PepsiCo beats quarterly market view on steady demand for healthier sodas

(Reuters) -PepsiCo beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, buoyed by resilient demand for its energy drinks and healthier sodas in the United States, and named Walmart executive Steve Schmitt as its new finance head. Schmitt, who is currently the finance chief of Walmart U.S., will replace Jamie Caulfield in November. Caulfield retires after more than three decades with the company. PepsiCo is facing pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which has called out the company for lagging behind its main rival, Coca-Cola, and is pushing it to consider re-franchising its bottling network and selling non-core brands such as Quaker Oats. Shares in the Gatorade maker rose 2% in premarket trading. They are down 8% this year, compared with a 6% rise in Coca-Cola's shares. PepsiCo reported quarterly net revenue of $23.94 billion, compared with analysts' average expectations of $23.83 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company has been introducing new products to better meet the dietary preferences of the American consumer, while also reworking its pricing and packaging to offer better value to price-sensitive consumers, CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement on Thursday. Over the past year, PepsiCo has focused on adding prebiotic sodas and energy drinks to its portfolio of products as consumers become health-conscious. It is also working to rebrand its Lay's and Tostitos chips to highlight the absence of food dyes and synthetic ingredients and is also introducing smaller pack sizes as consumers look for affordable options.  PepsiCo also maintained its annual targets for organic revenue growth and core earnings per share in constant currency. The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $2.29, edging past analysts' expectations of $2.26. (Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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