Prediction: Here's What a $15,000 Investment in Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Could Be Worth in 5 Years

If you're worried about the stock market correcting or crashing this year or next, you might be stressed out regarding which stocks to buy. It's true that when the market pulls back, growth stocks often fall hardest, so you might want to consider some more "defensive" stocks -- ones whose goods or services tend to remain in demand no matter whether the economy is booming or struggling. A solid stock to consider is Coca-Cola ( KO +0.22% ) .

Plunking, say, $15,000 into it now could result in a stake worth around $22,000 in five years. Image source: Getty Images. Here's how Coke has performed in recent years: Time Period Coca-Cola Average Annual Return Past 5 years 11.98% Past 10 years 9.60% Past 15 years 7.89% Source: Data from Morningstar.com as of Sept. 16, 2026.

How will Coca-Cola grow over the coming five years? Well, no one can know for sure. If the whole market drops , Coke's stock will likely drop, too, and it might not recover for one or more years.

Also, right now the stock seems a bit overvalued , with a recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25, a bit above the five-year average of 23. The S&P 500 has averaged annual returns close to 10% (ignoring inflation) over many decades, so we could estimate that Coca-Cola will perform similarly, but the market has been soaring for a bunch of years now, and Coca-Cola's shares aren't bargain-priced, either, so let's go with a more conservative 8% average annual gain. With that, a $15,000 stake will grow into about a $22,000 one.

Premium Feature Moneyball Superscore 76 /100 Today's Change ( 0.22 %) $ 0.19 Current Price $ 88.25 Coca-Cola is also a solid dividend-paying stock, and buying now will get you a dividend yield of 2.41%. That payout has been growing, too -- totaling $2.10 per share annually, up from $1.84 in 2023 and $1.60 in 2019. All in all, give Coca-Cola some consideration.

It may drop when the market drops, but its offerings will remain in demand, and its stock should fall less than many other stocks. It's a solid candidate for your long-term portfolio.

Source: The Motley Fool