Latest news with #Lays
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Pepsi Exec Floats Switch To Sugar After Trump Coca-Cola Announcement
PepsiCo's top executive indicated on July 17 that the company may switch Pepsi's sweetener from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar, one day after President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola would soon be making the change. 'Same journey that we have in foods, we're following in beverages. This is a consumer-centric strategy. We're following the consumer,' Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo's CEO, told investors on a call after being asked about Trump's announcement. 'If the consumer is telling us that they prefer products that have sugar and they prefer products that have natural ingredients, we will give the consumer products that have sugar and have natural ingredients. So, this is a journey of following the consumer, trying to be a little bit maybe one step ahead of the consumer, but not too many steps. And it applies to both beverages and food.' As Jasper Fakkert reports for The Epoch Times, Trump said on Wednesday that he had been discussing with Coca-Cola the possibility of switching Coke's sweetener to cane sugar in the United States, 'and they have agreed to do so,' he said. A Coca-Cola spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company appreciates Trump's enthusiasm for its brand and promised to soon share 'more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range.' Some Coca-Cola products feature cane sugar, although most Coke sold in the United States is made with corn syrup. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo updated their soda formulas in the 1980s to use corn syrup instead of sugar. Laguarta's announcement came during a call in which executives said that PepsiCo will relaunch its Lay's and Tostitos brands later this year to highlight that they contain no artificial colors or flavors. 'We're trying to elevate the real food perception of Lay's. If you think about the simplest and most natural snack, it is a potato chip; it's a potato, it's oil, and it's a little bit of salt—the most simple, no artificial ingredients,' Laguarta said. The company also said it was expanding the use of avocado and olive oil across its brands, rather than the canola or soybean oil it uses. Some health influencers, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have promoted removing seed oils from food. PepsiCo officials had announced in April that they were quickening the company's transition to natural colors, in the wake of the Food and Drug Administration's banning of two artificial dyes. Lays and Tostitos will not contain artificial colors by the end of 2025, he said at the time. PepsiCo already offers Lays and Doritos without artificial colors or flavors under its Simply segment. 'The Simply line extension for existing chip brands is still in early innings,' F/m Investments senior portfolio manager Christian Greiner said. 'Consumers have not engaged so far, and given that, it will be seen how consumers react to a rebranding of Lays and Tostitos over the next couple of quarters.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lay's, Tostitos Comeback Set To Ignite Q4, But Can PepsiCo Fend Off Q3 Earnings Dip?
PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) is making bold operational shifts across its global portfolio as it navigates shifting demand patterns and prepares for key product relaunches. These moves come as the company looks to balance short-term pressures with long-term growth, especially in its North American and international markets. Bank of America Securities analyst Peter T. Galbo reiterated the Neutral rating on PepsiCo, raising the price forecast from $145 to $ Thursday, the company registered second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.12, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $2.03. Quarterly sales of $22.726 billion (+1% year over year) outpaced the Street view of $22.292 billion. Galbo notes that while Pepsi Foods (PFNA) delivered stronger-than-expected results, it may still face headwinds in the near term, particularly due to tough year-over-year comparisons in the third quarter following last year's promotional period. The company expects to face a temporary setback in the third quarter before re-launching key brands like Lay's and Tostitos, which should drive sequential improvement in the fourth quarter. To protect volumes, PepsiCo is adjusting its promotional strategy to emphasize everyday value and is also undertaking structural margin improvements, including two plant closures. On the PBNA side, the company is sharpening its revenue growth strategies, phasing out case pack water, and optimizing transportation to lift margins. International operations are expected to remain the primary growth engine for the rest of fiscal year, with strong contributions from Latin America, particularly Brazil and Mexico, and EMEA. These regions are benefiting from favorable pricing actions and rising per