Insider Monkey
25 Largest Beverage Companies in the Word in 2023
Ramish Cheema
11 min read

In This Article:

In this piece, we will take a look at the 25 largest beverage companies in the world in 2023. For more companies, head on over to 5 Largest Beverage Companies in the Word in 2023.

These days, the biggest worry on everyone's mind is a potential recession in America. The economic turmoil that has been ravaging the world over the past couple of years has nearly destroyed the finances of developing countries and put advanced economies under strain as well. Take the example of China, where millions of fresh graduates with advanced degrees are struggling to find a job as the economy slowly starts after shutting down during the pandemic.

At the same time, in the U.S. there is a growing worry of a potential default as the economy slows down in the wake of the Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate hikes to combat inflation. While members of the House were quick to pass a Republican sponsored bill in late April 2023 by voting two thirds to suspend normal rules, there are concerns that a showdown in Senate could very well place the U.S. on a default trajectory.

But why bring up macroeconomics in a post about the biggest beverage companies in the world? Well, this is because the beverages sector is often quite resilient in a recessionary environment. Of course, the key word to note here is recession 'resistant' and not recession 'proof', since no industry is truly and absolutely immune to a drop in incomes and a slowdown in spending. Looking at what the professionals are saying, a study from Morningstar provides some important insights on this topic.

In the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, Morningstar reported that the beverage industry was undervalued with an average value to fair price estimate of 0.88. It also highlighted that as spending fell, consumers became more price conscious which in turn saw the alcoholic beverages offered by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) grow their sales. Additionally, other large companies such as Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) and Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) were cash flow healthy. At the same time, brand loyalty also helped the beverage firms stay afloat, as Morningstar points out that brands such as Diageo's Johnnie Walker endured the recession well as customers continue to drink the spirit even as they canceled vacations.

As a whole though, the beverages industry is made of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic products. In fact, the top five of the 16 Most Valuable Beverage Brands in the World are all non-alcoholic brands, and some of the biggest companies in the world such as The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) also make and sell non-alcoholic drinks. Naturally, since the current economic turmoil has been in place for over a year now, it's relevant to take a look at how well these companies are performing. On this front, Coca-Cola has recovered its revenue drop since the coronavirus pandemic and has grown top line sales since 2020. In fact, last year's inflationary wave also helped the beverage company, since it grew its revenue to $43 billion in 2022 from the $38.6 billion that it had raked in the previous year.

Terms and Privacy Policy
Your Privacy Choices
Utah Privacy Notice
More Info

Recommended Stories