PepsiCo’s first-quarter earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations after the beverage and snack company raised prices to compensate for ongoing inflationary pressures.
Global consumer goods companies have raised prices to battle sky-rocketing costs of everything from aluminum cans to labor and shipping since the supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic and aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Meanwhile, the Frito-Lay maker also plans to raise prices in some regions, in stark contrast to its decision earlier this year to hit a pause.
Pepsi’s average prices rose 16% in the first quarter, while organic volumes slipped 2%.
“We do not expect commodity prices to decrease for us, only the rate of inflation will get a little bit lighter during the course of the year,” Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston told Reuters.
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The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.50 per share on $17.85 billion in sales for the quarter ending March 25, after analysts predicted earnings of $1.38 a share on sales of $17.24 billion.
This time last year, the company reported earnings of $1.29 a share on sales of $16.2 billion.
“Given our strong start to the year, we now expect our full-year 2023 organic revenue to increase 8% and core constant currency EPS to increase 9%,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement.
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“We will continue to invest in our people, brands, supply chain, go-to-market systems, and digitization initiatives to build competitive advantages and win in the marketplace,” he added.
PepsiCo now expects full-year earnings of $7.27 per share, up from a previous forecast of $7.20, and slightly above the FactSet consensus of $7.26.
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Reuters contributed to this report