KO and PEP offer different kinds of consumer-staples exposure: Coca-Cola is primarily a beverage company, while PepsiCo combines beverages with a large convenient-foods business. In the October 2, 2026 market snapshot, PEP had the higher indicated dividend yield and lower quoted P/E ratios; in their latest reported quarters, Coca-Cola posted faster organic revenue growth. None of those facts alone establishes which stock is the better buy or which dividend is safer.
How Coca-Cola and PepsiCo’s businesses differ
Coca-Cola is beverage-led
The Coca-Cola Company’s business is principally beverages, sold across international markets. Its performance is therefore closely tied to beverage demand, pricing and product mix, as well as costs and the currencies and economies of the countries where it operates.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Coca-Cola Classic 8oz Glass Bottles 4-6 Packs (24 Bottles) Coke | $60.06 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Mexican Coke Fiesta Pack, 12 fl oz Glass Bottles, 12 Pack | $35.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Mexican Coke Glass Bottle, 12 fl oz, 6 Pack Pack of 2 | $35.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Mexican Coke 16.9oz Glass Bottle - 6pk | $32.26 | Buy on Amazon |
PepsiCo adds convenient foods
PepsiCo sells both beverages and convenient foods. Its earnings drivers include snack and food categories that are not part of Coca-Cola’s core business. That broader mix can diversify what drives PepsiCo’s results, but it also means the companies are not interchangeable soft-drink producers.
Latest operating results: different periods and measures
The latest reported periods available for this comparison are each company’s second quarter of 2026, but the reporting windows differ. Coca-Cola reported a calendar quarter; PepsiCo reported a 12-week period. The companies also define non-GAAP measures separately, so the figures below are useful context, not perfectly like-for-like measurements.
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- Retro look bottle
| Measure | Coca-Cola | PepsiCo |
|---|---|---|
| Period and release date | Quarter ended July 3, 2026; results released July 28, 2026. | 12 weeks ended June 13, 2026; results released July 9, 2026. |
| Revenue | Net revenue rose 7% to $13.4 billion; organic revenue, a company-defined non-GAAP measure, rose 6%. | Net revenue rose 6.4%; organic revenue, a company-defined non-GAAP measure, rose 2.4%. |
| Volume | Global unit case volume rose 5%. | CEO Ramon Laguarta said year-to-date organic volume had increased at its highest rate since 2022; this is management commentary, not a separately stated Q2 volume figure. |
| Operating income and margin | Operating income rose 9%. Operating margin was 34.9%, compared with 34.1% a year earlier. Coca-Cola attributed comparable margin improvement to organic revenue growth, lower operating expenses and currency tailwinds, partly offset by higher input costs and increased marketing investment. | Not stated in the cited Q2 release summary. |
| Earnings per share | Reported EPS increased 16% to $1.03; comparable EPS, a company-defined non-GAAP measure, increased 11% to $0.97. | Reported EPS rose 137%; core EPS, a company-defined non-GAAP measure, rose 4%, while core constant-currency EPS rose 1%. The reported increase should not be read as equivalent to underlying growth. |
| Cash flow | Year-to-date operating cash flow was $7.5 billion and free cash flow, a company-defined non-GAAP measure, was $6.9 billion. | Not stated in the cited Q2 release summary. |
| Fiscal 2026 guidance | Not stated in the cited Q2 release summary. | PepsiCo affirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance. |
On the measures the companies reported, Coca-Cola’s Q2 organic revenue and comparable EPS growth were higher. PepsiCo’s much larger reported EPS increase needs the core EPS figures alongside it to give context. These comparisons do not settle which business will grow faster over a full year: reported periods differ, currency effects matter, and non-GAAP definitions are company-specific.
In its July 28, 2026 earnings release, Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun characterized the quarter this way: “We delivered another strong quarter by staying close to the changing needs of our consumers and customers.” That is management’s assessment, rather than an independent evaluation.
