Other operating (income) expense, net. Other operating (income) expense, net reflected an unfavorable change of $17 million from the prior year period, primarily driven by losses on the disposal of assets related to our 2024 Network Optimization program.
Income from Operations.Income from operations increased $279 million, or 12.4%, to $2,528 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $2,249 million in the prior year period, primarily driven by increased gross profit, partially offset by increased SG&A expenses.
Interest Expense. Interest expense increased $56 million to $488 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $432 million for the prior year period, primarily driven by increased weighted average borrowings (29 percentage points), which was partially offset by a favorable year-over-year change in unrealized mark-to-market activity (14 percentage points).
Effective Tax Rate. The effective tax rate increased 350 bps to 23.4% for the first nine months of 2024, compared to 19.9% in the prior year period, primarily driven by the unfavorable comparison to the prior year tax benefit received from a non-cash adjustment (150 bps) and a shift in the mix of income from lower tax jurisdictions to higher tax jurisdictions (100 bps).
Net Income.Net income increased $97 million, or 6.5%, to $1,585 million for the first nine months of 2024 as compared to $1,488 million in the prior year period, driven by increased income from operations, partially offset by increases in our effective tax rate and interest expense.
Diluted EPS. Diluted EPS increased 10.5% to $1.16 per diluted share for the first nine months of 2024 as compared to $1.05 in the prior year period.
Results of Operations by Segment
The following tables provide net sales and income from operations for our reportable segments for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, as well as the other amounts necessary to reconcile our total segment results to our consolidated results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
The following table provides selected information about our U.S. Refreshment Beverages segment's results:
First Nine Months
Dollar Change
Percentage Change
(in millions)
2024
2023
Net sales
$
6,890
$
6,607
$
283
4.3
%
Income from operations
2,054
1,795
259
14.4
Operating margin
29.8
%
27.2
%
260 bps
Sales Volume. Sales volume for the first nine months of 2024 decreased approximately 0.3% compared to the prior year period, as growth in carbonated soft drinks, as well as the contributions from partnerships such as Electrolit and C4, were offset by softness in our still portfolio.
Net Sales. Net sales increased 4.3% to $6,890 million in the first nine months of 2024, compared to $6,607 million in the prior year period, driven by favorable net price realization of 3.2% and volume/mix growth of 1.1%.
Income from Operations.Income from operations increased $259 million, or 14.4%, to $2,054 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $1,795 million for the prior year period. This performance was led by the gross profit impact of net sales growth (10 percentage points), a net benefit from changes in ingredients, materials, and productivity (4 percentage points), and earned equity from the achievement of milestones associated with certain distribution agreements (4 percentage points).
U.S. COFFEE
The following table provides selected information about our U.S. Coffee segment's results:
First Nine Months
Dollar Change
Percentage Change
(in millions)
2024
2023
Net sales
$
2,837
$
2,913
$
(76)
(2.6)
%
Income from operations
730
775
(45)
(5.8)
Operating margin
25.7
%
26.6
%
(90) bps
Sales Volume.K-Cup pod volume decreased 0.4% for the first nine months of 2024 compared to the prior year period. Appliance volume increased 12.4% in the first nine months of 2024, driven by Keurig market share momentum and improving coffeemaker category trends.
Net Sales. Net sales decreased 2.6% to $2,837 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $2,913 million in the prior year period, driven by unfavorable net price realization of 3.7%, partially offset by volume/mix growth of 1.1%.
Income from Operations. Income from operations decreased $45 million, or 5.8%, to $730 million for the first nine months of 2024, compared to $775 million in the prior year period, driven by the gross profit impact of the net sales decrease (13 percentage points) and costs associated with our 2024 Network Optimization program (4 percentage points), partially offset by a net benefit from changes in ingredients, materials, and productivity (8 percentage points) and lower people costs (1 percentage points).
