Beverage giant Coca-Cola reported earnings Wednesday that put it ahead of PepsiCo in their fizzy beverage rivalry, dpa reported.
Coca-Cola earnings rose 16 per cent over the year-earlier quarter to 2.3 billion dollars, while Pepsi said a day earlier that it saw earnings fall slightly to 1.6 billion dollars.
The World Cup gave Coke a boost along with demand for soft drinks and bottled water in Latin America, Russia, India and the Philippines.
Revenue rose 5 per cent to 8.67 billion dollars.
Chief executive Muhtar Kent said much economic uncertainty remained for the rest of the business year, but he remained optimistic that Coca-Cola could reach its goals.
By 2020 the company hopes to double its sales and lead each of its market segments.
Pepsi is the chief roadblock to those plans. The beverage and snack food maker recently acquired its largest North American bottlers, pushing the revenue up 40 per cent to 14.8 billion dollars from a year ago.
Coca-Cola earns most of its profits from its signature drink, but also produces Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks and bottled waters. Pepsi's efforts include Tropicana juice, Lipton tea and Lay's snack foods.