During last year’s bear market, the S&P 500 index fell nearly -20%. Still, the share prices for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo outperformed the broader market to end the year at +7.4% and +4.0%, respectively. Monster Beverage’s +5.7% gain also beat the index and pushed Monster’s market capitalization slightly above that of Keurig Dr Pepper. While KDP’s share price fell, the -3.3% decline was far better than the broader market plummet. Strong pricing gains and lower-than-expected volume declines helped buoy those companies’ shares. Coke FEMSA, a Coca-Cola franchise bottler serving nine Latin America countries, ended the year up +23.9% after steady growth throughout the year. US bottler Coca-Cola Consolidated fell -17.3%, which followed a +57% increase in 2021. National Beverage ended up +2.6%, while Primo Water ended the year down -11.9%.

RETAILERS STRUGGLE.   Cautious consumer spending weighed last year on most retail stocks tracked by BD. Target ended 2022 down -35.6% after several quarters of declining profits as price inflation damped consumer spending at the retailer. Costco and Walgreens suffered double-digit-percentage declines. While Walmart fell -2.0% and Kroger declined -1.5%, both stocks outperformed the market index. Meanwhile, Amazon lost nearly 50% of its share price amid the tech stock rout of 2022. Dollar General was among the few BD-tracked stocks that gained last year, as inflation began pushing consumer dollars towards lower-cost products and channels. Casey’s General Stores was a big gainer at +13.7%.