PEP Stock Slides Overnight: Wall Street Reconsiders PepsiCo Growth Outlook As Consumer Spending Pressure Dents Prospects

PepsiCo faces cuts to analysts’ price targets as earnings outlook tests investor confidence.

• Evercore ISI cut PepsiCo’s price target to $150 from $170, saying weaker consumer trends are only part of the company’s challenges. 
• Piper Sandler also lowered its price target to $176 but maintained an Overweight rating. 
• UBS cut its price target to $159 and expects organic sales growth to remain in the 2%-4% range. 

PepsiCo Inc. shares slipped overnight Thursday after analysts cut their price targets following the company’s downward adjustment to its earnings outlook after fiscal second-quarter results. 

Investors weighed softer consumer demand, particularly in the U.S. market, along with concerns about the snack and beverage giant’s path to future growth. 

Evercore ISI Sees Broader Challenges Beyond Consumer Weakness For PepsiCo

Evercore ISI reduced its price target for PepsiCo to $150 from $170 while maintaining an ‘In Line’ rating. The firm said the company’s move toward the lower end of its earnings-per-share forecast was not unexpected, but it still contributed to a decline in investor sentiment after the earnings call. 

The analyst said PepsiCo linked some of its weaknesses to lower U.S. consumer spending, especially in smaller, impulse purchases, due in part to higher gas prices. However, Evercore ISI believes those factors do not fully explain the company’s struggles, saying “that's just part of the story.” 

Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery lowered his PepsiCo price target to $176 from $178 but kept an ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock after reviewing the company’s Q2 results and outlook. 

PepsiCo stock edged 0.1% lower overnight on Thursday. 

UBS Trims PepsiCo Target While Maintaining Bullish Stance 

UBS analyst Peter Grom slashed his price target for PepsiCo to $159 from $172, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. Grom said PepsiCo’s Q2 results showed slight improvement and the company kept its 2026 forecasts unchanged. 

UBS said it remains “hopeful” that PepsiCo’s performance in North America can improve, though the firm expects the recovery to develop at a measured pace. Grom believes investors may need to temper expectations, with organic sales expansion potentially settling within a 2%-4% range.

Pepsi said it expects costs for raw materials and other inputs to rise further in the second half of the year and expects core constant currency EPS growth of 4% to 6% and organic revenue growth of 2% to 4% for 2026.  

What PEP Retail Traders Are Saying 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory the previous day, with a 568% surge in message volume over the last 24 hours. 

A user said, “Missed earnings as North American demand stays soft. Consumers are clearly tightening up, and staples aren’t getting a free pass here. Defensive name, but the tape is treating weak volume/budget pressure as the main story. Watch if buyers defend support or if this turns into a lower-high setup.” 

Another user said, “$PEP Good long term, secure player at a cheap discount.  A lot of similarities to $NKE actually…”

PEP stock has declined nearly 4% year-to-date. 

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