Pepsi Calls Soda Slump An 'Improved Performance' - And Anyone Who Disagrees Is 'Maniacal'
OK, "improved both volume and market share" sounds like good news, right?
Wrong.
Further down the report, the section dealing with PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB), the unit of the business that actually sells Pepsi in the U.S., says:
Sales for Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Gatorade are in decline, in other words. PepsiCo didn't even put an exact number on what "mid-single digits" might be - 5%? 8%? We don't know.
Nielsen puts the decline for Pepsi even steeper - at up to 11%.
This downward spiral for Pepsi's beverages has been going on for a while now, and branding redesigns over the past year are not helping.
The rest of the company - snacks and so on - is in better shape. Overall, revenues for the entire company are up. But Pepsi is PepsiCo's flagship product - it's a classic American brand. Coca-Cola is stealing its market.
CEO Indra Nooyi thinks those who worry about Pepsi are "maniacal." But the results only fuel the cause of activist investor Nelson Peltz, who wants the drinks business separated from the holding company.