News

The firm maintains its "Market Perform" rating, with a new target price of $170. The Evercore analyst team forecasts that Pepsi's organic sales in Q2 will grow by 2.3% year-on-year, lower than the market consensus of 2.8%; earnings per share are expected at $2.18, slightly below the market expectation of $2.20. This judgment is mainly based on weaker consumer spending due to rising gasoline prices since mid-April and increased macroeconomic uncertainty, as well as the impact of unusual weather in North America on retail sales. Although a judge recently dismissed a pilot proposal to restrict SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) funds from purchasing unhealthy foods—temporarily relieving policy pressure—waiver requests from 23 states will still take months to be fully implemented, so long-term demand remains uncertain. By business segment, Pepsi faces structural challenges. In North America Beverages (PBNA), traditional full-calorie carbonated drinks continue to face pressure, but flavor innovations and zero-sugar product lines are performing well—Gatorade, for example, has simplified its packaging and strengthened its hydration messaging, leading to a 9% YoY increase in scan sales for the quarter ending June 14; Mtn Dew’s flavor extensions also partially offset declines in core SKUs. However, the North America Foods (PFNA) business is recovering more slowly than expected. Despite innovations such as Doritos NKD and new Lay’s packaging, quarterly scan sales data through June 14 still declined by 0.7% YoY, with rising consumer price sensitivity prompting Pepsi to narrow price gaps with private labels, mainly by adjusting prices on large-pack products. The international market remains a rare bright spot. The Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) market remains stable, and demand in India and China is resilient; the international beverage business boasts a profit margin of 37%, far above North America's 12%. However, the Latin America market faces pressure from a tough $50 million comparable base last year, which may drag on Q3 margins. To address these challenges, Pepsi has launched a cost-cutting plan: layoffs, closing three plants, consolidating production lines, cutting nearly 20% of US SKUs, and improving efficiency with supply chain optimization. The company expects capex in 2026 to be under 5% of net sales, and reiterates its $10 billion stock buyback plan ($1 billion to be repurchased in 2026), while also seeking strategic acquisitions in healthy snacks and other areas. However, these measures may not yield results in the short term. Evercore ISI has lowered its full-year 2026 EPS forecast for Pepsi from $8.63 to $8.60. Currently, Pepsi’s price-earnings ratio has fallen to around 16x, well below its 10-year historical average of about 21.5x. Although valuations have dropped to historic lows, the beverage giant’s road to recovery is clearly longer than expected amid high inflation, consumer downtrading, and long-term health trends such as GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. For Pepsi, the upcoming July 9 is not just a Q2 earnings release, but also an important test of whether its management can steer the company through fundamental shifts in consumer behavior in the “post-inflation” era.

On July 3, according to HyperInsight monitoring, "Machi Big Brother" Huang Licheng's address continues to increase long positions in ETH, currently holding a leveraged long position of 5,325 ETH at 25x leverage, with an average entry price of $1,655.27 and an unrealized gain of $500,000.

BlockBeats News, July 3rd, according to HyperInsight monitoring, the "Whale Whisperer" Huang Licheng address continues to accumulate ETH in a long position. Currently, the address is holding 5325 ETH in a 25x leveraged long position, with an average entry price of $1655.27, enjoying an unrealized gain of $500,000.