Coca-Cola reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue, helped by higher sales during the FIFA World Cup and steady demand for its drinks. The company said sales got a boost during the World Cup because hydration breaks created more opportunities for advertising and increased consumption of beverages.Coca-Cola beats earnings as World Cup sales boost revenue, raises 2026 forecast, while Fairlife resumes production after ransomware cyberattack. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (AFP)The hydration breaks split soccer matches into four parts, giving brands more advertising time and broadcasters such as Fox more commercial opportunities. Coca-Cola Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said the company was happy with the impact of the hydration breaks on sales, especially for its Powerade brand.World Cup boosts sales"I'm not sure whether these hydration breaks are going to be a permanent feature ⁠of the soccer world, but we were not unhappy with them in the World Cup," CFO John Murphy told Reuters in an interview, noting a particular boost for the company's Powerade brand. The World Cup also helped increase demand for Coca-Cola's flagship soft drinks and zero-sugar beverages.The company said demand for its products remained strong even though lower-income consumers in the United States have been cutting back on non-essential spending. Coca-Cola's overall beverage volumes grew during the quarter, helping offset higher costs for raw materials. John Murphy said aluminium and PET plastic packaging costs have risen more than the company had expected this year.Also read: Visa to cut 2,600 jobs ahead of Q2 earnings as payment giant targets efficiency amid AI-driven changesHigher costs remain concernCoca-Cola had earlier said it was working with its bottling partners to reduce the impact of the war in Iran and had locked in some lower prices before the disruption started in February. However, the company said the continued conflict has increased concerns over higher input costs in the second half of the year. Murphy said Coca-Cola will provide more details about its expectations for 2027 costs in October.Coca-Cola's second-quarter comparable revenue rose about 6% to $13.37 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $13.16 billion, according to LSEG data, according to Reuters. Following the results, Coca-Cola shares rose about 1.8% in premarket trading. The company's stock has gained around 20% this year, outperforming rival PepsiCo, which has been hit by weaker snack demand in the U.S.Revenue forecast raisedCoca Cola has dabbled in smaller bottle sizes previously as well, in order to boost revenue in face of increasing prices of the regular bottles. It has also invested in Fair-life dairy products to expand into the milk- based market along with ready-to-drink teas, which has helped to boost its growth forecast from its earlier guidance of 4% to 5%.The company also increased its comparable earnings per share growth forecast to 9% to 10%, compared with its previous target of 8% to 9%. The Ransomware cyberattack hasn’t deterred its production, with Coca Cola saying that it has restarted most production at its Fairlife dairy plants, as per CBS news. Most systems stand ‘restored’ and the company claims to have "resumed the majority of production" at the affected facilities.Fairlife resumes productionOn July 16, Coca-Cola disclosed that an unauthorized third party had accessed some of Fairlife's technology systems in what it described as a ransomware attack. The cyberattack forced Coca-Cola to temporarily stop Fairlife milk production at four US plants. Coca-Cola said the cyberattack did not affect the quality or safety of Fairlife products. The company also confirmed that hackers obtained "certain data" and said it is still working to fully restore all production operations.Coca-Cola said it does not expect the cyberattack to have a meaningful impact on its overall sales. "Retail availability of Fairlife products has been largely unimpacted, due to the availability of existing inventory. Product quality and safety have not been impacted," the company said. Coca-Cola acquired Fairlife from Select Milk Producers in 2020 for about $7 billion. Fairlife is one of Coca-Cola's more than 200 beverage brands, and the dairy brand generates more than $3 billion in annual sales, according to the company.