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- The Breakup is Off: The Real Turnaround Begins Now for This Consumer Stock
The Breakup is Off: The Real Turnaround Begins Now for This Consumer Stock
Noah Zelvis
February 11, 2026
After years of restructuring talk, the strategy has shifted from financial engineering to operational repair for this packaged foods staple.
With the split shelved and fresh capital committed, the pressure is now squarely on delivering real growth. Is this one on your menu?
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Oil and Gas
ConocoPhillips Is Cutting $1 Billion and Thousands of Jobs
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is slashing $1 billion in capital and operating costs in 2026 while continuing its workforce reduction, which will eliminate 20% to 25% of its employees.
That is not a trim. That is a company fundamentally resizing itself after absorbing Marathon Oil in a $22.5 billion acquisition last year.
The cuts build on more than $1 billion in synergies already captured from the Marathon deal, bringing the total restructuring effort to well past $2 billion.
Fewer People, Tighter Machine
Cutting one in four jobs is a bold move for any company, and it tells you that ConocoPhillips sees its future built on efficiency rather than headcount.
The goal is a leaner operation that generates more cash per barrel with fewer people touching it.
Capital spending holds steady at around $12 billion, so this is not a company pulling back on production. It is spending the same money with a much smaller team.
The Real Question Is What Comes Next
When a company this size restructures at this scale, the early phase is painful, but the payoff shows up in free cash flow down the line.
If the math works, ConocoPhillips exits 2026 as a significantly more efficient operator, sitting atop a combined asset base that dwarfs most independents'.
You start to see a company that used an acquisition not just to grow, but to rebuild itself entirely.
COP currently trades at $108 and pays a dividend of $3.36 per share, a yield of 3.09%.
Consumer Brands
Coca-Cola Just Killed Another Flavor and Hoped Nobody Would Notice
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has quietly discontinued Orange Cream without making any official announcement, continuing a pattern the company has repeated dozens of times since 2020.
No press release, no farewell campaign. Just a flavor that stops showing up on shelves and lets you figure it out on your own.
This is how Coca-Cola manages its portfolio now. Launch flavors without confirming whether they are permanent, watch the sales data, and pull them silently when interest fades.
The Silent Kill Playbook
Coca-Cola has cut dozens of brands and flavors over the past six years, including TaB, its original diet cola, after 57 years of production.
That move sparked an organized campaign to bring it back, complete with petitions and protests at headquarters.
The company ignored all of it. And that tells you everything about how Coca-Cola views nostalgia versus numbers.
If the data says pull it, the flavor goes regardless of who shows up with a sign.
Strategy, Not Sloppiness
This is not a company losing track of its lineup. Coca-Cola is actively trimming anything that does not match current consumer trends, freeing up shelf space, production capacity, and marketing dollars for what actually moves volume.
You might miss Orange Cream, but Coca-Cola already moved on before the last cans left the warehouse.
In a portfolio this massive, the willingness to kill quietly and redirect fast is the strategy, not a side effect of it.
KO currently trades at $78 and pays a dividend of $2.04 per share, a yield of 2.61%.
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Corporate Finance
Alphabet Just Borrowed $20 Billion, and Nobody Flinched
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) just sold $20 billion in bonds across seven tranches, ranging from 2029 to 2066. That is not a company plugging a hole.
That is a business locking in decades of cheap capital to build infrastructure it believes will define how it makes money for the next generation.
For years, Alphabet funded everything from cash flow.
The shift to debt signals that the scale of AI spending has outgrown even Google-sized profits, and management is comfortable leveraging the balance sheet to keep pace.
Forty Years of Conviction
The longest tranche matures in 2066. Alphabet is also reportedly considering a 100-year sterling bond, which would be the first from a tech company since 1997.
When a company issues debt on that timeline, you get a pretty clear read on how permanent it considers the AI buildout to be.
This is Alphabet treating AI infrastructure as foundational, not cyclical. The spending is not a phase. It is the new operating model.
Debt Changes the Pressure
When a company this large shifts from self-funding to borrowing, expectations for returns grow louder.
That said, Alphabet has the cash flow, the margins, and the market position to absorb this kind of leverage without breaking a sweat.
