Soft drink giant The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) will be reporting its third quarter numbers tomorrow before the market opens.

The last time that Coca-Cola reported earnings was back in July when the company beat out analyst estimates by 3 pennies with a reported 92 cents per share. For the third quarter, analysts are expecting to the see the company show earnings of 81 cents per share.

So far this has been a pretty decent earnings season, and soft drink giant PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) gets its turn to impress Wall Street tomorrow morning when it releases its second quarter numbers.

The company will be announcing its second quarter earnings before the market opens tomorrow, and analysts are expecting to see earnings of $1.00 a share from the world's second largest beverage maker. For the same period last year PepsiCo posted earnings of $1.03.

Atlanta based soft drink giant Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) got its chance to impress investor's this morning with its fourth quarter earnings, and it did not disappoint. While the company did see profit falling by 18% in the quarter, its bottom line was better than analysts had predicted.

As Steven Mallas noted in his Coca-Cola earnings preview yesterday, analysts had been expecting to see 61 cents per share for the quarter, but the actual number was a bit higher, with a reported 64 cents a share.

It's another tough day on Wall Street, but for Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) it's looking like a very good day, as shares are moving strongly higher after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings this morning.

For its most recent quarter, the soft drink giant was expected to show earnings per share of 77 cents, but the actual number was a more impressive 81 cents per share (83 cents excluding one time items). The company noted that strong growth in emerging markets really helped boost the quarter.

The quarterly numbers represent a 14% increase from the company's third quarter last year when it reported 71 cents per share. Revenues were up 9.1% during the quarter to $8.39 billion.

While demand within the U.S. has been wavering for the company, strong international performance helped Coke come through with a strong quarter. While the company saw a 2% drop in U.S. sales in the quarter, it put up pretty impressive revenue growth figures in other markets -- 17% in Eurasia and Africa, 10% in Europe and 24% in Latin America.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) as a defensive play? Correct.

This is not your parents' Coca-Cola company: this is the drink-diversified KO. Coca-Cola has adeptly positioned itself in the health and sports drink (Powerade) segment, while continuing to effectively publicize one of the most iconic brands in the world, its namesake cola drink.

Other positives: KO has dominant or large-lead market share positions in key developed nations, an impressive emerging market presence, a superior balance sheet, more-effective cost controls, and marketing skills that many companies can only dream about. KO's shares closed Thursday up $1.12 cents to $61.30.

The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for KO are $2.66/$3.00

In addition, buy some of Coca-Cola's shares and you're buying not only a consumer products defensive, but also uniting yourself to a part of Wall Street history -- one of Wall Street's famed adages. And, as those in the Concrete Canyon will confirm, it's always prudent for investors to heed Wall Street's adages. The generations-old adage regarding KO is: "No one ever went broke holding Coke."

Now that the current earnings season has officially gotten under way, we are going to have our hands full keeping track of all the big names. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is going to get its shot at impressing investors tomorrow when it reports its third quarter earnings before the market opens.

The company has not given us any guidance as to what we can expect, but Wall Street analysts are expecting to see the company come through with earnings of 96 cents per share, and revenues of $9.9 billion. The last time the company reported earnings was back on July 24 when it surprised to the upside by reporting 94 cents per share, five cents higher than analysts were predicting.

If the company is able to beat estimates tomorrow morning, it will be the sixth straight quarter in a row of above-estimate earnings. In fact, PepsiCo has only reported earnings underestimates one time in the past 15 earnings announcements -- in Q1 2006 the company failed to hit its estimates of 58 cents a share by only reporting 56 cents for the quarter.

Sales of traditional soft drinks (sodas? pops?) haven't exactly been effervescent of late, so beverage giants PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) have recently ramped up their efforts on non-carbonated drinks. Today, Pepsi introduced a low-calorie version of its Gatorade Sports Drink, called "G2."

While the original Gatorade has always been marketed as an electrolyte-rich drink to gulp down during or after workouts, G2 - with 25 calories per eight-ounce serving - is designed to keep calorie-conscious folks hydrated even while they're at rest. G2 will initially come in three flavors - fruit punch, grape, and orange, and a single bottle is expected to run between $1.29 and $1.49.

Pepsi also said it will launch a new addition to its Propel line of "Fitness Water." "Propel Invigorating Water," a vitamin-enhanced offering, will include a mild shot of caffeine and a subtle flavor, totaling 20 calories in each eight-ounce service. The new Propel will come in strawberry, citrus, and berry flavors, and cost 99 cents to $1.59 per bottle.

Pepsi shares are trending modestly lower today, following the example of the downward-spiraling broader market, but the soft-drink firm's long-term trend is an attractive one. Pepsi has been on the rise since early 2003, nearly doubling in value as it hugs the support of its 10-month and 20-month moving averages. If Pepsi continues to pace the trend for "healthier" non-alcoholic beverage offerings, this trend could remain the stock's friend for the foreseeable future.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

While the sweetest of soft drinks may now be off limits in high-school vending machines, some hip new options may soon be available to the nation's students.

