What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for PepsiCo Q3 Earnings?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of PepsiCo in a research report issued on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.32 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.43. The consensus estimate for PepsiCo’s current full-year earnings is $8.57 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for PepsiCo’s Q4 2026 earnings at $2.43 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.56 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.48 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.52 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $8.98 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $2.44 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $9.50 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PEP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.90.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $136.64 on Friday. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $133.73 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.93. The company has a market cap of $186.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,018,813,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16,146.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,586,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564,348 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 952.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,715,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,121,000 after buying an additional 3,362,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors bought an unusually large number of PepsiCo call options, with call volume running about 70% above average, signaling bullish trading activity and expectations for upside.
• Positive Sentiment: News that Quaker Oats plans a major expansion at PepsiCo’s North Texas facility could be viewed as a long-term growth and capacity positive. PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats plans major expansion at its North Texas facility
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is still trading near the lower end of its 52-week range, which reflects recent weakness, but also leaves room for a rebound if sentiment improves.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed multiple PepsiCo earnings estimates, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly forecasts, which may pressure the stock by reinforcing concerns about earnings momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that PepsiCo will cease warehouse operations at an Oklahoma production site may raise concerns about restructuring or operational disruption. PepsiCo to cease warehouse operations at Oklahoma production site
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha article argued PepsiCo should be downgraded to “Sell,” reflecting continued skepticism about the stock’s near-term return potential. PepsiCo: ‘Upgrading’ From Strong Sell To Sell, But I Still Expect Frozen Returns

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.