NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 15:19 EST — Regular session
- PepsiCo shares were up about 0.3% in afternoon trading, lagging a broader consumer-staples move higher
- New U.S. dietary guidelines call for less added sugar and fewer sugar-sweetened drinks
- Investors’ next scheduled catalyst is PepsiCo’s Feb. 3 results and shareholder update
PepsiCo (PEP.O) shares were little changed on Friday after new U.S. dietary guidelines urged Americans to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and cut back on salty or sweet processed foods such as chips and cookies. The stock was up about 0.3% at $139.77 in afternoon trading, after ranging from $138.70 to $140.78.
The 2025–2030 guidelines are not a regulation, but they sit underneath federal feeding programs and can shape what gets served and bought at scale. The Health and Human Services Department said the document is the “foundation” for programs including school meals and other government-run nutrition plans.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cast the changes as a push against added sugar, saying: “Today, our government declares war on added sugar.” The American Beverage Association pushed back, saying nearly 60% of beverages sold in the United States contain no sugar and calling any move to dissuade sugar-free drinks “impractical and inherently contradictory.” 1
PepsiCo trailed bigger gains in Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Mondelez (MDLZ.O), even as the consumer-staples sector outperformed. Coca-Cola rose about 1.5% and Mondelez gained about 1.9%, while the consumer-staples ETF XLP was up roughly 1.0% and the S&P 500 proxy SPY added about 0.8%.
The broader market was higher after U.S. data showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in December, while job gains came in below expectations. Fitch economist Olu Sonola said the drop in the jobless rate “should douse the Fed’s recent urgency” to support the labor market.
PepsiCo straddles snacks and drinks, with North America foods and beverages as core engines alongside international bottling and franchise businesses, according to Reuters company information. That makes it a direct read-through for investors trying to price how far “less sugar” rhetoric turns into changes on shelves. 2
But there is a wide gap between a guideline and a rulebook. How fast agencies and states move — and whether consumers change habits — is still the open risk for the group, particularly if companies end up facing both reformulation costs and pushback on pricing.
Next up is Feb. 3, when PepsiCo is scheduled to report quarterly results and lay out its shareholder return plans. PepsiCo has said it will announce total cash returns to shareholders alongside its fourth-quarter and full-year results on that date. 3