capita consumption and are projected to grow at a mid-single-digit (MSD) to high-single-digit (HSD) pace organically. Galbo now forecasts a 2.5% year-over-year decline in the third quarter earnings per share to $2.26, down from a prior estimate of $2.37. The revised outlook reflects expected total organic sales growth of 2%, a gross margin contraction of 60 basis points (in line with the second quarter), and a smaller 20 basis point drop in operating margin. Notably, PFNA's productivity gains and PBNA's tariff mitigation strategies are expected to have a more pronounced impact in the fourth quarter. Price Action: PEP shares are trading lower by 0.29% to $145.03 at last check Friday. Read Next:Photo by Erman Gunes via Shutterstock Latest Ratings for PEP Date Firm Action From To Mar 2022 Wells Fargo Maintains Equal-Weight Feb 2022 DZ Bank Downgrades Buy Hold Feb 2022 Barclays Maintains Overweight View More Analyst Ratings for PEP View the Latest Analyst Ratings Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? PEPSICO (PEP): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Lay's, Tostitos Comeback Set To Ignite Q4, But Can PepsiCo Fend Off Q3 Earnings Dip? originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PepsiCo still has 'a lot of wood to chop': Q2 was 'not good'
PepsiCo (PEP) stock jumps after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings results, driven by international sales amid weakness in North America. RBC Capital Markets managing director Nik Modi joins Market Catalysts to examine the earnings print in the context of the challenging landscape the wider food and beverage industry faces. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts here. PepsiCo rising after topping second-quarter estimates and reiterating its full-year outlook. The maker of Lays and Gatorade citing strong international growth for the results. Joining me now is Nick Modi, RBC Capital Markets managing director. Nick, good to see you here. You got a sector perform on this one, price target of $146. Um, when you look at the volumes here, kind of, kind of lackluster, what do you think is going on with Pepsi? What is your sort of biggest takeaway? Yeah, I mean, look, this has been a general theme that's been going across the entire consumer goods space. Um, grocery inflation has outpaced wage growth, going back to when we got out of the pandemic. And I think that's made groceries literally less affordable in the eyes of the consumer. And so, in those circumstances, a consumer looks for value. Now, when you think about what's happened to a bag of potato chips or Doritos or any other salty snack, uh, for that matter, the prices have gone up quite a bit. Um, or there's product that's come out of the package. And, I think consumers have noticed, and so they're making choices. They're either going to private label, or they're maybe even going to protein forward snacks, just given uh, the rise of the interest in protein as we have an aging population, but also because of GLP1s. So I think all of that is contributing to Pepsi's volume weakness. Um, looks like they're starting to reinvest back into promotions and drive some, some improved volume. Uh, so sequentially it got better from the first quarter, but we still think they have a lot of wood to chop to, to get their, uh, business back to growth. Does the stock price reaction today, that 6% boost, does that make sense to you? Listen, I, the expectations were incredibly low coming into the quarter. Um, and, and that's a function of many other food companies having very disappointing results. General Mills, Smuckers, uh, uh, Conagra, for example. Um, so I think what's happening today is just a reaction to it being not as bad as everyone thought. But let's not kid ourselves, these were not good results uh, in, in an absolute sense. Um, and so we feel very comfortable with our sector perform at this point. And Nick, um, we've seen a lot of changes in the food industry in terms of, of remaking a various conglomerates, right? You know, sort of splitting up, spinning off brands, etc. Is, is that what Pepsi needs to do also? I don't think Pepsi necessarily needs to do that. I mean, I, I think a lot of Pepsi's issues are macro driven. Uh, I think there's some probably some strategic missteps they made around innovation. Um, and I think they need to expand their product portfolio to include other snacking substrates like cauliflower and edamame, uh, but also be more protein forward. So, I don't really think they need to have any massive corporate action um, like you're seeing with some of the other companies in the sector right now. Well, and you mentioned the macro. Um, you know, is it just tough to be in the snack business right now because of those trends, or is it just a matter of they're not leaning into some of the micro trends that, that you alluded to, the sort of quote-unquote healthier snacks or the protein forward snacks? I think it's a little bit of both, right? It's hard to quantify what structural versus cyclical, but I would say the cyclical element is very high uh, because it's not just Pepsi that's struggling. Almost all of my companies uh, across the entire consumer goods landscape are feeling volume pressure right now. Uh, so that's why I believe that this is a, a very big cyclical issue. Um, and so as we start getting into a better, more normalized consumer environment, whenever that comes, uh, I, I certainly think you'll see some volume improvement.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
