Pepsi Q2 Preview: Beverage Giant Underperforming Coca-Cola Stock in 2026, Will Earnings Help Close Gap?

Beverage and food giant PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP ) is set to report second-quarter financial results Thursday before market open. • PepsiCo stock is showing downward pressure.

Where is PEP stock headed? Here are the earnings estimates, analyst ratings and key items to watch.

Pepsi Q2 Earnings Estimates Analysts expect PepsiCo to report second-quarter revenue of $23.94 billion, up from $22.73 billion in last year’s second quarter, according to data Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in five straight quarters and in six of the past 10 quarters overall.

Analysts expect PepsiCo to report second-quarter earnings per share of $2.21, up from $2.12 in last year’s second quarter.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in four straight quarters and in nine of the past 10 quarters overall.

Read Also: Senator Buys Up Consumer Staples: Here's Two Stocks On The Shopping List Pepsi Analyst Ratings Analysts have been lowering their price targets on PepsiCo stock ahead of the financial results.

Here are some of the latest analyst ratings and price targets on the stock.

UBS: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $186 to $172 Barclays: Maintained Equal-Weight rating, lowered price target from $158 to $144 JPMorgan: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $178 to $170 Citigroup: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $182 to $170 BofA Securities: Maintained Neutral rating, lowered price target from $173 to $164 Key Items to Watch Pepsi’s earnings report comes after its energy drink partner Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH ) reported strong first-quarter financial results in May.

Celsius beat analyst estimates for revenue and earnings per share, with overall revenue up 138% year-over-year to a record $782.6 million.

The company was helped by the addition of the Alani Nu brand, which saw record first-quarter revenue of $368.1 million.

Pepsi, which is an investor and key distribution partner, was credited with helping the record results as Alani Nu grew its distribution in the quarter.

While energy drinks are only part of the PepsiCo portfolio, they could be one of the bright spots.

Investors will be watching to see if other beverages and snack foods also saw strength in the quarter.

Pepsi has in the past highlighted changes in prices and sizes for some food products like chips as it fights off inflation and tries to win back consumers who thought prices were too high.

Pepsi’s report comes ahead of rival Coca-Cola Co (NYSES:KO), which reported earnings on July 28.

Coca-Cola has beaten analyst estimates for earnings in nine straight quarters and beaten revenue estimates in seven of the past 10 quarters, more consistent beats than Pepsi.

The other big difference is guidance.

Pepsi lowered its full-year guidance for sales and earnings per share after first-quarter results.

Coca-Cola raised its guidance.

Pepsi shares are up 1% year-to-date in 2026, underperforming Coca-Cola’s gain of 21.6% and the 8.9% gain of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY ), which tracks the S&P 500.

Investors and analysts will likely be expecting a strong report, a double beat and updated positive guidance.

A miss and/or cut guidance could put further pressure on shares.

Pepsi Stock Price Action Pepsi stock is down 0.9% to $143.64 on Wednesday, versus a 52-week trading range of $132.96 to $171.48.

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