Pepsi Beats Profit Expectations, Boosted By Beverage Sales

PepsiCo Inc. reported Wednesday fourth-quarter earnings that slipped to $1.40 billion, or 97 cents a share, from $1.72 billion, or $1.17 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the beverage and snack giant's adjusted earnings per share came to $1.20, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.16. Revenue rose 5% to $19.52 billion from $18.59 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $19.50 billion. Sales of Frito-Lay North America rose 10% to $4.89 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.70 billion, while North America beverage sales jumped 8% to $6.29 billion beat expectations of $4.50 billion. For 2017, Pepsi expects core EPS of $5.09, below the FactSet consensus of $5.16. The stock, which tacked on 0.2% in premarket trade, has gained 5% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 climbed 7.2%.

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