JPMorgan is taking a more bullish stance on PepsiCo stock. The bank raised its rating on the food and beverage giant from “neutral” to “overweight.” The company also raised its December 2026 price target from $151 to $164, representing a 13% upside. Analyst Andrea Teixeira said he expects PepsiCo to deliver mid-to-high single-digit profits next year, citing more aggressive productivity targets and improved sales. This record productivity should enable reinvestment and profit circulation, she added. PEP YTD Mountain PEP YTD Chart “We upgrade PepsiCo from Neutral to Overweight because we believe PEP will drive HSD total shareholder return (TSR) in 2026 through accelerated innovation and marketing spend driven by strong productivity savings. This is a deep-teens discount while still respectable relative to high-quality peers,” the analysts wrote. Teixeira also expects PepsiCo to benefit from additional shelf space and affordability initiatives next year. He called PepsiCo’s 2026 guidance “constructive” along with improving snacking consumption trends in the United States. “Management also said that testing with three of its largest customers over the past three months has shown that the company’s daily value efforts have been a ‘very good indicator’ and that it is confident that ‘volumes will increase,’ which we interpret to mean that the company is seeing favorable resiliency in its efforts,” it added. PepsiCo’s stock price has fallen 5% this year. The stock price also rose by about 1% after the upgrade. Despite JPMorgan’s rating change, most analysts covering PepsiCo remain on the sidelines. According to LSEG data, 17 out of 26 people covering the stock rate it a Hold. Another eight have rated the stock with a buy or strong buy rating and one has given a hold rating to the stock.
