Coca-Cola Wants Out: Is the $5.1 Billion Costa Coffee Experiment Over?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is reportedly exploring a sale of Costa Coffee after struggling to achieve significant growth following its $5.1 billion acquisition of the British coffee chain.According to a Semafor report on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, Coca-Cola is reconsidering a sale after an earlier attempt failed to attract sufficient buyer interest.Previous Sale Efforts FalteredCoca-Cola acquired Costa Coffee for $5.1 billion in 2018 from British hospitality group Whitbread to expand its presence in the global coffee market.However, the company struggled to deliver meaningful growth from the acquisition.The soda giant explored selling Costa in late 2025 but abandoned the process earlier this year following limited interest from private equity firms, the Financial Times reported in January.One potential strategic buyer also considered an acquisition but ultimately withdrew over valuation and strategic concerns, according to Semafor.The potential sale price remains unclear. Moreover, the company could once again decide against proceeding with a transaction. Costa Coffee Returns to ProfitMeanwhile, Costa’s main coffee shop business has shown signs of improvement.According to The Guardian, Costa Ltd reported an operating profit of 20 million pounds in 2025, reversing losses of 13.5 million pounds in 2024 and 5.8 million pounds in 2023. Revenue increased 5% to nearly 1.3 billion pounds.Costa operates about 4,000 outlets globally, including 2,700 in the U.K. and Ireland, and employs approximately 20,000 people.The chain added a net 50 U.K. outlets in 2025 and plans another 50 this year. It is also expanding its iced, decaffeinated and matcha offerings to attract younger customers amid competition from Greggs, Gail’s and Caffè Nero.Costa CEO Philippe Schaillee said customer visits recorded their strongest growth in a decade.PepsiCo’s Struggles Could Benefit Coca-ColaSeparately, Coca-Cola shares gained nearly 2% Thursday amid defensive buying and earnings from rival PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP).PepsiCo beat quarterly earnings estimates but lowered its 2026 profit outlook. Its North American carbonated beverage business also underperformed the broader market.Reuters reported that RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi expects PepsiCo to continue losing beverage market share to Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP).Modi said PepsiCo may need to fully refranchise its beverage operations to stem further market-share losses.Coca-Cola Price ActionCoca-Cola stock fell about 0.5% in Friday’s premarket trading, giving back some of Thursday’s gains. Nasdaq futures rose 0.76%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.38%, signaling stronger investor appetite for risk.KO Price Action: Coca-Cola shares were down 0.42% at $87.40 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.Image via Shutterstock Read Also: Elon Musk Says SPCX Could Be Worth 'Orders of Magnitude More' Than the Entire Earth Economy: 'Super Crazy'