Do we like them?

Do we like PepsiCo?

Makes Pepsi, Gatorade, Lay's, Doritos, Quaker and more; based in Purchase, New York.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Mixed to cautious. It's a huge, steady business, but it keeps ranking as a top plastic polluter and has paid out in several worker cases. We'd hold back.

PepsiCo is run from Purchase, New York, and is listed on Nasdaq. Ramon Laguarta has been CEO since 2018 and chair since 2019, after about 30 years at the company. Its brands include Pepsi, Gatorade, Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos and Quaker. In 2026 it says it's restaging big brands and pushing 'functional' products.

Plastic is the big one. Break Free From Plastic's volunteer brand audits have put PepsiCo among the top plastic polluters since 2018. In the 2023 audit its plastic waste beat Coca-Cola's for the first time. Campaigners say the big brands hide behind lofty sustainability goals while still pumping out single-use packaging.

The legal fights are a mixed bag. New York's attorney general sued over plastic pollution in the Buffalo River, and a judge dismissed the case in 2024, calling it 'predatory'. The FTC sued over alleged price favouritism to a big retailer. PepsiCo denied it, and the FTC dropped the case in May 2025.

On workers, PepsiCo has settled more than once. In April 2026 it paid $270,000 to settle an EEOC suit over a blind call-centre employee who was fired. Earlier, it agreed to a $5m settlement of a drivers' wage claim and a $12.75m settlement of an employee claim also involving Tropicana.

Why 4/10? It's a big, long-established company, and in 2026 it was under pressure from activist investor Elliott and agreed to cut prices on key brands. But plastic waste, worker settlements and thin evidence of real good deeds keep us from backing it with confidence.