KO’s worst drop since 1999 was 44%
Coca-Cola Company (The) (KO) fell 44% from May 1999 to Mar 2003. It took 8.4 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Oct 2007. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 940th of the 986 stocks PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 1999 to now
How KO held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | KO | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | −35.0% | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −40.5% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −37.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −16.6% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
See how KO behaves inside your whole mix, with the worst 12 months, loss odds and crash replays. Free, no signup, and the math runs in your browser.
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What was KO’s maximum drawdown?
KO’s deepest fall since 1999 was 44.3%, from its high on May 5, 1999 to its low on March 10, 2003. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did KO take to recover?
8.4 years. KO first closed above its May 1999 high again on October 18, 2007.
Was KO riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, KO’s worst drop was 44.3% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −36.2% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, January 5, 1999 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.