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Tata Steel plans a nearly 50% capacity expansion in India to defend market share and secure raw materials, with most capex expected from internal accruals. This strategic move aims to align new capacities with anticipated demand growth post-FY29, ensuring profitability and maintaining a healthy balance sheet. View More
Mumbai: Tata Steel 's plan to increase capacity in India by nearly 50% will help the company defend its market share in the rapidly expanding Indian steel market, while enabling raw material security and foray into western India. Even though the weakness in steel prices is expected to keep earnings and cash flows subdued in the near term, analysts are confident that most of the capital expenditure needed for this leg of growth will come from internal accruals, maintaining the health of the balance sheet. "We expect fast tracking of NINL (Neelachal Ispat) capex to maintain market share in fast growing domestic market as TATA would struggle for capacities post FY28E," said Tushar Chaudhari of Prabhudas Lilladher. Tata Steel is currently the second-largest producer of steel in the country with an annual production capacity of 26 million tonne. At NINL, the company will be adding 4.8 million tonne of capacity, making it nearly six million tonne. Live Events Earlier in the week, Tata Steel announced setting up of rolling facilities at its Meramandali plant, buying 50.01% of Thriveni Pellets and a deal with Lloyd Metals & Energy to partner in mining and related activities among the projects in its next phase of growth in India. "Most of these capacities could start contributing from FY29, by when India may see higher demand vs steel capacity. Thus, Tata Steel's new capacity timings could be favourable from profitability point of view," said Vikash Singh of ICICI Securities. RAW MATERIALS, DEBT The leases for several of Tata Steel's mines will expire by the end of the decade, and the stake buy in Thriven Pellets, apart from the deal with Lloyds Metals is seen securing ore supplies for the company. "Given lease of all operating iron ore mines (except NINL) of Tata shall be over by FY30, the company is looking at different locations to expand capacities wherein it can have cheap source of consistent iron ore supply ," analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities said. Maharashtra-based Lloyds Metals operates the single largest iron ore mine in the country at Surjagarh in the state, and with the recent environmental clearance, can now mine up to 26 million tonne of ore each year. With all the expansions announced outside Jamshedpur, this will also offset the potential impact of legacy mines being auctioned in fiscal 2030, analysts at Elara Capital said. While Tata Steel has not announced the capital expenditure for its projects, analysts estimate it to be in the range of around '700-750 billion. "Capex intensity will rise but remain phased, keeping leverage within comfort," analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities said. Tata Steel had a consolidated net debt of 870 billion rupees at the end of the Sept quarter. "We believe the expansion can be internally funded and net debt is unlikely to rise," analysts at Nuvama said. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
The Centre has amended its Coal (Non-Regulated Sector) Linkage Policy of 2016, enabling the export of coal from blocks with existing linkages. A new policy, CoalSETU, will allow end-use free purchase of coal for any industrial use and export, excluding traders. Coking coal will not be offered due to domestic scarcity. View More
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday allowed export of coal from blocks with existing linkages by tweaking its Coal (Non-Regulated Sector) Linkage Policy of 2016. In a statement, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said it has approved a policy that will allow coal acquired through auction for any industrial use and export. The Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU) will add a separate window, allowing end-use free purchase of coal. "Traders will not be allowed on this portal and only end-consumers can buy coal from this portal," Union information & broadcasting, information technology and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Friday, adding Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh can be possible export destinations for Indian coal. Live Events Currently, coal linkages are provided through auctions only to specified end users such as cement, steel, sponge iron and aluminium. Coking coal will not be offered under this window, due to its paucity in the domestic market. The present auction of coal linkages for the specified end-user sub-sectors in the non-regulated sector (NRS) will continue. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Cheap land and and cheap energy are helping to fuel a boom in proposals to build data centers in Texas. View More
