PepsiCo Wields the Axe Abroad and the Checkbook at Home as Wall Street Trims Its Targets
Published on 09/24/2026 at 06:50 | Editorial boerse-global.de
PepsiCo is doing two very different things at once. In South Africa, it has just killed off a 64-year-old breakfast brand. In the United States, it is pouring money into a football-themed marketing blitz. Both moves answer the same problem: consumers are getting harder to please.
The company confirmed it discontinued ProNutro, a breakfast cereal that had been on South African shelves since the early 1960s, as of yesterday. The brand joined PepsiCo's portfolio in 2020 through the acquisition of Pioneer Foods. Its undoing was a reformulation rolled out earlier this year that drew sustained complaints about taste and texture. When management concluded it could not restore the original product experience, it pulled the entire line rather than keep fighting the backlash.
That retreat contrasts sharply with the group's posture in its home market, where it launched a new campaign on Wednesday called "Tailgating Deserves Pepsi." The push leans on a partnership with the National Football League now in its 26th season and involves collaboration with 15 NFL teams. For a company trying to hold shelf space and pricing power, that kind of spending has become table stakes.
A Sector Squeezed From Every Side
The broader consumer goods industry is not making life easy. Rival General Mills has pointed to flat sales volumes and persistent cost pressure, and large restaurant chains report a marked pullback in customer spending. Years of price increases have run into their limits, while household budgets remain strained by stubborn inflation. Raising prices further now risks real market-share losses.
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The strain shows up in PepsiCo's own numbers. Revenue for the second quarter of 2026 climbed 6.4% year over year to $24.18 billion, beating the average analyst estimate. But North American food sales fell 2% over the same stretch, and the adjusted core margin narrowed by 40 basis points — a sign that profitability is thinning even as the top line grows.
Overseas, the picture is mixed. At PepsiCo Hellas, the Greek subsidiary, fiscal 2025 produced a net loss of EUR 2.187 million, reversing a profit from the prior year, while revenue barely moved at EUR 243.2 million.
BNP Paribas Cuts Its Target, Keeps Its Rating
Analysts are recalibrating. BNP Paribas lowered its price target on PepsiCo shares from $183 to $161, citing mounting worries about consumer demand. The French bank nonetheless stuck with its "Outperform" rating, signaling that it sees the pullback as a valuation issue rather than a broken thesis.
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Management, for its part, is leaning on the group's global spread. A broad footprint across snacks and beverages cushions regional swings in demand and keeps cash flowing even when shoppers turn cautious.
The Chart Tells Its Own Story
Investors have been less forgiving. PepsiCo stock closed Wednesday's European session at EUR 114.18, leaving it just 2.4% above its 52-week low of EUR 111.52. Whether the shares can climb off that floor will depend largely on how quickly volumes stabilize in the core markets. Traders will be watching the next round of quarterly reports for evidence that targeted discounts and portfolio tweaks are finally stirring demand back to life.
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