Stocks Open Mixed as Coca-Cola’s Results Take the Spotlight

U.S. stocks opened mixed Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 52.19 points (0.11%) to 46,758.8, the S&P 500 up 2.91 (0.04%) to 6,738.04, and the Nasdaq Composite down 9.90 (0.04%) to 22,980.6; the Russell 2000 slipped 1.30 (0.52%) to 246.86. Indexes fell into negative territory shortly after the opening bell. Commodities were mixed as of roughly 9:18 a.m. ET: Crude Oil Dec ’25 at $57.11, up $0.09 (0.16%), while Gold Dec ’25 fell to $4,217.90, down $141.50 (3.25%).

Coca-Cola’s latest quarter underscores the staying power of consumer staples in a patchy global economy. The beverage giant posted adjusted earnings of $0.82 on revenue of $12.5 billion, with organic sales up 6% and comparable operating margin advancing to 31.9%. Management raised free-cash-flow guidance to $9.8 billion, pointing to pricing discipline and steady volumes even as currency headwinds linger. “While the overall environment has continued to be challenging, we’ve stayed flexible adapting plans where needed and investing for growth,” Chief Executive James Quincey said, highlighting the breadth of the company’s portfolio.

In regional banking, Zions delivered stronger than expected earnings but remained in the spotlight after a $50 million charge-off tied to two related commercial borrowers. Chief Executive Harris Simmons called it “an isolated situation,” adding, “We have no further exposure related to these borrowers or guarantors.” The bank’s net interest margin, a key gauge of lending profitability, expanded to 3.28%, its seventh straight quarterly increase, according to CFO Ryan Richards. Chief Credit Officer Derek Steward said a review hasn’t turned up similar issues. Meanwhile, a California state court filing by Zions subsidiary California Bank & Trust seeks to recover more than $60 million and alleges the borrowers “manipulated loan structures for their own enrichment and systematically eliminated the collateral protections that were supposed to secure the bank’s loans.” Attorneys for the defendants have denied wrongdoing, calling the claims “unfounded” and saying they “misrepresent the facts.”

Megacap tech remains the market’s north star, and Apple is again at the center. In a new report, Wedbush Securities says Apple is on the doorstep of joining Nvidia in the $4 trillion market-cap club, arguing the iPhone 17 cycle is running ahead of its predecessor in the U.S. and China, with Services growth adding fuel. Analyst Daniel Ives writes, “We believe the AI monetization piece could add $75 to $100 per share to the Apple story over the coming few years,” and reiterates an OUTPERFORM rating with a $310 price target. The firm also points to potential AI partnerships as a catalyst as investors await Apple’s strategic roadmap.

Together, the updates sketch a familiar market narrative: defensives demonstrating pricing power, regional banks navigating idiosyncratic credit bumps, and Big Tech anchoring sentiment. With hard index figures pending, traders will parse these threads as the bell rings—and decide whether earnings resilience and product-cycle optimism can keep risk appetites buoyant.