In May 2006, the beverage industry voluntarily agreed to stop selling full-calorie sodas in schools. The agreement stated that companies could sell milk, water, diet sodas, sports drinks, and unsweetened and low-calorie juices.

The industry has now expanded this list to include additional beverages meeting the criterion of fewer than 100 calories per 12 ounces. Certain flavored iced teas and vitamin-flavored waters fit the bill. Most varieties of Glaceau VitaminWater, a recent acquisition of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), have 75 calories or less. The same is true for the various flavors of SoBe LifeWater, owned by PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP).

The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings results tomorrow morning, and expectations are apparently running rather high. With no other news to account for the move, KO shares have gained nearly 2% today to peg a new 52-week high, their highest level since July 2002. Analysts are also very cheery toward the soft-drink giant with earnings less than 24 hours away. Data from Zacks reveals that the stock has earned five "strong buy" ratings, three "buys," two "holds," and not a single "sell."

From a contrarian perspective, this optimism (or at least complacency) gives pause as it indicates there is little room for a misstep from Coke. The sheer quantity of "buy" ratings means that downgrades are more likely, from a mathematical perspective. And while the shares have rallied to a new five-year high, they remain far from their all-time peak. Additionally, the company continues to deal with fundamental challenges as it employs acquisitions in an attempt to keep ahead of arch-rival PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP).

The consensus expectation for tomorrow's report calls for per-share results of 82 cents, equal to year-ago figures. In the previous quarter, KO managed an upside surprise of 4%, a surprise that boosted the stock notably higher immediately following the report. With bullishness the overwhelming sentiment on both Wall Street and Main Street, it may take more of an upside surprise to launch the stock higher. Coke is scheduled to report its numbers around 8:30 Eastern time.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

A Kansas federal court has ruled that a lawsuit accusing soft drink makers of selling drinks made with ingredients that can form cancer-causing benzen can go forward. The lawsuit asks that makers remove the drinks from stores, change the recipe, and offer refunds to customers who bought them.

Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO) had been a defendant, but settled earlier this month, offering refunds and reformulating the soda. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) said the suit is without merit, and other defendants include Sunny Delight and Rockstar.

Here's what I don't understand: If the drinks really can cause cancer, shouldn't customers be entitled to a little bit more than a refund? It seems bizarre that all that the plaintiffs want is a refund. The soda companies involved have not conceded that their products can cause cancer.

The relatively minor requests (refunds and new formula) make this suit a pretty insignificant risk for shareholders in the companies.

Remember the 90s? Ahh, the 90s, when I was in high school and college and we all believed that (a) bagels and cereal were diet foods and (b) drinking a Diet Coke with your pizza was a good way of cancelling out the calories.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has announced that it will be releasing a new calorie-burning soft drink called "Enviga" in November, just in time to balance out your Thanksgiving dinner I suppose. That's right, I said "calorie-burning." It could be that my pizza/diet soda strategy from 1992 could finally actually work!

Enviga uses green tea extract (EGCG, which has nothing to do with an EKG, much though my mind immediately leaps there), caffeine and calcium, and the company says it is actually proven to burn calories. Investors seem cautiously optimistic and have sent the stock up a bit, about 20 cents, since the announcement.

I don't know. First of all: the packaging looks to me like those alcoholic drinks -- totally the wrong association for Coke's target market. Second, I connect calorie-burning with the fen-phen troubles of the late 90s (yep, those darned 90s again). Third, as Sarah Gim from Slashfood points out, Enviga is only "proven" to burn calories in "healthy people with a lean to normal body type" -- those that don't really need to burn any more calories. Sarah, Sarah! Don't you know that customers don't read the small print??

It remains to be seen whether Enviga will crash and burn due to confusing packaging, or it will soon be on the desks of millions of lean-to-normal female high school and college students, who are certain that they're in need of losing just five more pounds. If I know anything about their collective psychology, I'd be betting on option #2.

Coca Cola (KO) and Pepsi Co (PEP), beleaguered lately with a ban on some sales in the northern Indian states of Rajasthan and Punjab due to pesticide levels, have an ally in the U.S. federal government. U.S. Under-Secretary for International Trade, Franklin Lavin, asked India recently to ensure that the two companies are treated no differently than local cola makers on environmental issues. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India has said drinks from these manufacturers contain pesticides in amounts higher than allowed by law.

Arjun Swarup at the Indian Economy Blog [via India Uncut] has a well-documented and detailed overview of the issues involved, and argues that many products that Indians consume in greater quantities than colas -- such as eggs, milk, and fruit -- are much higher in trace amounts of pesticides. Arjun maintains the CSE could spend it time better in those areas.