Pepsico Stock Takes A Hit As Demand For Snacks And Drinks Shrinks

Pepsico's stock was down a little more than 2% in pre-market trading after issuing a disappointing earnings report on Tuesday morning.

Its North American beverage business saw an 11% drop in operating profits last year. Much of that was tied to higher operating costs and the sale of its Tropicana drink line. It also reported a decline in drink sales.

Its Frito-Lay snack division saw a 7% drop in profits in North America due to operating cost increases and a drop in sales volume.

Quaker Foods North American profits dropped 38% due to reduced sales, higher costs and charges related to a Quaker recall.

"Our businesses remained resilient in 2024, despite subdued category performance trends in North America," CEO Ramon Laguarta said.

He said the company would look to "improve performance in North America."

The company also reported that operating profit decreased slightly in Latin America for the year.

Pepsico had better news in other parts of the world. Operating profit increased 14% in the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and China region due to sales growth.

Europe saw a 153% operating profit increase due to net revenue growth productivity savings and the aftermath of an impairment charge related to the SodaStream business.

The region of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia saw a 1% profit drop.

Pepsico expected a low-single-digit increase in organic revenue and a mid-single-digit increase in earnings per share in the coming year.