PepsiCo Ramps Up AI and Digitization Efforts: Real Gains or Hype?

PepsiCo, Inc. PEP is ramping up its Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitization across its value chain as part of its strategic push to bolster its market leadership. The company is modernizing its operations by integrating AI across core functions, spanning product innovation, supply-chain management, marketing and sales, to improve efficiency and agility while strengthening its competitive edge in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

This digital transformation enables PepsiCo to harness data-driven insights to enhance demand forecasting, target marketing campaigns and streamline inventory management for greater efficiency across its operations. To this end, the company has entered into multi-year partnerships with key tech players like Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and Salesforce to move critical workloads to the cloud, build internal generative AI platforms and boost field operations through AI agents.

By tapping into AWS’ advanced infrastructure and services, PepsiCo is making AI-driven innovations, reshaping its supply chain and go-to-market strategies to offer personalized consumer experiences. PEP’s deployment with Agentforce, which is a digital labor platform from Salesforce, appears encouraging. Through its expanded collaboration with Salesforce, PepsiCo will leverage AI agents to control key functions and drive operational efficiency, alongside having deeper engagement with retailers. Such moves signify meaningful progress in PepsiCo’s AI roadmap.

At its core, PepsiCo is making a broad digital transformation using AI, machine learning and cloud technology to work more efficiently, develop products faster and connect better with consumers. However, success lies in sturdy execution, continuous investments and the effective adoption of new technologies. Nevertheless, PEP’s digitization efforts are positioning it to operate more efficiently, respond quickly to market changes and create more meaningful connections with consumers in a highly competitive consumer goods environment.

Are Other Beverage Stocks Adopting Digitization?

The Coca-Cola Company KO and Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV BUD, aka AB InBev, are embracing digitization to stay competitive.

Coca-Cola is driving its digital transformation to strengthen consumer connections, improve efficiency and enhance decision-making. The company is using data analytics, AI and automation in key areas from manufacturing and supply chain to marketing and customer engagement. KO’s refreshed marketing model blends digital, live and in-store touchpoints to build stronger, more personalized consumer connections. By leveraging its global scale, digital capabilities and deep consumer insights, Coca-Cola is turning innovation into a disciplined growth engine. 

AB InBev has been keen on making investments in its portfolio and rapidly growing its digital platform, including BEES and Ze Delivery. BUD’s digital transformation initiatives have been on track, with B2B digital platforms contributing about 70% to its revenues in third-quarter 2025. AB InBev’s omnichannel, direct-to-consumer ecosystem of digital and physical products generated $325 million in revenues in third-quarter 2025.

PEP’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of PepsiCo have gained 8.6% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 0.7%.

From a valuation standpoint, PEP trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83X compared with the industry’s average of 17.8X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PEP’s 2025 earnings per share (EPS) implies a year-over-year drop of 0.6% while that of 2026 EPS shows 5.6% growth. The estimates for 2025 and 2026 have moved north in the past 30 days.

PepsiCo stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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