PepsiCo share price slipped 0.1% overnight on Thursday after analysts cut targets following the company’s lower earnings outlook from fiscal second-quarter results. Barclays share price traders saw Wall Street turn more cautious even as PepsiCo kept its 2026 forecasts unchanged.
Piper Sandler Cuts to $176
Michael Lavery at Piper Sandler lowered his PepsiCo price target to $176 from $178 and kept an Overweight rating. Evercore ISI cut its target to $150 from $170 and kept an In Line rating, while UBS reduced its target to $159 from $172 and kept a Buy rating.
UBS Sees Slight Improvement
Peter Grom at UBS said PepsiCo’s Q2 results showed slight improvement and that the company kept its 2026 forecasts unchanged. PepsiCo still expects core constant currency EPS growth of 4% to 6% in 2026 and organic revenue growth of 2% to 4%.
Those forecasts sit alongside a softer near-term view: PepsiCo said costs for raw materials and other inputs are expected to rise further in the second half of the year. Evercore ISI tied the weakness to lower U.S. consumer spending, saying that hit smaller, impulse purchases and adding that “that’s just part of the story.”
PEP Near 4% Lower
PEP has declined nearly 4% year-to-date, so the overnight move extends a year in which the stock has already lagged. UBS called North America performance “hopeful,” but the combination of target cuts and unchanged company forecasts leaves investors with a narrower path to upside unless demand improves faster than Wall Street now expects.
Retail traders have noticed the shift too: sentiment on Stocktwits moved to extremely bullish from bullish, and message volume over the last 24 hours surged 568%. For holders, the practical read is simple—PepsiCo still points to 2026 growth, but analysts now want proof that the second-half cost pressure and softer U.S. demand do not keep capping the stock.
