<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/6024043b67d1e300113c541c-2400/2020-09-29T131020Z_1_LYNXMPEG8S1IJ_RTROPTP_4_COCACOLA-RESULTS.JPG" border="0" alt="Coca Cola bottling plant" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>In the early months of the pandemic, a team at Coca Cola converged to answer a key question: When COVID-19 finally starts to abate, how long will it take for the world's economies to recover' </p><p>The result of their work became apparent in Coke's Wednesday <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/opening-bell-february-10-2021-2-1030065877">earnings</a> results. The beverage behemoth reinstated complete guidance for the first time since last January. Coke said it expects adjusted EPS to grow somewhere between a high single-digit percentage and a low double-digit percentage in 2021a better result than the 8% decline it reported for 2020.</p><p>To arrive at the forecast, Coca Cola had to pour over 100 years of data, CFO John Murphy told analysts during a call.</p><p>"There was a team that did a lot of very intense and interesting work on looking at prior crises, whether military, economic, or pandemic," Murphy said. </p><p>For each major event, Coke looked at how long it took sales to recover, he said. The result is a set of estimates showing how long it will take for its different markets around the world to return to pre-pandemic levels of gross domestic product.</p><p>"In simple terms, the biggest indicator or driver was a view on how long the pandemic would last, and therefore, how long each country would take to get back to its 2019 levels of GDP," Murphy said. </p><p>Not all markets will recover at the same rate, with some countries springing back within a year after the virus is brought under control and others taking up to four years, he added. Economists have said that economic recoveries from the virus will take longer in some countries than others: While China has rebounded from the virus better than many expected, emerging markets like Mexico and Argentina may take two or more years to reach pre-pandemic strength, according to estimates from S&P Global.</p><p>One increasingly important factor in how fast Coke's different markets recover is vaccine distribution, CEO James Quincey told analysts Wednesday. While major US retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-get-covid-vaccine-cvs-walgreens-pharmacy-local-2021-2">preparing</a> to offer free vaccines this week, not all countries are moving as quickly.</p><p>"It's clear that the pace and availability of vaccines will look different around the world," Quincey said. "And therefore, we'll likely see some level of asynchronous recovery depending both on vaccine distribution and other macroeconomic factors."</p><p>Coca Cola isn't alone in looking to alternative sources of data to figure out its strategy during the pandemic. Rival PepsiCo has relied on its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-pepsico-scours-restaurant-menus-and-tweets-for-consumer-trends-2020-10">analysis</a> of Tweets and other online conversations to figure out which products consumers are most interested in as many eat and drink more at home. Candymaker Hershey has also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hershey-digital-strategy-to-snacking-helps-it-thrive-in-pandemic-2020-6">paid</a> more attention to data on digital sales in order to guide its decades-old brands as consumers' habits changed during the pandemic.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-imperfect-foods-thrive-market-compete-2021-2" >The CEOs of Thrive Market, Hungryroot, and Good Eggs lay out how they're competing in the $1 trillion grocery industry as they move from niche to mainstream retailers</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-century-of-data-to-determine-its-latest-guidance-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-expensive-liquid-thoroughbred-horse-semen-2020-3">Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid</a></p>
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