PepsiCo Financial News

PepsiCo got a bump to fourth quarter profits thanks in part to lower charges and continued price hikes, but higher prices have hit sales

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh

Investing.com — PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) has unveiled a full-year forecast for organic revenue growth of at least 4%, below Bloomberg consensus expectations of 5.2%, as the food and beverage group flagged waning benefits from elevated prices.

Quaker Oats Company and PepsiCo Canada after its Quaker products were recalled in Canada due to potential salmonella contamination.Slater Vecchio LLP launched the lawsuit “on behalf of all persons in Canada” who purchased any of the 38 Quaker products that were recalled, or those who believe they got sick after eating the products.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued the initial recall on Jan. 11, 2024, for 38 Quaker products, including granola, cereal, and then later recalled over 30 yogurt and parfait products that contained Quaker granola.“Canadians trust manufacturers to produce packaged foods that can safely be consumed without the risk of illness from contamination,” Sam Jaworski, a partner at Slater Vecchio LLP, said in a statement.“Through a class action, Canadians can access justice to hold suppliers accountable through strength in numbers, even if it would not be economical to pursue a lawsuit at the individual level.”Slater Vecchio LLP is seeking to identify those who believe they got sick from the recalled products, and say they can be contacted here.Salmonella is a bacterial infection commonly transmitted through contaminated food and water and poses a significant health threat, especially to children and older adults, as it can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, dehydration, and, in extreme cases, death.“Salmonella is one of the most prolific pathogens we know,” Keith Warriner, a food safety professor from the University of Guelph, previously told Global News.

Wendy’s Co. has named a longtime PepsiCo executive as its new CEO

PepsiCo's senior vice president and chief commercial officer at its AMESA (Asia, Middle East and Africa) region, Jagrut Kotecha, is now the frontrunner to head India operations, multiple executives aware of the developments said. «Kotecha is a top contender for the role of president and chief executive officer for its India business now, as his decades-plus experience in PepsiCo's snacks business is being preferred by the global leadership,» one of the executives said.

quick service restaurants (QSRs) sector has slowed down, and the last year was rough for soft drinks as the April-June quarter, which contributes 35-40% of annual sales, was a washout because of rains. However, the year ahead is expected to see healthy double-digit growth for both businesses, said Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of RJ Corp, PepsiCo's largest bottler, and the largest franchise partner for KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee in India. RJ Corp group company VBL, PepsiCo's largest bottling partner in India, bottles and distributes the company's beverages including Pepsi, Pepsi Black, 7UP, Mirinda and Mountain Dew fizzy drinks, Sting energy drink, Tropicana juice and Aquafina water in 27 states and 7 union territories. He underlined the growth potential in India on account of lower per capita consumption and distribution reach of packaged soft drinks, «India has 11-12 million outlets for FMCG, and our beverages are in 3.5 million outlets only — that shows the sheer scope ahead of us for market penetration.

Reliance Consumer Products-owned soft drink brand Campa will be one of the official central sponsors of all the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) series played in the country starting this year. The brand has signed a multi-year deal with the BCCI, a development that blocks out rivals Coca-Cola and PepsiCo for BCCI matches played in India, executives directly aware of the developments said. According to one of the executives, the deal will get Campa exclusive on-stadium presence, pouring rights and beverage partnership of all cricket matches played in the country within the tenure. This will be Campa's first big cricket sponsorship since the brand was relaunched by Reliance over a year back, and comes ahead of the summer season, which is expected to see a pitch battle between cola makers this year, after a rain-washed last summer season. The Campa deal with the BCCI will cover all cricket played in India and will also include the under-19 series and women's series, one of the executives said. The financials of the sponsorship could not be ascertained. A formal announcement by the BCCI is expected in the coming days. «Any such exclusive cricket sponsorship is a significant benefit for brands, given the reach and following cricket has in India.

By Dominique Vidalon

Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton tea and its namesake soda.

Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats and its namesake soda

Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in it stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay's potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton tea and its namesake soda. The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Thursday and added small signs in stores that say, «We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.» The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn't say when it would take effect in those three countries.

By Piotr Lipinski

PepsiCo is considering more than one executive for the role of president and chief executive officer for its India business, including a candidate from its global system, said executives directly aware of the developments. Earlier, PepsiCo India's current senior vice president and general manager, beverages, George Kovoor, was believed to be taking over the top role to succeed Ahmed ElSheikh. The developments follow PepsiCo's current president ElSheikh, who is expected to move to a global role within the company this year, making way for the leadership transition. Executives cited a combination of reasons for the recent developments.

“As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs," ran an early advertising jingle attributed to Johann Tetzel, a 16th-century indulgence salesman. Funding the church offered believers an alternative to paying for sins in the afterlife. The carbon-credit market promises something similar.

America’s economy seems to keep rolling in. In the third quarter gdp expanded by a barnstorming 4.9% in annualised terms. Heading into earnings season, the month or so each quarter when most firms report their latest results, a stream of upbeat economic figures led stockmarket analysts to hold their profit expectations for the quarter steady, rather than trim them as they normally do.

Investing.com — Here is your Pro Recap of the top takeaways from Wall Street analysts for the past week: upgrades for Allakos, Discover Financial, and Spotify; downgrades for PepsiCo and Nike.

hiring in 2024. Top companies like L&T, Tata Steel, PepsiCo, Airtel, ITC, among others, told ET that their hiring plans are on track for the coming year mostly due to expansion of existing operations, bringing cheer to the otherwise muted job market. This is at a time when most players, especially the IT firms, are cutting down hiring numbers, especially at the entry level. Hiring for this bunch will largely be focused on women to improve gender diversity; sustainability; and entry level talent from the campuses apart from lateral hiring. Overall, the hiring momentum for 2024 will likely be the same as 2023 and in some cases, even more. Hiring momentum will continue in 2024 because of the growth and expansion plans at Tata Steel to reach 40 million tonnes capacity by 2030, said Atrayee Sanyal, VP, human resource manager, Tata Steel.

At least five brands have signed Hindi film celebrities in the past two weeks, accelerating a turnaround that began earlier in the year after a lean phase in 2021 and 2022, when a string of box office flops and a drug controversy took a toll on big Bollywood endorsements. On Thursday, Bisleri International named Deepika Padukone as its first global brand ambassador. She will also feature on bottle labels of the mineral water brand.

Varun Beverages Ltd, the manufacturer, bottler and distributor of PepsiCo products, which helps the American company stay nimble by keeping it free of burdens that come with manufacturing and selling FMCG goods. Steady growth of Varun Beverages in recent years, despite Covid disruptions, has made it a darling of the markets.

₹1,380, up 7% on Wednesday. BevCo holds franchise rights from PepsiCo Inc. in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, and distribution rights for Namibia and Botswana.