PepsiCo beats the Street, sticks to outlook — and poaches Walmart exec as new CFO

PepsiCo’s quarter had more fizz than expected. The snacks-and-soda giant topped Wall Street’s estimates and reaffirmed its full-year view, leaning on overseas strength to offset softer demand at home. Shares popped more than 2% in early trading.

By the numbers (fiscal Q3):

• EPS: $2.29 adjusted vs. $2.26 expected
• Revenue: $23.94B $23.83B expected
• Net income: $2.6B ($1.90/share) vs. $2.93B ($2.13/share) a year ago
• Organic revenue: +1.3%
• Global volume: −1% (food and beverages)

CEO Ramon Laguarta said US shoppers are trading down and gravitating to smaller pack sizes, a move that dents volume but helps dollars. North America is still the trouble spot: Frito-Lay/Quaker volumes fell about 4%, while PepsiCo Beverages North America slipped 3%. The company is pushing back with sharper pricing/pack architecture, faster innovation (think “permissible” snacks and protein plays), and a cleanup of labels (fewer artificial colors and flavors, plus new “NKD” versions of Doritos and Cheetos).

It wasn’t all defensive. The Pepsi brand grew both volume and revenue, Poppi (recent acquisition) is up more than 50% year-to-date at retail, and international markets did the heavy lifting across both snacks and drinks. PepsiCo also exited US/Canada distribution of Rockstar Energy (it still owns 11% of Celsius).

Guidance: No change. PepsiCo still expects core EPS (constant currency) roughly flat year over year and low single-digit organic revenue growth for 2025.

Boardroom shuffle: CFO Jamie Caulfield will retire; Steve Schmitt, currently Walmart US CFO, takes the finance helm Nov. 10. Caulfield will assist with the transition.

Activist pressure: With Elliott Investment Management disclosing a $4B stake, Laguarta called talks “collaborative” and said both sides agree the stock is undervalued. Cost cuts and brand reinvestment remain front and center as PepsiCo works to re-accelerate North America while riding healthier momentum abroad.

CNBC, ABC News, Reuters, and the Financial Times contributed to this report.