Coca-Cola hired Rob Gehring from Monster Energy to run North American operations. The company believes this will solve the problem of consumers having less money. That's the strategy. Different executive.
Gehring spent years selling caffeinated beverages to people who punch drywall for fun. Now he gets to sell caffeinated beverages to people who can't afford gas. The skill set transfers perfectly. Both customer bases make terrible decisions. Both ignore their checking account balance. Both think five dollars is still a reasonable price for sugar water.
The press release doesn't explain what Gehring knows that the previous guy didn't. Maybe he has a secret formula. Maybe he'll suggest putting the cocaine back in. Maybe he'll just send out an email saying "have we tried charging more?" and collect his equity package.
Retail traders saw the news and immediately checked if Monster Energy's stock moved. It didn't. Then they checked if Coca-Cola moved. It didn't. Then they bought calls anyway because a headline happened and headlines mean volatility and volatility means their $340 will finally become $341.
The summary mentions consumers face higher gas and grocery prices. Coca-Cola's solution is hiring a beverage executive from a different beverage company. This is like solving a house fire by bringing in a guy who's really good at apartment fires. The fire doesn't care about his résumé.
Gehring's first day is probably next Monday. He'll walk in. Someone will show him where the coffee machine is. He'll sit in a conference room. Someone will say growth is flat. He'll say let's fix that. Everyone will nod. The stock will do exactly what it was going to do anyway.
North American operations will continue to operate. Consumers will continue to be broke. Coca-Cola will continue to sell soda. And Gehring will continue to have a job until they decide the next guy will be even better at not mattering.
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