The following table provides selected information about our International segment's results:
First Nine Months
Dollar Change
Percentage Change
(in millions)
2024
2023
Net sales
$
1,554
$
1,427
$
127
8.9
%
Income from operations
419
331
88
26.6
Operating margin
27.0
%
23.2
%
380 bps
Sales Volume.The following table provides the percentage change in sales volume for the International segment compared to the prior year period:
Percentage Change
LRB
6.0
%
K-Cup pods
6.9
Appliances
8.3
Net Sales.Net sales increased 8.9% to $1,554 million in the first nine months of 2024, compared to $1,427 million in the prior year period, reflecting volume/mix growth of 6.1% and higher net price realization of 3.4%, partially offset by unfavorable FX translation of 0.6%.
Income from Operations. Income from operations increased $88 million, or 26.6%, to $419 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $331 million in the prior year period. This performance reflected the gross profit impact of net sales growth (26 percentage points) and a net benefit from changes in ingredients, materials, and productivity (6 percentage points), partially offset by higher marketing investment (6 percentage points) and increased transportation and warehousing expenses (5 percentage points).
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
The process of preparing our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the use of estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. Critical accounting estimates are both fundamental to the portrayal of a company’s financial condition and results and require difficult, subjective or complex estimates and assessments. These estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, future expectations and other factors and assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The most significant estimates and judgments are reviewed on an ongoing basis and revised when necessary. These critical accounting estimates are discussed in greater detail in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report.
We believe our financial condition and liquidity remain strong. We continue to manage all aspects of our business, including, but not limited to, monitoring the financial health of our customers, suppliers and other third-party relationships, implementing gross margin enhancement strategies through our productivity initiatives, and developing new opportunities for growth such as innovation and agreements with partners to distribute brands that are accretive to our portfolio.
Cash generated by our foreign operations is generally repatriated to the U.S. periodically as working capital funding requirements, where allowed. We do not expect restrictions or taxes on repatriation of cash held outside the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall business, liquidity, financial condition or results of operations for the foreseeable future.
The following summarizes our cash activity for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023:
Principal Sources of Capital Resources
Our principal sources of liquidity are our existing cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from our operations, and borrowing capacity currently available under our Revolving Credit Agreement. Additionally, we have an uncommitted commercial paper program where we can issue unsecured commercial paper notes on a private placement basis. Based on our current and anticipated level of operations, we believe that our operating cash flows will be sufficient to meet our anticipated obligations for the next twelve months and thereafter for the foreseeable future. To the extent that our operating cash flows are not sufficient to meet our liquidity needs, we may utilize cash on hand or amounts available under our financing arrangements, if necessary. At any time, and from time to time, we may seek additional deleveraging, refinancing or liquidity enhancing transactions, including entering into transactions to repurchase or redeem outstanding indebtedness or otherwise seek transactions to reduce interest expense, extend debt maturities and improve our capital and liquidity structure.
Net cash provided by operating activities increased $338 million for the first nine months of 2024, as compared to the first nine months of 2023, driven by the favorable comparison in working capital versus the prior year period.
Cash Conversion Cycle
Our cash conversion cycle is defined as DIO and DSO less DPO. The calculation of each component of the cash conversion cycle is provided below:
Component
Calculation (on a trailing twelve month basis)
DIO
(Average inventory divided by cost of sales) * Number of days in the period
DSO
(Accounts receivable divided by net sales) * Number of days in the period
DPO
(Accounts payable * Number of days in the period) divided by cost of sales and SG&A expenses
The following table summarizes our cash conversion cycle:
September 30,
2024
2023
DIO
67
72
DSO
35
32
DPO
98
127
Cash conversion cycle
4
(23)
Our cash conversion cycle increased 27 days to approximately 4 days as of September 30, 2024 as compared to (23) days as of September 30, 2023, which was primarily driven by the decrease in DPO, reflecting the reduction of payment terms for certain suppliers.
