adapt to new market conditions in recent years.

A health and fitness trend has been observed worldwide in which there is less and less space for the very high sugar Coca-Cola fizzy drink.

Products such as Coke Zero or Coca-Cola light represented a corresponding rethink.

In the meantime, the topic of plant-based products is also playing an increasingly important role.

Coca-Cola is addressing this market, for example, with plant-based milk substitutes under the Simply brand.

In addition to almond milk, Coca-Cola has now also launched vegan oat milk products.

In addition, the group also covers the fitness area with its sports drinks.

Here Coca-Cola sends its sports drink Powerade against arch-rival Pepsi and its fitness drink Gatorade into the race - all with success, as the numbers show.

Reliable Dividends

Hydration, Sports Beverages, Coffee & Tea posted the strongest growth among Coca-Cola's segments in the fourth quarter, with revenue up 12 percent.

It also fits into the picture that Coca-Cola announced the complete takeover of the sports drink manufacturer Body Armor last year.

It's shifts like this that should help Coca-Cola adapt to new market realities and weather crises like COVID-19.

The group has always managed to do this in the past – which is why long-term investors like Warren Buffett have been on board for many years.

In addition to strong net sales returns of 20 percent and more, the Coke Group has had one thing to offer over the past few decades: a reliable dividend philosophy.

The Management Board recently approved the 60th dividend increase in a row.

This means that Coca-Cola belongs to the select group of so-called dividend aristocrats, who have been increasing their dividends continuously for at least 25 years.

When the Corona crisis broke out in March 2020, Coca-Cola shares fell with the overall market.

After the February all-time high of 60 US dollars, prices fell to a peak of 36 dollars by March 2020.

After that, the price increased by more than 70 percent in the following two years and recently marked record highs above the 62 dollar mark.

The analysts' average price target is currently around $66, and the dividend yield is around 2.7 percent.

There may certainly be more exciting shares than those of the American Brause group, but a good, consistent return can always be made with such “boring” securities.

Over a ten-year period, the price has increased by an average of 6 percent annually - and maybe it doesn't always have to be the "usual suspects" from the tech sector.