watch nowVIDEO1:1701:17DealBook Summit 2025: Anthropic CEO on AI spending, AI bubble riskSquawk Box Everything is bigger in Texas. That's also true for data center demand in the Lone Star State, where project developers are rushing to cash in on the artificial intelligence boom. Cheap land and cheap energy are combining to attract a flood of data center developers to the state. The potential demand is so vast that it will be impossible to meet by the end of the decade, energy experts say. Speculative projects are clogging up the pipeline to connect to the electric grid, making it difficult to see how much demand will actually materialize, they say. But investors will be left on the hook if inflated demand forecasts lead to more infrastructure being built than is actually needed. "It definitely looks, smells, feels â is acting like a bubble," said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin and a founder of energy consulting firm IdeaSmiths. "The top line numbers are almost laughable," Rhodes said. More than 220 gigawatts of big projects have asked to connect to the Texas electric grid by 2030, according to December data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. More than 70% of those projects are data centers, according to ERCOT, which manages the Texas power grid. That's more than twice the Lone Star State's record peak summer demand this year of around 85 gigawatts, and its total available power generation for the season of around 103 gigawatts. Those figures are "crazy big," said Beth Garza, a former ERCOT watchdog."There's not enough stuff to serve that much load on the equipment side or the consumption side," said Garza, director of ERCOT's independent market monitor from 2014 to 2019. Rhodes agreed. "There's just no way we can physically put this much steel in the ground to match those numbers. I don't even know if China could do it that fast," he said. 'Not all real'Data center requests have exploded in Texas since state legislation in 2023 required projects that have not signed electric connection agreements to be considered in power demand forecasts. The number of big projects requesting an electric connection has nearly quadrupled this year. But more than half of them, representing about 128 gigawatts of increased potential demand, have not submitted studies for ERCOT to review yet. About another 90 gigawatts are either under review or have had planning studies approved. "We know it's not all real. The question is how much is real," said Michael Hogan, a senior advisor at the Regulatory Assistance Project, which advises governments and regulators on energy policy. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); The huge numbers in Texas reflect a broader data center bubble in the U.S., said Hogan, who has worked in the electric industry for more than four decades, starting at General Electric in 1980. "As with everything else in Texas, it's an outsized example of it," he said. The number of projects that have actually connected to the grid or have been approved by ERCOT is much smaller, at only around 7.5 gigawatts. It is still a large number, equivalent to nearly eight large nuclear plants. But Texas can meet that level of demand, Rhodes said. "We could comfortably grow 8 gigawatts of data centers," Rhodes said. Texas might be able to meet 20 gigawatts or 30 gigawatts of data center demand by 2030, he said. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Texas has acted to separate serious data center projects from those that are merely speculative. A law passed in May requires developers to pay $100,000 for the initial study of their project and show that a site is secured through an ownership interest or lease. And they have to disclose whether they have outlined the same project anywhere else in Texas. The Texas Public Utility Commission has proposed a rule that would require data centers to pay $50,000 security per megawatt of peak power. The cost to a developer would total at least $50 million for a gigawatt-scale data center. "The serious developers with long-term contracts signed with anchor tenants, they're going to be willing to put that money down," Rhodes said. More speculative developers will likely drop out of the line for an electric connection, which will help authorities get a more accurate forecast, he said. Risk to investorsThe risk is that electric infrastructure such as power plants, transmission lines and transformers will be built for speculative data centers that either do not materialize or use less electricity than anticipated, Rhodes said. And overbuilding would come at time when the cost of that infrastructure has soared as data centers and other industries all compete for the same scarce equipment, he said."When the bubble bursts, who pays is going to depend on how much steel has been moved," Rhodes said. The cost of a natural gas plant, for example, has more than doubled over the past five years, he said. "It's kind of like buying your house at the top of the market," the analyst said. "If the house price goes down in five years, you're out of luck." watch nowVIDEO5:3905:39Will AI trigger winter blackouts? NERC CEO Jim Robb on the soaring data center power demandSquawk Box The cost of building new power plants to serve the Texas electric market is generally borne by investors, Rhodes and Hogan said, providing some protection to households from higher electricity prices if too much capacity is built. By contrast, electric prices have spiked in some Midwestern and mid-Atlantic states from data center demand because the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, buys power generation years in advance â with the burden falling on consumers. In Illinois, where the northern part of the state is served by PJM, residential electricity prices rose about 20% in September compared to the same month last year. But prices in Texas increased just 5% year over year, below the average national increase of more than 7%, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Texas has less risk of building too much generation compared to PJM states because of the way the market is structured, Hogan said. But "whatever [new] build we do end up seeing in Texas, the people who ended up investing in the excess capacity are the ones that are going to suffer," he said.