Accounts Payable Program
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve our cash flow and related liquidity, we work with our suppliers to optimize our terms and conditions, which includes payment terms. Excluding our suppliers who require cash at date of purchase or sale, our current payment terms with our suppliers generally range from 10 to 360 days. We also enter into agreements with third party administrators to allow participating suppliers to track payment obligations from us, and, if voluntarily elected by the supplier, sell payment obligations from us to financial institutions. Suppliers can sell one or more of our payment obligations at their sole discretion and our rights and obligations to our suppliers are not impacted. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to enter into these agreements and no direct financial relationship with the financial institutions. Our obligations to our suppliers, including amounts due and scheduled payment terms, are not impacted.
Refer to Note 2 of the Notes to our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for management's discussion of our financing arrangements.
We also have an active shelf registration statement, filed with the SEC on August 19, 2022, which allows us to issue an indeterminate number or amount of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time in one or more offerings at the direction of our Board.
Debt Ratings
Our credit ratings are as follows:
Rating Agency
Long-Term Debt Rating
Commercial Paper Rating
Outlook
Moody's
Baa1
P-2
Stable
S&P
BBB
A-2
Stable
These debt and commercial paper ratings impact the interest we pay on our financing arrangements. A downgrade of one or both of our debt and commercial paper ratings could increase our interest expense and decrease the cash available to fund anticipated obligations.
As of September 30, 2024, we were in compliance with all debt covenants and we have no reason to believe that we will be unable to satisfy these covenants.
Principal Uses of Capital Resources
Our capital allocation priorities are investing to grow our business both organically and inorganically, continuing to strengthen our balance sheet, and returning cash to shareholders through regular quarterly dividends and opportunistic share repurchases. We dynamically adjust our cash deployment plans based on the specific opportunities available in a given period, but over time we allocate capital to balance each of these priorities.
Regular Quarterly Dividends
We have declared total dividends of $0.66 per share and $0.615 per share for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Repurchases of Common Stock
Our Board authorized a four-year share repurchase program, ending December 31, 2025, of up to $4 billion of our outstanding common stock. We repurchased and retired $1,105 million of common stock during the first nine months of 2024. As of September 30, 2024, $1,810 million remained available for repurchase under the authorized share repurchase program.
Purchases of property, plant and equipment were $398 million and $271 million for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Capital expenditures, which includes both purchases of property, plant and equipment and amounts included in accounts payable and accrued expenses, for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023 primarily related to investments in manufacturing capabilities, both in the U.S. and internationally. Capital expenditures included in accounts payable and accrued expenses were $164 million and $196 million for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively, which primarily related to these investments.
Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates
From time to time, we expect to invest in beverage startup companies or in brand ownership companies to grow our presence in certain product categories, or enter into various licensing and distribution agreements to expand our product portfolio. Our investments generally involve acquiring a minority interest in equity securities of a company, in certain cases with a protected path to ownership at our future option. Investments in unconsolidated affiliates were $7 million and $308 million for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Acquisitions of Businesses and Purchases of Intangible Assets
We have invested in the expansion of our DSD network through transactions with strategic independent bottlers or third-party brand ownership companies to ensure competitive distribution scale. From time to time, we additionally acquire brand ownership companies to expand our portfolio. These transactions could be accounted for either as an acquisition of a business or as an asset acquisition, as the majority of the transaction price represents the acquisition of a single intangible asset. In the third quarter of 2024, we completed the Kalil Acquisition for total consideration of $103 million. Purchases of intangible assets were $49 million and $55 million for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Uncertainties and Trends Affecting Liquidity
Disruptions in financial and credit markets, including those caused by inflation, global economic uncertainty and fluctuations in interest rates, may impact our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our customers, suppliers and creditors. These disruptions could have a negative impact on the ability of our customers to timely pay their obligations to us, thus reducing our cash flow, or the ability of our vendors to timely supply materials.
Customer and consumer demand for our products may also be impacted by the risk factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in Part 1, Item 1A of our Annual Report, as well as subsequent filings with the SEC, that could have a material effect on production, delivery and consumption of our products, which could result in a reduction in our sales volume.
