New York, Jan 7, 2026, 19:40 EST — After-hours
- PepsiCo shares closed down 1.4% on Wednesday, extending a four-session slide.
- The company this week unveiled a multi-year digital twin and AI partnership with Siemens and Nvidia.
- Investors now look to Friday’s U.S. jobs report and PepsiCo’s Feb. 3 results for the next catalyst.
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP.O) shares fell 1.4% to $137.01 on Wednesday, extending a four-session slide. The snacks-and-drinks maker this week unveiled a multi-year digital twin and AI partnership with Siemens and Nvidia, aimed at retooling factories and warehouses faster. The stock traded between $136.96 and $139.83, with about 8.4 million shares changing hands.
The timing matters because PepsiCo is already in cost-and-growth mode. In December, the company laid out plans it said would lift productivity and improve operating margins starting in 2026, after talks with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, and set a preliminary 2026 outlook. PepsiCo said it will publish fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Feb. 3.
Investors have been looking for levers that do not depend on another round of price hikes. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a plant or warehouse used to test changes before they hit the floor; capex is capital spending on plants and equipment.
PepsiCo said pilots are already under way in the U.S., using Siemens’ Digital Twin Composer built on Nvidia Omniverse libraries. CEO Ramon Laguarta said PepsiCo is “embedding AI throughout our operations,” while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called digital twins “the foundation” for bringing AI into physical industries. PepsiCo said early deployments delivered a 20% increase in throughput and could cut capex by 10% to 15%. PepsiCo
The pullback also tracked a market that turned cautious on labor data. U.S. job openings fell 303,000 in November to 7.146 million, the Labor Department reported, while economists polled by Reuters forecast payrolls growth of 60,000 in December and an unemployment rate of 4.5%. The payrolls report is due on Friday.
PepsiCo also lagged Coca-Cola in the session, with Coca-Cola shares down 0.44% while PepsiCo fell 1.40%, according to MarketWatch data. The S&P 500 ended down 0.34%.
At $137, PepsiCo is about 14% below its 52-week high of $160.15 and roughly 7% above its 52-week low of $127.60. Those levels are showing up on traders’ screens as the stock tests the lower end of its recent range.
But the payoff from cost and tech initiatives is not guaranteed. PepsiCo has flagged that demand for U.S. sodas and snacks can soften as shoppers trade down, and that can force heavier promotions that squeeze margins.
Traders will watch Friday’s payrolls report for the next nudge to rate expectations, then turn quickly to PepsiCo’s Feb. 3 results for any sign the supply-chain and productivity push is starting to show up in cash flow and guidance.