Of India’s annual exports of $5.75 billion to Mexico, about 75% would be affected by the new tariffs, per a GTRI report View More
Disney is investing in OpenAI and has licensed its iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Ariel and Iron Man to be used in the Sora AI video generator. View More
In this articleDISFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO3:0903:09Disney and OpenAI reach three-year licensing agreementSquawk on the Street The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday announced it will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and will allow users to make videos with its copyrighted characters on its Sora app.OpenAI launched Sora in September, and it allows users to create short videos by simply typing in a prompt. As part of the startup's new three-year licensing agreement with Disney, Sora users will be able make content with more than 200 characters across Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars starting next year. "The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.As part of the agreement, Disney said it will receive warrants to purchase additional equity and will become a major OpenAI customer. Disney is deploying OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, to its employees and will work with its technology to build new tools and experiences, according to a release. When Sora launched this fall, the app rocketed to the top of Apple's App Store and generated a storm of controversy as users flooded the platform with videos of popular brands and characters. The Motion Picture Association said in October that OpenAI needed to take "immediate and decisive action" to prevent copyright infringement on Sora. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said more "granular control" over character generation was coming, according to a blog post following the launch. Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appearing on CNBC on Dec. 11th, 2025.CNBC As AI startups have rapidly changed the way that people can interact with content online, media companies, including Disney, have kicked off a series of fresh legal battles to try and protect their intellectual property.Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Google late on Wednesday alleging the company infringed its copyrights on a "massive scale." In the letter, which was viewed by CNBC, Disney said Google has been using its copyrighted works to train models and distributing copies of its protected content without authorization.CNBC has reached out to Google for comment on the letter.Universal and Disney have sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company improperly used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI in September, warning the startup to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.Disney's deal with OpenAI suggests the company isn't ruling out AI platforms entirely. Read more CNBC tech newsOracle shares plummet, dragging down AI stocksOver $50 billion in under 24 hours: Why Big Tech is doubling down on investing in IndiaCisco's stock closes at record for first time since dot-com peak in 2000Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space as orbital data center race heats up The companies said they have affirmed a commitment to the use of AI that "protects user safety and the rights of creators" and "respects the creative industries," according to the release. OpenAI has also agreed to maintain "robust controls" to prevent illegal or harmful content from being generated on its platforms. Some of the characters available through the deal include Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Cinderella, Iron Man and Darth Vader. Disney and OpenAI said the agreement does not include any talent likeness or voices. Users will also be able to draw from the same intellectual property while using ChatGPT Images, where they can use natural language prompts to create images. "Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we're excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content," Altman said in a statement.Curated selections of Sora videos will also be available to watch on Disney's streaming platform Disney+.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast's planned spinoff of Versant.WATCH: We tested OpenAIâs Sora 2 AI-video app to find out why Hollywood is worried watch nowVIDEO3:4603:46We tested OpenAIâs Sora 2 AI-video app to find out why Hollywood is worriedTech
Jindal Steel & Power has significantly expanded its heat-treated plate capacity. The company's annual capacity has tripled to seven lakh tonnes. This move strengthens its offerings in high-strength, abrasion-resistant, and defense-grade plates. The enhanced capabilities support India's manufacturing goals and export potential. Jindal Steel also plans infrastructure development to improve its supply chain efficiency. View More
Bengaluru: Naveen Jindal-controlled Jindal Steel & Power announced on Thursday that it has tripled its annual capacity for heat-treated plates to seven lakh tonnes, marking an expansion of its capabilities. "In 2013, we had a heat treatment capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes per month, which has now almost tripled to 60,000 tonnes," SK Pradhan, chief marketing officer of Jindal Steel, told ET. "These are very high-end plates with critical applications." The expanded capacity strengthens the company's plate product line, which includes high-strength quenched and tempered (Q&T) products, abrasion-resistant plates, and defence-grade products for armoured vehicles. Beyond plates, the company's product portfolio includes rails and universal beams, wire rods, rebar, and hot rolled steel (HSM) coils, among others. Pradhan further said that there's government push for domestic manufacturing over imports. Heat-treated plates, which undergo specialised processing to enhance their strength and durability, serve multiple industries with applications spanning construction, highways, shipbuilding, line pipes for oil and gas transportation, and other infrastructure projects. "Whenever a new requirement emerges in plates, we have it covered. We've even created fire-resistant steel, no other steel company in India offers this," Pradhan said. Live Events The company now offers products in both furnace-normalised and quenched categories. Its facility can process plates ranging from 6 mm to 200 mm in thickness and up to 5 meters in width. "These premium plates directly contribute to India's growing export capabilities and global industrial presence," Pradhan added. The company exports nearly 10% of its production to more than 30 countries. The announcement comes just over a month after Jindal Steel commissioned its Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) converter at its Angul steel plant in Odisha. The company plans to develop a port at Pradeep, along with a slurry pipeline and coal pipe conveyor to enhance supply chain efficiency. It currently operates three plants located at Patratu, Raigarh, and Angul. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day. View More
