Orin
PEPNasdaq·Beverages - Non-Alcoholic

PepsiCo, Inc. PEP

Market cap $177.6BP/E 17.0× trailingGross margin 54.0%Reports Thu 8 Oct, before the open
$130.18
−1.01 (−0.77%)Wed close 16:00 ET
52-wk $127.98 – $171.48
Watch
Orin's take
0.68conviction · moderate
Refreshed 14 Aug · take v5. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

PepsiCo at $140.62 trades at an 18.4x P/E and 12.6x EV/EBITDA—roughly 37% and 39% below peer medians of 29.2x and 20.6x respectively—a discount that overstates the operational deterioration. FY2025 revenue grew 2.3% to $93.9B with operating income up 4.7% to $13.5B and free cash flow improving to $7.67B; the EPS decline to $6.00 from $6.95 is driven by rising interest costs on $49.9B of debt, not core business decay.

Smart money has improved for five consecutive quarters from -0.067 to 0.146 with fund count rising from 43 to 67, and the MACD histogram has turned positive while price holds above the 50-day MA, suggesting the post-earnings selloff may be exhausting.

What could go wrong

  • Debt burden. Total debt rose to $49.9B in FY2025 from $44.9B in FY2024, and interest costs are the primary driver of the EPS decline from $6.95 to $6.00; further rate or refinancing pressure could compound the drag.
  • North America demand weakness. Recent news highlights weak NA demand, softer volumes, and margin headwinds; if the foods volume recovery flagged in August news proves temporary, revenue growth could stall again.
  • Competitive gap with KO. Post-Q2 commentary suggests a widening near-term operating outlook gap between KO and PEP, which could keep the valuation discount persistent rather than mean-reverting.
  • Insider net selling. Over 24 months insiders net sold 502K shares (-$1.53M), and recent activity is dominated by non-open-market code J transactions rather than meaningful open-market buying.

What would change my mind

NA volume reacceleration. Next quarterly report shows positive organic volume growth in North America beverages or foodsbullish
Debt stabilization. Total debt declines or leverage ratio improves meaningfully in next 10-Qbullish
Margin compression. Gross margin falls below 53% or operating income declines YoY in next quarterbearish
Smart money reversal. 13F composite fund count or sm_score declines for two consecutive reporting periodsbearish

Where this comes from: peer_relative · peer_relative · FMP fundamentals FY2025 vs FY2024 · FMP fundamentals FY2025 vs FY2024. Orin's read on PEP; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$12.1B0.3% of fund
State Street$8.2B0.2% of fund
Invesco$5.8B0.5% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$5.0B0.2% of fund
Charles Schwab Investment Management$4.9B0.7% of fund
Geode Capital Management$4.7B0.3% of fund

156 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 97 Form 4 filings, net −$1.5M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 4 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

Ask Orin about PEP

its filings · its transcripts · its numbers

Orin answers questions about PEP from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.

Start 3 free days

Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Consumer Defensive
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E17.0×25.8×38.3×
EV/EBITDA11.8×17.1×
P/S1.84×2.55×
P/B8.0×12.6×

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.72σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

9.7%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $7.7B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

46 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$154

$134$176 · +18% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 16 buy or overweight
  • 29 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 29.7× of 4 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
PEPPepsiCo, Inc.$178B17.0×11.8×54.0%10.8%50%
KDPKeurig Dr Pepper Inc.$43B31.9×21.0×49.4%7.1%6%
KOThe Coca-Cola Company$379B26.5×20.7×61.9%28.6%43%
MNSTMonster Beverage Corporation$86B40.3×28.1×55.5%23.1%25%
PMPhilip Morris International Inc.$297B27.4×18.7×67.5%25.6%-112%

The median is of the 4 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 42.6% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 21.9×FY25 23.8×

What its sector has traded at

Consumer Defensive
FY14 22.9×FY26 39.1×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$222$144.06 · +54%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$175$144.06 · +21%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $130.18
52-week range$128 – $171
Analyst targets$134 – $176
Standard DCF$222 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $144.06
Levered DCF$175 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $144.06
At own 5y-median P/E (26×)$197
At 5y P/E range (22–32×)$167 – $241
At sector P/E (38×)$292

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.