NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 21:00 ET — Market closed
- Barclays data showed activist investors launched a record 255 campaigns in 2025, with PepsiCo among notable targets.
- PepsiCo shares last closed down 0.9% at $142.23, leaving the stock near a key long-term chart level.
- Next catalysts include U.S. ISM manufacturing data on Jan. 5 and PepsiCo’s quarterly results on Feb. 3.
PepsiCo shares head into Monday with activist investing back in the frame after Barclays data showed campaign activity hit a record in 2025, and the snack-and-soda maker was among the companies that drew attention. PepsiCo last closed down 0.9% at $142.23 on Friday.
That matters now because “activism” has become a live catalyst again for large-cap U.S. companies: it can force boards to sharpen strategy, speed up cost cuts or rethink capital returns, all of which can move a stock even before earnings do. For PepsiCo, the backdrop is especially sensitive after it spent late 2025 fending off pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Reuters
The setup is also technical. PepsiCo is trading below its 50-day moving average of $146.79 and around its 200-day moving average of $141.83 — levels many short-term traders use as signposts for momentum and longer-term trend direction.
Barclays counted 255 activist campaigns globally in 2025, up nearly 5% from the prior year and above the previous record set in 2018, according to the bank’s shareholder advisory team. “M&A markets and private equity interest rebounded in the second half,” said Jim Rossman, global head of shareholder advisory at Barclays. Reuters
PepsiCo has already laid out what investors will judge it on next. The company said it will report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Feb. 3, and it pointed investors to a preliminary 2026 outlook calling for 2% to 4% organic revenue growth and 4% to 6% growth in core constant-currency earnings per share. (Organic revenue excludes currency swings and acquisitions; “core” strips out certain one-offs and “constant currency” removes exchange-rate effects.) PepsiCo
Those targets matter because the debate in PepsiCo’s stock has centered on whether a cheaper, simpler portfolio and productivity push can offset slower demand and higher costs in parts of North America. PepsiCo said it plans to post a press release and its 10-K around 6 a.m. ET on Feb. 3, followed by a live analyst Q&A at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Before that, the first full week of January brings macro checkpoints that can ripple through consumer staples — especially via interest-rate expectations and input costs. The Institute for Supply Management said its Manufacturing PMI report for December data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 5, with the Services PMI set for Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Labor-market prints are also on deck. The U.S. Employment Situation report for December is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 9, while the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is set for Jan. 27–28.
But the activist drumbeat does not guarantee a clean rerating. If PepsiCo’s volumes remain soft, or if commodity, packaging and transportation costs squeeze margins more than management anticipates, investors may treat boardroom headlines as noise until the numbers improve.
For PepsiCo stock, the next hard catalyst is Feb. 3, when investors will parse the earnings report, the company’s 2026 outlook details and any update on execution priorities — before management appears at the CAGNY conference on Feb. 18.