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on Dec. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day: 1. Holding out for a hero Stocks surged yesterday after the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected interest rate cut at its final policy gathering of the year. But the bank seemed to take the "hawkish cut" stance many were anticipating, saying that the move doesn't signal more decreases in the near future.Here's the rundown:The Fed announced a 25 basis point rate cut, marking its third decrease of 2025. Policymakers are forecasting just one rate decrease in the year ahead, projections show.But it wasn't a united front. This week's meeting saw the most voting members break with the majority since 2019.In its closely watched statement, the Fed noted an uptick in unemployment, indicating a possible shift in focus to the labor market from inflation. The central bank also said that it will purchase short-term Treasury bonds on an as-needed basis, pushing down some yields.Chair Jerome Powell took a cautious stance in his press conference, saying the decision was a "close call" and that monetary policymakers can now "wait and see how the economy evolves."Wall Street liked what it heard: The Dow rose nearly 500 points in Wednesday's session, while the S&P 500 finished just short of all-time highs.Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said the Fed could have "at least doubled" the size of its rate decrease.Follow live markets updates here. 2. Diverging paths A sign is posted in front of the Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, on March 11, 2024.Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Oracle missed analysts' expectations for revenue in its high-profile earnings report yesterday. Shares of the software company dropped 11% in extended trading, dragging down other artificial intelligence plays such as Nvidia and CoreWeave.The revenue miss overshadowed Oracle's quarterly earnings per share, which blew past Wall Street's forecast for the second quarter. Oracle also said its remaining performance obligations soared more than 400% from a year ago, driven by new commitments from companies including Meta and Nvidia.On the other hand, shares of Cisco rallied to an all-time closing high in yesterday's session. As CNBC's Jordan Novet points out, it's the first such record for Cisco since its dot-com bubble peak in 2000. 3. Taking the tanker A U.S. military helicopter flies near an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, Dec. 10, 2025, in a still image from video. U.S. Attorney General | Via Reuters Trump said yesterday that the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. He said it was "the largest one ever seized."Matt Smith, head U.S. analyst at energy consultancy Kpler, told CNBC that the tanker has been identified as the Skipper, a Guyana-flagged "Very Large Crude Carrier" that appeared to be en route to Cuba. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an X post yesterday that the tanker had been sanctioned by the U.S. for years "due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations."The move comes as Trump continues to escalate his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying in a Politico interview published Tuesday that Maduro's "days are numbered." Oil prices popped yesterday following Trump's announcement. Get Morning Squawk directly in your inboxCNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning.Subscribe here to get access today. 4. Rivian's road ahead Rivian electric vehicles are parked at the Rivian Venice Hub in Venice, California, on Nov. 13, 2024.Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images Rivian is taking a turn toward artificial intelligence. The electric vehicle maker is hosting its first-ever "Autonomy and AI Day" today as it pitches shareholders on its in-house technology for new cars.As CNBC's Michael Wayland notes, Rivian's AI push comes as the company's core EV business has lagged expectations since it went public four years ago. Rivian is also losing billions of dollars annually despite efforts to reduce costs and increase software revenue. 5. Leadership refresh Henrique Braun to become the next CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.Courtesy: The Coca-Cola Company The latest C-suite shakeup came last night: Coca-Cola announced operations chief Henrique Braun will succeed James Quincey as CEO next year.Braun, who has worked at the soda giant for nearly three decades, will take the helm at the end of March. Quincey will stay with Coca-Cola as its board's executive chairman following his eight-year stint as CEO.Coca-Cola has mostly outperformed rival Pepsico under Quincey, and its namesake Coke brand has held on to its title as the top-selling soda in the U.S. But the company has grappled with cooling demand as lower-income consumers buckle under inflationary pressures. The Daily Dividend CNBC's Hayley Cuccinello reports that investment firms of the ultra rich are using WhatsApp chats to do everything from vet deals to sell dinosaur bones. Yes, you read that correctly. If I need something at any time of day, I can message nearly 1,000 people about a new bitcoin fund or ask who's the best tax lawyer in Germany.Sam Nallen CopleyInvestment advisor â CNBC's Jeff Cox, Michelle Fox, Sarah Min, Christina Cheddar Berk, Kevin Breuninger, Sean Conlon, Jordan Novet, Spencer Kimball, Michael Wayland, Jacob Pramuk, Amelia Lucas and Hayley Cuccinello contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.
