I own shares of Coke, and in fact had made my first purchase at the peak, in 1998. Since then, I have added to my position and brought the cost basis down considerably. Coke does have growth in its future, but it probably will mostly be on the back of its growing dividend.

You should do a blog entry on the dividend and where you see it many years from now. Will it double every decade do you think?

There are more reasons to hate coke than there are to love it or the products they make.

Their products are the #1 reason for the Obesity Pandemic (ref. The Vice Busting Diet) and the biggest reason for the economic disaster of Obesity related health care spending that we are facing.

Don't buy their stock, don't buy their products, and buy stock in funeral homes because if Coca-Cola keeps at it, we are going to see more than the 2.6 million premature deaths that we saw globally last year due to Obesity related causes!

http://juliahavey.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/10/cocacola_enters.html

Wow, Julia! Before anyone believes that "[Coke's] products are the #1 reason for the Obesity Pandemic", it would be nice for someone to show that the majority of obese people get the majority of their calories from soft drinks. I don't suppose the incredible growth over the past thirty years in the consumption of fast foods, microwave meals, corn chips, breads, cakes, donuts, pizza, and ice cream -- as well as the rise of the car culture and elimination of fat-burning factory jobs and elimination of mandatory gym classes in schools could have anything to do with obesity, could it?

Julia might have exaggerrated, but stil soft drinks in general, being 100 sugar (or 95 percent if you count the "with real fruit juice" offerings) do play a big role in unhealth habits leading to diabetes, from what I've read. Selling those products in schools and advertising to children is not easily defended. Marketing, habit and carb addiction are all resposnible, and though soft drink companies are scrambling to come up with alternatives (like Enviga, which you have to drink three of to counteract the calories of one standard soft drink,) they will have to be sincere, nimble and authentic about it to adjust to the changing market, I believe. In the meantime they are vulnerable. Energy drinks and sports drinks can replace share lost by soft drinks and fill up shelf shelf space, but Coke and Pepsi I think have lost the beloved brand status they once enjoyed. Also, both companies internationally face serious challenges. The flipside of being the world's most recognized trademark for Coke has turned it into a symbol of perceived U.S. economic imperialism in other countries. India and Colombia are pretty good examples. What the big boys have going for them is distribution and marketing money. As for coming up with products that fit the demand, I think other smaller companies have an advantage.