PEP vs HSY Stock Comparison

Pepsico and Hershey Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PEP Pepsico Inc
$135.77 +4.3% 1M -10.4% 1Y
Market cap
$184.65B
P/E
16.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$98.24B
Div. yield
–
Non-Alcoholic Beverages Consumer Staples
4 wins
HSY Hershey Co
$169.63 +0.7% 1M -6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$34.01B
P/E
22.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.16B
Div. yield
0.03%
Snacks and Confectionery Consumer Staples
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Hershey leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Hershey 7, Pepsico 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPEPHSYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $184.65B $34.01B PEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.9x 22.8x PEP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.8x 19.0x PEP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% +7.7% HSY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.1% 12.2% HSY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.1% 16.5% HSY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.8x HSY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.4% -6.6% HSY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.2%/yr -1.4%/yr HSY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.4% 27.8% PEP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 64/100 HSY

Percentile Scorecard

PEPHSY

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisPEPHSY
Valuation 62 #15 of 38 41 #27 of 45
Growth 59 #14 of 33 61 #17 of 42
Profitability 87 #5 of 32 100 #1 of 40
Financial Health 35 #25 of 38 59 #20 of 47
Shareholder Returns 78 #6 of 24 62 #12 of 31
Overall 64 64
  • PEP ranked among 41 companies in Beverages
  • HSY ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodPEPHSYSPY
1 month +4.3%+0.7% -1.0%
3 months -0.6%-2.7% +2.9%
6 months -12.7%-11.4% +6.4%
Year to date -5.4%-6.8% +11.4%
1 year -10.4%-6.6% +13.1%
3 years -16.3%-10.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -5.8%-3.8% +21.5%
5 years -15.1%-6.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.2%-1.4% +10.9%
10 years +28.5%+77.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.5%+5.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasurePEPHSYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.4%27.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.4%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.18-0.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.49-0.24 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.9%-47.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.4%-28.2% -2.5%
52-week high $170.49$236.28 $779.14
52-week low $123.73$157.59 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultiplePEPHSY
P/E now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 27.0x 23.0xmedian 20.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 2.8xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 14.4x 14.5xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 18.3x 15.4xmedian 14.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 2.8x 7.5xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.71median 2.03 -4.18median 0.42

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsPEPHSY
Revenue $98.24B $12.16B
Gross profit $53.22B $4.67B
Operating income $15.05B $2.16B
Net income $10.97B $1.49B
Free cash flow $10.47B $2.23B
EPS (diluted) $7.97 $5.79
Cash & equivalents $10.68B $791.21M
Total debt $208.67B $5.61B
Shares (diluted) 1.37B 257.36M
Enterprise value $142.41B $30.25B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricPEPHSY
P/E 17.0x 23.0x
P/FCF 17.7x 15.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.7x 12.9x
P/S 1.9x 2.8x
P/B 8.2x 7.5x
P/Tangible book 21.7x 16.0x
EV/EBITDA 12.1x 14.5x
EV/EBIT 15.0x 18.1x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 3.2x
EV/FCF 21.6x 17.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.5x 14.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.71 -4.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPEPHSY
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% 7.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 3.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.8% 3.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.5% -0.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 47.7% 2.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.6% -4.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 50.8% -2.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.4% -5.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 51.4% -2.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -5.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.9% 23.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 5.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.3% 34.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 10.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPEPHSY
Gross margin 54.2% 38.4%
EBITDA margin 19.1% 22.1%
Operating margin 15.3% 17.8%
Pretax margin 14.0% 15.8%
Net margin 11.1% 12.2%
FCF margin 10.7% 18.3%
Operating cash flow margin 14.8% 21.8%
Return on equity 49.0% 32.0%
Return on assets 9.8% 10.7%
Return on invested capital 16.1% 16.5%
Return on capital employed 19.4% 20.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPEPHSY
Debt / assets 46.3% 40.2%
Debt / equity 2.3x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 79.9% 67.3%
Equity / assets 20.1% 32.7%
Interest coverage 13.6x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.48 4.20

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPEPHSY
Dividend yield 4.3% 3.4%
Net buyback yield 0.5% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 4.7% 4.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 75.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 50.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 10.5%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusPEPHSY
Forward P/E 15.8xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.60FY2026 $8.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.7%FY2026 +41.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.1% +17.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $96.42BFY2026 $12.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPEPHSY
Held by institutions 79.1% 64.3%
Institutions holding 3,414 1,413
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +4.5%
Institutions buying 1,500 662
Institutions selling 1,515 506
Buyers to sellers 0.99 1.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

PEPHSY
PEP 1.00 0.53
HSY 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PEP and HSY?

Pepsico (PEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Pepsico (PEP) $184.65B, Hershey (HSY) $34.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, PEP and HSY?

Pepsico (PEP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Pepsico (PEP) 16.9x, Hershey (HSY) 22.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pepsico (PEP) is cheapest (Pepsico (PEP) 15.8x, Hershey (HSY) 19.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Hershey (HSY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Pepsico (PEP) +6.4%, Hershey (HSY) +7.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hershey (HSY) has the highest net margin (Pepsico (PEP) 11.1%, Hershey (HSY) 12.2%). On return on invested capital, Hershey (HSY) leads (Pepsico (PEP) 16.1%, Hershey (HSY) 16.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hershey (HSY) returned the most: Pepsico (PEP) -10.4%, Hershey (HSY) -6.6%. Over five years, Hershey (HSY) compounded fastest (Pepsico (PEP) -3.2%/yr, Hershey (HSY) -1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Pepsico (PEP) 0.00%, Hershey (HSY) 0.03%. Pepsico (PEP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pepsico (PEP) has been the steadiest (Pepsico (PEP) 21.4%, Hershey (HSY) 27.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do PEP and HSY move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.53, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, PEP and HSY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Hershey (HSY) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.