SUPPLEMENTAL GUARANTOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by certain of our direct and indirect subsidiaries (the "Guarantors"), as defined in the indentures governing the Notes. The Guarantors are 100% owned either directly or indirectly by us and jointly and severally guarantee, subject to the release provisions described below, our obligations under the Notes. None of our subsidiaries organized outside of the U.S., any of the subsidiaries held by Maple Parent Holdings Corp. prior to the DPS Merger or any of the subsidiaries acquired after the DPS Merger (collectively, the "Non-Guarantors") guarantee the Notes. The subsidiary guarantees with respect to the Notes are subject to release upon the occurrence of certain events, including the sale of all or substantially all of a subsidiary's assets, the release of the subsidiary's guarantee of our other indebtedness, our exercise of the legal defeasance option with respect to the Notes and the discharge of our obligations under the applicable indenture.
The following schedules present the summarized financial information for Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (the “Parent”) and the Guarantors on a combined basis after intercompany eliminations; the Parent and the Guarantors' amounts due from and amounts due to Non-Guarantors are disclosed separately. The consolidating schedules are provided in accordance with the reporting requirements of Rule 13-01 under SEC Regulation S-X for the issuer and guarantor subsidiaries.
The summarized financial information for the Parent and Guarantors were as follows:
(in millions)
For the First Nine Months of 2024
Net sales
$
7,173
Gross profit
3,805
Income from operations
1,178
Net income
1,585
(in millions)
September 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
Current assets
$
2,287
$
1,957
Non-current assets
48,721
48,029
Total assets(1)
$
51,008
$
49,986
Current liabilities
$
5,730
$
6,749
Non-current liabilities
19,436
16,689
Total liabilities(2)
$
25,166
$
23,438
(1)Includes $157 million and $56 million of intercompany receivables due to the Parent and Guarantors from the Non-Guarantors as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
(2)Includes $1,549 million and $1,399 million of intercompany payables due to the Non-Guarantors from the Parent and Guarantors as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
There have been no material changes to the disclosures on market risk made in our Annual Report.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
EVALUATION OF DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Based on evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has concluded that, as of September 30, 2024, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to (i) provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the Exchange Act filings is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC's rules and forms, and (ii) ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act are accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) occurred during the quarter ended September 30, 2024 that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
We are occasionally subject to litigation or other legal proceedings relating to our business. See Note 15 of the Notes to our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for more information related to commitments and contingencies, which is incorporated herein by reference.
On September 10, 2024, the SEC approved a settlement to resolve an investigation, which we previously disclosed, of certain statements in our prior Exchange Act reports regarding the recyclability of our K-Cup pods. To settle the SEC’s charges, and without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, the Company paid a civil penalty of $1.5 million.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There have been no material changes from the risk factors set forth in Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
On October 1, 2021, our Board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $4 billion of our outstanding common stock, enabling us to opportunistically return value to shareholders. The $4 billion authorization is effective for four years, beginning on January 1, 2022 and expiring on December 31, 2025, and does not require the purchase of any minimum number of shares. We did not repurchase any shares under this program during the third quarter of 2024. As of September 30, 2024, $1,810 million remained available for repurchase under the authorized share repurchase program.
Item 5. Other Information
During the third quarter of 2024, no directors or executive officers of the Company adopted or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of Company securities that was intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (filed on May 12, 2008) and incorporated herein by reference).
Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. effective as of May 17, 2012 (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (filed July 26, 2012) and incorporated herein by reference).
Certificate of Second Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. effective as of May 19, 2016 (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (filed May 20, 2016) and incorporated herein by reference).
Certificate of Third Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. effective as of July 9, 2018 (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (filed July 9, 2018) and incorporated herein by reference).
Amended and Restated By-Laws of Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. effective as of July 9, 2018 (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (filed July 9, 2018) and incorporated herein by reference).
Certification of Chief Executive Officer of Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or 15d-14(b) promulgated under the Exchange Act, and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
Certification of Chief Financial Officer of Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or 15d-14(b) promulgated under the Exchange Act, and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
101*
The following financial information from Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.'s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (v) Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders' Equity, and (vi) the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The Instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
104*
The cover page from this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, formatted as Inline XBRL.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.