Trump’s Coke cane sugar claim puts corn on the defensive
Shares of corn refiners dropped after Trump’s post suggested a big recipe shift for Coca-Cola in the U.S.
Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The humble can of Coke just got thrust into the center of a political and economic firestorm.
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On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare that Coca-Cola had agreed to switch from high-fructose corn syrup to real cane sugar in its U.S. beverages. “This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!” he wrote, adding that he had personally spoken to the company’s leadership.
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The market reaction was swift. Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), one of the country’s largest producers of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), fell as much as 6% in premarket trading Thursday, a potential hit of roughly $1.5 billion in market value. Ingredion, another major corn processor, dropped nearly 7% before markets opened.
Although Coca-Cola didn’t confirm a sweeping reformulation of its flagship drink, the company issued a vague response that did little to calm speculation: “We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings… will be shared soon.”
That ambiguity was enough to rattle investors—and the corn industry.
A sticky situation for corn producers
The Corn Refiners Association, which represents U.S. producers of corn-based sweeteners and other products, issued a stark warning about the economic consequences of ditching HFCS. “Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit,” said CEO John Bode.
The association emphasized that such a shift would hit U.S. corn growers hard, particularly in states like Iowa. At the same time, it could be a windfall for sugar-producing states like Florida, where cane sugar is a dominant crop.
Coke stock pops, corn stocks drop
While corn refiners absorbed the blow, Coca-Cola shares inched up nearly 1% in early trading Thursday, continuing a solid 2025 run. The stock is up more than 12% year-to-date, outperforming broader indexes.
ADM, which had gained more than 11% over the past three months, saw its rally cut short. As of 10 a.m. ET, shares were down about 1.5%, a partial rebound from the earlier premarket tumble. Ingredion was also trading lower.
The bigger picture: food, politics, and health
Trump's comment comes amid a push by the administration to pressure food and beverage companies into cleaner ingredient lists. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly criticized HFCS as “a formula for making you obese and diabetic,” and has urged food makers to remove what he calls “the worst ingredients” from their products; however, nutritional experts generally agree sugar offers no significant health advantages over HFCS.