Bengaluru-based MYNUSCo, initially focused on automotive biocomposites, has pivoted to consumer markets with its sustainable lifestyle brand, eha.eco. Leveraging agricultural waste like bamboo and rice husk, the company produces durable and compostable materials. View More
NEW DELHI: MYNUSCo , the Bengaluru-based biomaterials enterprise that transforms agricultural waste into high-performance materials, has expanded beyond automotive applications into consumer markets. The company was founded in 2015 by Mahadev Chikkanna and Shruthi Ujjani Ramesh . The company spent its first five years in R&D mode, developing biocomposite technologies. In 2019, it received a contract from a global automotive OEM to supply biocomposites for car interiors. However, the pandemic forced a complete strategy rethink. Chikkanna said in a statement, "COVID-19 disrupted supply chains globally and clarified our path - we needed materials that touch everyday life, not just automotive interiors." That realisation sparked eha.eco, a consumer brand offering sustainable lifestyle products, including planters, homeware, and gifting. Recent launches include Loopac.eco for circular packaging and 3s.eco for carbon-negative construction solutions. MYNUSCo's biocomposites are made from bamboo waste, rice husk, straw, coir, and other agricultural by-products that would otherwise be burned. These materials are categorised as BioDur for durable goods and BioPur for compostable applications. Every material is backed by an ISO-verified Life Cycle Assessment system, providing transparent carbon accounting from source to finished product. MYNUSCo claims its work has prevented over 2,000 tons of CO₂ emissions - equivalent to taking roughly 1,400 cars off the road for a year. Live Events Globally, 45% of carbon emissions stem from material production - plastics, cement, steel. Yet, most climate action focuses on energy transition. MYNUSCo addresses this gap with cost-competitive, scalable alternatives requiring no major tooling changes. The company has its biocomposites manufacturing base in Mysuru and collaborates with partner molding units across India to convert these biomaterials into finished products. Ramesh said in a statement, "Sustainability must include social equity. We're committed to creating shared success across our entire value chain, not just for the company and shareholders. What was once perceived as challenging has now become one of our key strengths." .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
Quincey has led Coca-Cola since 2017, seeing the company through the Covid pandemic and a focus on healthier beverages. View More
In this articleKOFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Henrique Braun to become the next CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.Courtesy: The Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola Chief Operating Officer Henrique Braun will succeed James Quincey as CEO next year, the company said Wednesday, as Coke and its rivals navigate tepid consumer demand for soft drinks.The change will take effect on March 31, and Braun will be nominated to the company's board of directors, Coca-Cola said. Quincey will stay on with the company as executive chairman of its board.Quincey, 60, has held the top job at the beverage giant since 2017. During that time, he oversaw the refranchising of Coke's bottling system, the company's strategy through the Covid pandemic and its focus on beverages perceived as healthier.Braun, 57, has held various roles at Coke since joining the company in 1996, the same year that Quincey joined. Braun became COO at the beginning of the year. In a release, Coca-Cola said Braun will focus on identifying new growth opportunities around the world, better filling consumer needs and improving the company's technology. James Quincey, Coca-Cola CEO, speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025. Gerry Miller | CNBC The leadership change comes as the beverage company tries to reverse slower demand for its sodas, which still account for a significant amount of its global sales. In Coke's third-quarter, global unit case volume â which strips out pricing and foreign currency changes â rose 1% after falling in the previous three-month period. Quincey has said lower-income consumers have bought fewer of its drinks, and the company has rolled out cheaper and smaller versions of its products to try to reverse the trend. However, pricier brands like Smartwater and Fairlife have performed better than its soda segment in recent quarters, suggesting that consumers are willing to pay more for some brands. Coca-Cola has also largely outperformed rival Pepsico during Quincey's tenure, in part due to its stronger out-of-home business in venues like restaurants and movie theaters. Coke is also winning the soda wars. Its namesake soda has held onto its spot as the best-selling soda in the U.S., and Sprite surpassed Pepsi to become the No. 3 soda in the nation. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconCoke's stock has outperformed Pepsi's in recent years. Coke shares were largely unchanged in extended trading Wednesday. The company's stock has climbed nearly 13% this year, while Pepsi shares have fallen more than 1%.Coke's market cap of more than $300 billion outstrips that of Pepsi, which has a market value of roughly $200 billion.