Could Investing $10,000 in Coca-Cola Help Make You a Millionaire?

I'm sure every investor is familiar with Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). The dominant force in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink industry has a global presence, as its products are sold in more than 200 countries. An astonishing 2.2 billion servings are consumed every single day. Management says that the company has 30 brands that each do more than $1 billion in annual sales.

Coca-Cola is such a high-quality business that it makes up a huge position in Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. An important endorsement like this means that the beverage stock should be on most investors' radars. But can buying $10,000 worth of Coca-Cola shares today help make you a millionaire?

Coca-Cola is a great business

Long-term investors who are looking to own solid companies should keep tabs on Coca-Cola. There are a few important reasons to believe this is a high-quality business.

For starters, the brand cannot be overlooked. Coca-Cola's broad product offerings and effective marketing campaigns have allowed the brand to resonate strongly with people around the globe. There's no reason to believe that this will change, as the company has been around for well over a century.

The brand strength gives the company consistent pricing power. Coca-Cola has the ability to offset weaker volume growth in any period with higher prices, with a 5% benefit from pricing just in the second quarter alone. Because these are small, repeatable purchases, coupled with the fact that people build a loyalty to the brand, Coca-Cola's pricing power isn't going anywhere.

The business is also extremely profitable. Coca-Cola relies on third-party bottlers and distributors to move its beverages. This allows it to run a more efficient organization that has reported an average operating margin of 26.3% in the past decade.

That robust bottom-line performance funds Coca-Cola's impressive dividend. The dividend yield is 3.02%, which is higher than the average of the S&P 500. What's more, Coca-Cola has increased the payout for 63 straight years. The last dividend raise was approved by the Board of Directors earlier this year. This can be quite attractive for income investors.

Coca-Cola's staying power is another overlooked characteristic that investors should pay attention to. The industry doesn't face much disruption, unlike tech-driven sectors that are constantly changing, which supports Coca-Cola's durability over very long periods of time. This means that investors can be sure that the business will be around and relevant decades from now. That makes it a safe company to own.

Don't expect huge appreciation from Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a very mature business, which isn't surprising. It's already in all corners of the world, and that doesn't bode well for strong growth potential. The company does have a history of acquisitions in order to expand its market presence, but this isn't going to move the top line by much.

Consequently, investors shouldn't expect the stock to give them huge appreciation in the long run. In the past 10 years, shares have generated a total return of 119% (as of Oct. 16). This comes up well short of the S&P 500, which would have almost quadrupled investor capital in the last decade.

There's really no reason to believe that this trend of underperformance won't continue. It also doesn't help that Coca-Cola stock's valuation isn't a bargain, with shares trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24. Were the stock trading at a much cheaper multiple, investors would potentially have more upside.

The stock might make sense for dividend-seeking investors because of its history of increasing payouts. But if you're someone who wants to invest $10,000 in the shares to see that position one day become $1 million, it's smart to seriously temper expectations.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.