Activist investor pushes for PepsiCo turnaround with $4B stake

Food Dive reported the development on 2025-09-02. Elliott Investment Management said the food and beverage maker has become a “dramatic underperformer,” and there’s a “historic opportunity” to boost its stock price.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. Elliott Investment Management has built a stake of about $4 billion in PepsiCo. The activist investor is seeking changes at the food and beverage giant, outlining in a letter ways the company can accelerate revenue and increase earnings growth. Elliott, now one of PepsiCo’s largest investors, said the CPG maker should consider refranchising its company-owned bottling network to independent bottlers.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. PepsiCo said in a statement that it would review Elliott’s presentation, adding that the company “maintains an active and productive dialogue with our shareholders and values constructive input on delivering long-term shareholder value.”. Even as companies across the food and beverage industry struggle, PepsiCo has underperformed compared to its peers, Elliot said in.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. The New York-based company has been hit in North America by decelerating growth and slipping margins in food and “persistent” share loss and margin erosion in beverages. Pepsi cola, for example, has fallen to fourth place behind Coke, Dr Pepper and Sprite, according to Beverage Digest data.