If you are going to pick a company to borrow $20 billion for a long-term bet, the one running the internet's most profitable ad machine while building the AI layer underneath it is a reasonable place to start.
GOOGL currently trades at $316 and pays a dividend of $0.84 per share, a yield of 0.27%.
Dividend Stocks Worth Watching
Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is preparing for a major expansion in the obesity market as Medicare begins covering weight-loss drugs later this year, with CEO Mike Doustdar saying the company is initially targeting around 15 million eligible patients.
While roughly 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, Novo believes a more realistic near-term addressable group for its products is closer to 15 million.
Management expects the new coverage, combined with the launch of its oral obesity pill and a higher-dose Wegovy option, to lift prescription volumes gradually and help offset lower US pricing under its recent drug pricing agreement.
For investors, the message was measured but strategic: Medicare access will not transform demand overnight, but it represents a meaningful long-term catalyst in the high-stakes obesity battle.
NVO pays a $1.27 dividend, yielding 5.28%.
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) has delivered a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter and reaffirmed its 2026 profit outlook, offering fresh evidence that its turnaround plan is gaining traction.
Adjusted earnings and revenue both topped Wall Street estimates, with growth across its insurance, pharmacy, and health services businesses.
Management reiterated full-year profit guidance of $7.00 to $7.20 per share.
It maintained revenue expectations of at least $400 billion, despite roughly $20 billion in headwinds tied to exiting the ACA exchange market and lower drug pricing under recent federal agreements.
Executives pointed to improving margins at Aetna, stabilizing trends in Medicare Advantage, and operational gains at Caremark and Oak Street Health.
For investors, the results signal steady progress under new leadership, reinforcing confidence that restructuring efforts and disciplined cost control are helping reposition the healthcare giant for more durable earnings growth.
CVS pays a 66-cent dividend, yielding 3.54%.
The Kraft Heinz Company (NYSE: KHC) is hitting pause on its planned breakup, with newly appointed CEO Steve Cahillane shelving the separation to focus on restoring profitable growth in its core business.
Management said the company will redirect attention and capital toward execution, including a $600 million investment in marketing, sales, research and development, and product quality improvements in the US.
The move marks a sharp pivot from last year’s plan to unwind much of the decade-old merger that created the packaged food giant.
While quarterly earnings topped expectations, revenue fell short, and shares initially dropped on the news before stabilizing.
For investors, the reversal signals a renewed commitment to operational repair over structural change, but Wall Street appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach as the long-running turnaround enters another chapter.
KHC currently pays a 40-cent quarterly dividend, yielding 6.41%.
Dividend Increases
CRBG has increased its dividend to 24 cents, a 4.17% increase. Its new yield is 3.2%.
BMA has raised its dividend payment to 38 cents, an increase of 7.45%. Its new yield is 4.9%.
AEE has lifted its dividend to 75 cents, a boost of 5.63%. Its new yield is 2.85%.
UFCS has boosted its dividend to 20 cents, a rise of 25%. Its new yield is 2.21%.
Dividend Decreases
IIIN has cut its dividend to 3 cents, a decline of 97.00% drop. Its new yield is 0.32%.
HTGC has reduced its dividend to 7 cents, a 82.50% drop. Its new yield is 1.66%.
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Upcoming Dividend Payers
CL’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming 52-cent payment is 02/13/26.
SKT’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming 29-cent payment is 02/13/26.
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HFBL’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming 13-cent payment is 02/16/26.
Everything Else
Estée Lauder has sued Walmart following concerns that the retailer was allowing counterfeit products, including those mimicking La Mer, Tom Ford, and Clinique, to be sold via its online marketplace.
Paramount is still attempting to woo Warner Bros. Discovery investors by sweetening its hostile takeover bid with a 25-cent-per-share ticking fee.
Ford has struck out on its Q4 earnings, missing estimates and citing a $900 million hit from trade tariffs. The automaker's stock hasn't sunk, however, after also reaffirming its 2026 outlook.
Coca-Cola’s results have been dealt a blow by budget-conscious shoppers, with demand falling due to household price constraints.
That’s all for today’s edition of the Dividend Brief.
Thanks for reading, and if you have any feedback or dividend stocks you want me to take a look at, just reply to this email!
—Noah Zelvis
DividendBrief.com