PepsiCo Reaches for Protein and Fiber to Boost Sales
High-protein Cheetos? Doritos with added fiber? The snack and beverage giant PepsiCo said it planned to offer healthier, or cleaner, versions of some of the company's popular chip and drink brands and add protein or fiber to them, which consumers are increasingly seeking, executives told Wall Street analysts and investors on an earnings call on Thursday morning. 'Protein is clearly a sub-segment in the food and beverage category that is growing fast,' Ramon Laguarta, the chief executive of PepsiCo, said. 'Consumers are adopting protein solutions in their diet at a pace that was not the case a few months or years back. We're trying to offer the consumer solutions. Not small solutions, but big solutions with some of our big brands.' The company didn't offer specifics on which snacks or beverages might be made with additional protein or fiber, but hinted they would most likely first appear in some beverages and Quaker snacks. It said it was in the midst of relaunching two of its big brands, Lay's and Tostitos, with no artificial colors or flavors by the end of this year. PepsiCo also plans to introduce a line of Cheetos and Doritos with no artificial colors or flavors in the future, the company said. The company highlighted the success it has seen globally in its sugar-free colas and other beverages. The heightened focus on healthier or more functional snacks and beverages comes as consumers are increasingly seeking out those types of products and as the Trump Administration is applying pressure on companies to move away from artificial colors and toward more natural ingredients. Late Wednesday, President Trump posted on social media that Coca-Cola had agreed to switch to real cane sugar in its drinks sold in the United States. Coke, which currently sweetens its beverages in the United States largely with high-fructose corn syrup, did not say whether it had agreed to the change or not. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Congressman asked Zohran Mamdani to ‘go back to the Third World' for eating with his hands. What happened next
Zohran Mamdani, the newly minted face of New York City's progressive wave, wasn't in the middle of a political rally or fiery debate when he found himself at the centre of a culture war. He was simply talking about food. In a viral interview clip with Bon Appétit, Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, spoke about eating with his hands, a practice he said connects him to his roots. 'I have to eat with my hand,' he said. 'In Uganda, we even eat salad with our hands.' But the clip drew a racially charged response from Republican Congressman Brandon Gill, who reposted it on X with a sneering caption: 'Civilised people in America don't eat like this. If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World.' Civilized people in America don't eat like this. If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World. — Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) June 30, 2025 The post unleashed a wave of outrage online, as thousands called out the comment for its ignorance and bigotry. Critics pointed to the hypocrisy in singling out Mamdani, especially in a country where finger food is a staple of fast food culture. 'Do you eat tacos, French fries, or burgers with cutlery? Do you use a fork for Lays too?' one user asked. Another shared a photo of Donald Trump eating pizza with his hands, with the caption: 'The West has fallen.' The west has fallen — Jose Vega — Vote Vega & Sare! (@JosBtrigga) June 30, 2025 The backlash only grew when far-right influencer Laura Loomer jumped in with a vile, Islamophobic slur: 'My dogs are cleaner and more civilized when they eat than little Muhammad.' Her tweet was condemned as racist and dehumanising. Mamdani, however, chose not to retaliate. 'Be authentic or go home,' he had said in the original clip. 'Growing up in the Global South,' he once noted, 'you come to understand struggle, whether in Uganda, South Africa or Palestine, through a lens of empathy and solidarity.' Gill, on the other hand, appeared to cherry-pick lines from Mamdani's interview to push a narrative of cultural superiority. 'When you grow up as someone, especially in the Third World, you have a very different understanding of the Palestinian struggle,' Mamdani had said. But if the Congressman's attempt was to smear Mamdani, it may have backfired. Six months ago, Mamdani was a relatively unknown New York Assemblyman. Now, he has defeated political heavyweight Andrew Cuomo in a stunning Democratic primary upset.
