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By Juveria Tabassum and Jessica DiNapoli (Reuters) -Coca-Cola's third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's expectations on resilient demand for its zero-sugar drinks and Fairlife in the U.S., and its sodas in some international markets despite cautious spending worldwide. The company also maintained its annual sales and profit targets even though CEO James Quincey flagged a challenging overall environment, sending its shares up 3% on Tuesday. "Affordability and value are really important and we understand that and know that it's important that we find the right packages at the right price point to keep that consumer in our base," CFO John Murphy told Reuters in an interview. Coca-Cola, which is set to launch its cane sugar trademark soda in the U.S. in the fall season, is planning to offer mini 7.5-ounce single-serve cans, priced at less than $2 in U.S. convenience stores to target lower-income consumers. To draw well-off consumers, it has invested in zero-sugar beverages and pricier energy drinks such as Powerade, while increasing production capacity for Fairlife milk in the U.S. Company executives said in a post-earnings call that growing local competition in markets such as India and China was posing challenges. "Actually there's a big overall shift to a little more localness, not just from a competitive point of view… I don't think it's just about affordability," CEO Quincey said. Unit volumes grew in the Europe, Middle East and Africa segment, but were flat in Latin America and North America, and down about 1% in the Asia Pacific region in the third quarter.  Growing demand for lower-calorie products was one of the factors impacting sales of its trademark coke, CFO Murphy said.  U.S. consumers have become more health-conscious—a phenomenon that has taken off in the backdrop of a rise in weight-loss medication use, as well as the Make America Healthy Again movement under President Donald Trump's administration. "RECOVERING FROM BOYCOTT"       Murphy said the demand for its trademark coke is also recovering from a "significant impact" from a boycott after a viral video of the company laying off Latino staff and reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Reuters in February found no public evidence that the company had reported its migrant employees to ICE.  "This year has been tougher than certainly we expected, and I think perhaps the Hispanic community in general would have expected," Murphy said. The world's largest beverage company's third-quarter revenue of $12.46 billion topped estimates of $12.39 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.  Like its rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola also expects its revenue and profit to benefit from a weaker dollar. Earlier this month, PepsiCo topped quarterly estimates on growth in international markets and demand for healthier drinks, as it doubles down on offering affordable pack sizes for its salty snacks.  In the third quarter, Coca-Cola reported volume growth of 1% compared to a 1% drop in the prior quarter, while prices grew 6%. Excluding items, the company earned 82 cents per share, beating expectations of 78 cents, as higher prices boosted margins. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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By Rashika Singh (Reuters) -Shares of construction firm Fluor Corp rose 2.7% on Tuesday after activist investor Starboard Value took a nearly 5% stake, aiming to unlock value from its 40% holding in NuScale Power, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Starboard founder Jeff Smith is expected to outline the firm's investment thesis at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York later in the day, where he will also discuss plans for TripAdvisor, another recent target. Shares of NuScale Power fell 7% in early trading. Analysts at Citigroup said Starboard's stake backs their view that Fluor's shares have room to gain, citing value in the NuScale holding and potential improvement in the company's core operations. They added Fluor's stake in NuScale still represents more than 60% of its market cap and could sell more of its remaining 111 million shares in the nuclear reactor developer over time. Fluor's stock is down ~3% so far this year. Meanwhile, NuScale shares have soared over 145% so far this year, buoyed by rising demand for clean energy solutions to power AI-driven data centers and defense infrastructure. Both Starboard and Fluor did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters. Fluor's core business, which includes infrastructure and energy projects, has come under pressure, with the company posting a 6% drop in second-quarter revenue to $4 billion, missing analyst estimates. Starboard argues the segment is undervalued compared to Fluor's NuScale stake and is pushing for strategic options. The activist push comes as Fluor is positioned to benefit from infrastructure policies under President Donald Trump, which could boost investment in energy and construction. (Reporting by Rashika Singh; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery is considering a possible outright sale of itself due to interest from several potential buyers, even as it moves forward with its previously announced split into two companies, it said Tuesday. Shares of the company rose about 8% in premarket trading. There is no deadline or definitive timetable set for completion of the strategic alternatives review process, the company said. Media reports indicate that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is in talks to acquire the combined company before its planned separation into Warner Bros and Discovery Global. Streaming has fundamentally reshaped the media industry, leaving traditional broadcasters with mounting debt, higher content budgets and fragmented viewership. The decline of legacy media, driven by linear TV cord-cutting, as well as the shift of audiences and advertisers to streaming platforms, has forced traditional media companies to rethink their business structures. Warner Bros Discovery – home to CNN, HBO Max and the "Harry Potter" franchise – has been trimming jobs and plans to split its cable and streaming units by next year to unlock asset value. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)