PepsiCo’s stock gains as Q4 results match expectations

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) reported fourth-quarter 2018 revenue and earnings that came in line with market expectations, giving the stock a lift of 0.5% in premarket hours on Friday.

Total sales of $19.5 billion remained flat compared to the same period last year. Reported sales results suffered a negative impact of 4% from foreign exchange translation and 1% from acquisitions and divestitures. Excluding these impacts, organic revenue grew 4.6%.

For its fourth quarter, the company reported a net income of $6.8 billion, or $4.83 per share, versus a net loss of $710 million, or $0.50 per share, in the prior-year quarter, helped by income tax benefits. Core EPS was $1.49.

During the quarter, the company reported revenue growth in its Frito-Lay North America and North America Beverages segments. All the remaining segments posted revenue declines with the highest at 8% in Asia, Middle East and North Africa.

For the full year of 2019, PepsiCo expects organic revenue to grow 4% and core constant currency EPS to decline approx. 1%. Core EPS is expected to decrease by 3% to $5.50 versus 2018. The EPS results in 2019 are expected to be impacted by incremental investments to strengthen the business.

Over the long term, the company expects to achieve organic revenue growth of 4-6% and core constant currency EPS growth in the high single digits. PepsiCo also expects to generate productivity savings of at least $1 billion annually through 2023.

PepsiCo declared a 3% increase in its annualized dividend per share to $3.82 from $3.71, effective with the dividend expected to be paid in June 2019.

On Thursday, PepsiCo’s rival Coca-Cola (KO) reported its fourth quarter 2018 results before the opening bell. While the key numbers matched estimates, the stock dropped as the outlook fell short of expectations.

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