PepsiCo Tops Earnings Estimates on Strong Demand for Healthier Snacks

The company is launching a new platform to expand its ‘no colors, no artificials’ initiative across its snack brands.

Lay's chips are among PepsiCo's signature brands, along with Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker, SodaStream, and several breakfast cereals. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

PepsiCo Inc. reported on Oct. 9 third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, driven by healthier snacks.

The company generated $23.94 billion in revenue in the quarter, outpacing its forecasted $23.86 billion. In addition, its earnings per share (EPS) were $2.29, surpassing the forecast of $2.26.

Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, credits many factors for the results, including the popularity of the company’s healthier, “permissible snacks.”

During the company’s earnings call, Laguarta noted that the company’s strong portfolio of these snacks, including zero sugar products, will continue to drive growth.

“A new development from Propel for GLP-1 consumers will have a special type of electrolytes, high content of fiber, and good levels of protein,” he said in the call.

“The move to no artificials is impacting all our brands, Lay’s, and Tostitos now, with the rest of the portfolio throughout 2026. A new platform, we call it Naked, will have no colors and no artificials.”

PepsiCo’s new initiatives are aligning closely with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda. MAHA is designed to reform the country’s food system that the department said could be the root cause of chronic diseases.

In April, the department, along with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced a plan to phase out petroleum-based food dyes, also known as color additives, from America’s food supply. The FDA is now working with food manufacturers, retailers, and trade associations to eliminate six color additives.

“These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in the statement.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary added that the agency has been working with food manufacturers, asking them to replace petrochemical dyes with natural ingredients, as has already been done in Canada and Europe.

Along with its report on third-quarter earnings, PepsiCo also committed to launching additional products with more nutritional benefits, such as fiber. “It’s actually a deficiency in U.S. consumers’ diets, and that will be elevated,” Laguarta said.

The company’s Siete brand of healthier potato chips and other snacks, along with Sabra hummus, has also experienced growth, and later this year, PepsiCo plans to introduce Alani Nu nutritional supplements into its portfolio.

The company’s beverage market remains strong both domestically and internationally, particularly the no-sugar brands.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends men should consume no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day, and women no more than 25 grams.

On its website, the AHA states that the average American now consumes about two to three times that recommended daily allowance, which could add up to 60 pounds of added sugar annually. It lists the major sources of added sugar in sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sports and energy drinks.

While PepsiCo’s 12-ounce Gatorade bottle contains on average 21 grams of sugar, Gatorade 2 contains half that amount. Due to its electrolyte combinations and faster hydration, the product continues to be an industry leader.

Taking a closer look at recent consumer behavior, PepsiCo noted that consumers have been making more choices based on clean labels and product ingredients, as well as taste.

“Affordability is also a reality,” Laguarta said. “I think when you look at low-income households or middle-income households, they’re very stretched. Fixed costs of living are going up around the world. That will create the need for affordability and value and price points and cost consciousness also for the foreseeable future.”

Responding to the earnings announcement, PepsiCo’s stock price increased by 4.23 percent by the market close, reaching $144.71.

On the heels of the earnings report, PepsiCo also announced the appointment of Steve Schmitt, its new executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO).

Schmitt will assume the new role on Nov. 10. Jamie Caulfield, the company’s current CFO, will be retiring next year after more than 30 years with the firm. Caulfield will take on an advisory role and assist with Schmitt’s transition through May 15, 2026.

Schmitt joins PepsiCo from Walmart U.S., where he currently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Headquartered in Purchase, New York, PepsiCo sells its products in more than 200 countries and territories. Last year, the company reported nearly $92 billion in net revenue.

Its products include its signature Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Aquafina, Starbucks, Naked Juice, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker, SodaStream, and several breakfast cereal brands.