Pepsi vs. Coke: One Stock Is Starting to Pull Ahead

Pepsi vs. Coke: One Stock Is Starting to Pull Ahead Vandita Jadeja Tue, August 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM EDT 4 min read PEP KO NVDA Quick Read KO surged 33% year to date while PEP gained just 3%, reflecting Coca-Cola's raised full-year guidance versus Pepsi's volume shortfall. Coke's asset-light model drives a 34.9% operating margin, more than double Pepsi's 14.4%, but PEP's 3.87% yield attracts income investors awaiting Frito-Lay's recovery. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Coca-Cola didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today . PepsiCo ( NASDAQ:PEP ) and Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO ) both delivered Q2 2026 results, and the contrast is louder than the shared category suggests. Popartic / iStock Editorial via Images Coke raised full-year guidance on 5% global unit case volume growth. Pepsi reaffirmed guidance while conceding Q2 volume fell short. The stock action agrees: KO is up 33.35% year to date versus PEP at 2.76%. Frito-Lay Drags One, World Cup Lifts the Other PepsiCo posted $24.18 billion in revenue, up 6.4%, but the mix was uneven. PBNA beverages grew 7% while PFNA foods fell 2%. CEO Ramon Laguarta blamed a weaker consumer, telling analysts "I think the consumer is worse than what we had anticipated and driven mainly by gas prices." International carried the quarter, with Latin America Foods up 15% and Asia Pacific Foods up 12%. Convenience and gas-station traffic remained soft, which pinched impulse purchases of Lay's, Doritos…