About 30 minutes ago, PepsiCo (PEP.US) released its 2Q quarterly results as Wall Street earnings season has just started. PepsiCo is among the biggest companies in America, so investors were particularly interested in the firm’s performance amid the ongoing coronavirus turmoil. Analysts were looking for Pepsi to earn $1.25 a share on revenue of $15.39 billion (Bloomberg consensus). The results turned out to be better than expected as 2Q core EPS amounted to $1.32, beating the highest estimate (range $1.22 to $1.29). PepsiCo’s net revenue stood at $15.95 billion (highest estimate was beaten once again). Net income fell to $1.65 billion from $2.04 billion in the year-ago period. The company still has not provided 2020 outlook given the current uncertainties. Moreover, PepsiCo said it plans to return $7.5 billion to shareholders through dividends of $5.5 billion and stock repurchases of roughly $2 billion.
PepsiCo (PEP.US) has been recently trading sideways. Despite quick rebound after the rapid February-March sell-off, stock did not manage to climb to fresh all-time highs (like many tech stocks did). Shares are currently soaring almost 2% in the pre-market trading meaning that stock is set to open with a bullish gap today. The $137.90 area (which is additionally strengthened by 78.6% Fibo retracement) may serve as a short-term resistance. Should excited investors smash through that level, an upward move might actually accelerate. Source: xStation5