Rank #2
- Twelve (12), 12 fl. oz. glass bottles of Coca-Cola (6), Sprite (3), Fanta Orange (3)
Dividends: long growth records, but different yields
| Dividend measure | Coca-Cola (KO) | PepsiCo (PEP) |
|---|---|---|
| Annualized dividend per share | $2.12 for 2026, up from $2.04 for 2025. The board approved a $0.53 quarterly rate in February 2026 and approved another $0.53 quarterly payment in July, payable October 1 to shareholders of record September 15. | $5.92, up from $5.69. PepsiCo announced a 4% increase on February 3, 2026, effective with the dividend expected in June 2026. |
| Consecutive annual increases | 64, as reported in Coca-Cola’s FY2025 Form 10-K and reflecting its February 2026 increase. | 54, as reported in PepsiCo’s 2025 annual report and reflecting the increase announced in February 2026. |
| 2026 capital-return plan | Not stated in the cited company materials summarized here. | PepsiCo’s then-current plan expected approximately $7.9 billion in dividends and approximately $1.0 billion in share repurchases, or about $8.9 billion returned in total. |
The annualized per-share dividend is not the same as the yield: yield relates the dividend to the share price, which changes. At the October 2, 2026 close, StockAnalysis listed KO at $85.65 with an indicated yield of 2.48%, and PEP at $125.89 with an indicated yield of 4.70%. These are dated market snapshots, not guaranteed returns; a change in price changes the indicated yield.
A long record of annual increases shows a history of board-approved raises, not a guarantee of future increases. Dividend sustainability also depends on earnings, cash generation, investment needs and the board’s future decisions. The figures available here do not provide a consistently calculated payout-ratio comparison, so they cannot establish which dividend has more headroom.
Valuation snapshot: PEP’s multiples were lower on October 2
| Market measure at October 2, 2026 close | KO | PEP |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $85.65 | $125.89 |
| Indicated dividend yield | 2.48% | 4.70% |
| Trailing P/E | 25.74 | 16.50 |
| Forward P/E | 25.20 | 14.51 |
StockAnalysis supplied these secondary-provider market figures. At that snapshot, PEP had the higher indicated yield and lower trailing and forward P/E ratios. Forward P/E depends on earnings estimates that can change; all prices, yields and valuation ratios can move with the market.
A lower P/E does not by itself mean a stock is undervalued, just as a higher yield does not by itself mean a dividend is safer. A fair-value judgment would require assumptions about future earnings, growth, risk and an appropriate valuation method. The snapshot is descriptive, not an intrinsic-value calculation or a recommendation.
Rank #4
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Risks investors should compare
Both companies identify risks tied to economic conditions, inflation and input costs, foreign exchange, competition, regulation, and geopolitical or country-level developments. A consumer-staples classification does not remove exposure to costs, changing demand or events in markets where a company operates. The risks below are those the companies disclose; they are exposures, not predictions that any particular event will occur.
| Risk area | Coca-Cola | PepsiCo |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio and demand | Beverage-focused business; company disclosures include health-related concerns about obesity and chronic disease. | Food-and-beverage operations, with risks across both categories and exposure to economic and geopolitical instability in markets where it operates. |
| Geography, currency and trade | International exposure brings currency and political risks; company disclosures also identify trade and tariff effects. | Company disclosures identify economic and geopolitical instability across its operating markets. |
| Costs, competition and regulation | Input costs and competition can affect results; regulation is among the broad risks identified by the company. | Input costs, competition and regulation are among the broad risks affecting the company’s food-and-beverage operations. |
| Company-specific legal or operating exposure | The company’s disclosures include its ongoing U.S. tax dispute. | The company emphasizes risks spanning its food-and-beverage operations; the cited materials do not establish a directly comparable specific dispute. |
How to decide which stock fits your priorities
- Choose the business exposure you actually want to own. KO is the more beverage-focused company; PEP also has convenient-foods businesses.
- Compare income using both dividend and price. Annualized dividend per share is not yield, and the October 2, 2026 yields are only a snapshot.
- Check the basis of growth figures. Separate reported from company-defined non-GAAP EPS and revenue measures, and account for the different reporting periods and currency effects.
- Assess dividend support, not just the streak. Review earnings and cash generation alongside the board’s dividend decisions; the figures here do not supply a consistent payout-ratio analysis.
- Treat valuation multiples as inputs, not verdicts. P/E ratios depend on reported earnings or estimates and do not independently determine fair value.
- Read the risk disclosures for the exposure that matters most to you. International currencies, input costs, health concerns, trade, regulation, geopolitical developments and legal matters affect the companies differently.
Conclusion
The comparison is a choice between distinct businesses, not simply two versions of the same soft-drink investment. Coca-Cola reported stronger Q2 2026 organic revenue and comparable EPS growth in the releases reviewed. PepsiCo’s October 2 market snapshot showed a higher indicated yield and lower P/E multiples, while its business spans food as well as beverages. Which trade-off is preferable depends on an investor’s view of the companies’ future growth, dividend capacity, valuation and risks; the dated operating and market figures do not provide a personalized recommendation.
Quick Recap
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