Item 1A. Risk Factors.
The following risks, some of which have occurred and any of which may occur in the future, can have a material adverse effect on our business or financial performance, which in turn can affect the price of our publicly traded securities. These are not the only risks we face. There may be other risks we are not currently aware of or that we currently deem not to be material but that may become material in the future.
Business Risks
The impact of COVID-19 continues to create considerable uncertainty for our business.
Our global operations continue to expose us to risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous measures have been implemented around the world to try to reduce the spread of the virus and these measures have impacted and continue to impact us, our business partners and consumers.
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We have seen and could continue to see changes in consumer demand as a result of COVID-19, including the inability of consumers to purchase our products due to illness, quarantine or other restrictions, store closures, or financial hardship. We also have seen and could continue to see shifts in product and channel preferences, including an increase in demand in the e-commerce channel, which has impacted and could continue to impact our sales and profitability. Reduced demand for our products or changes in consumer purchasing patterns, as well as continued economic uncertainty, can adversely affect our customers’ financial condition, which can result in bankruptcy filings and/or an inability to pay for our products. In addition, we may also continue to experience business disruptions as a result of COVID-19, resulting from temporary closures of our facilities or facilities of our business partners or the inability of a significant portion of our or our business partners’ workforce to work because of illness, absenteeism, quarantine, vaccine mandates, or travel or other governmental restrictions. In addition, we and our business partners may also continue to see adverse impacts to our supply chain as a result of COVID-19 through raw material, packaging or other supply shortages, labor shortages or reduced availability of air or other commercial transport, port congestion and closures or border restrictions, any of which can impact our business. Any sustained interruption in our or our business partners’ operations, distribution network or supply chain or any significant continuous shortage of raw materials, packaging or other supplies can negatively impact our business. We have also incurred, and could continue to incur, increased employee and operating costs as a result of COVID-19, such as costs related to expanded benefits and frontline incentives, the provision of personal protective equipment and increased sanitation, allowances for credit losses, upfront payment reserves and inventory write-offs, and cost inflation in commodities, packaging, transportation and other input costs, which have negatively impacted and may continue to negatively impact our profitability. In addition, the increase in certain of our employees working remotely has resulted in increased demand on our information technology infrastructure, which can be subject to failure, disruption or unavailability, and increased vulnerability to cyberattacks and other cyber incidents. Also, continued economic uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in volatility in the global capital and credit markets which can impair our ability to access these markets on terms commercially acceptable to us, or at all.
The impact of COVID-19 has heightened, or in some cases manifested, certain of the other risks discussed below. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business remains uncertain and will continue to depend on numerous evolving factors that we are not able to accurately predict and which will vary by jurisdiction and market, including the duration and scope of the pandemic, the emergence and spread of new variants of the virus, including the omicron and delta variants, the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, the speed at which vaccines are administered, the efficacy of vaccines against the virus and evolving strains or variants of the virus, global economic conditions during and after the pandemic, governmental actions that have been taken, or may be taken in the future, in response to the pandemic, and changes in consumer behavior in response to the pandemic, some of which may be more than just temporary.
Reduction in future demand for our products would adversely affect our business.
Demand for our products depends in part on our ability to innovate and anticipate and effectively respond to shifts in consumer trends and preferences, including the types of products our consumers want and how they browse for, purchase and consume them. Consumer preferences continuously evolve due to a variety of factors, including: changes in consumer demographics, consumption patterns and channel preferences (including continued increases in the e-commerce and online-to-offline channels); pricing; product quality; concerns or perceptions regarding packaging and its environmental impact (such as single-use and other plastic packaging); and concerns or perceptions regarding the nutrition profile and health effects of, or location of origin of, ingredients or substances in our products or packaging, including due to the results of third-party studies (whether or not scientifically valid). Concerns with any of the foregoing could lead consumers to reduce or publicly boycott the purchase or consumption of our products. Consumer
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preferences are also influenced by perception of our brand image or the brand images of our products, the success of our advertising and marketing campaigns, our ability to engage with our consumers in the manner they prefer, including through the use of digital media or assets, and the perception of our use, and the use of social media. These and other factors have reduced in the past and could continue to reduce consumers’ willingness to purchase certain of our products. Any inability on our part to anticipate or react to changes in consumer preferences and trends, or make the right strategic investments to do so, including investments in data analytics to understand consumer trends, can lead to reduced demand for our products, lead to inventory write-offs or erode our competitive and financial position, thereby adversely affecting our business. In addition, our business operations, including our supply chain, are subject to disruption by natural disasters or other events beyond our control that could negatively impact product availability and decrease demand for our products if our crisis management plans do not effectively resolve these issues.
Damage to our reputation or brand image can adversely affect our business.
Maintaining a positive reputation globally is critical to selling our products. Our reputation or brand image has in the past been, and could in the future be, adversely impacted by a variety of factors, including: any failure by us or our business partners to maintain high ethical, business and environmental, social and governance practices, including with respect to human rights, child labor laws, diversity, equity and inclusion, workplace conditions and employee health and safety; any failure to achieve our environmental, social and governance goals, including with respect to the nutrition profile of our products, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, packaging, water use and our impact on the environment; any failure to address health concerns about our products, products we distribute, or particular ingredients in our products, including concerns regarding whether certain of our products contribute to obesity or an increase in public health costs; our research and development efforts; any product quality or safety issues, including the recall of any of our products; any failure to comply with laws and regulations; consumer perception of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements, marketing programs, use of social media and our response to political and social issues or catastrophic events; or any failure to effectively respond to negative or inaccurate comments about us on social media or otherwise regarding any of the foregoing. Damage to our reputation or brand image has in the past and could in the future decrease demand for our products, thereby adversely affecting our business.
Product recalls or other issues or concerns with respect to product quality and safety can adversely affect our business.
We have and could in the future recall products due to product quality or safety issues, including actual or alleged mislabeling, misbranding, spoilage, undeclared allergens, adulteration or contamination. Product recalls have in the past and could in the future adversely affect our business by resulting in losses due to their cost, the destruction of product inventory or lost sales due to any unavailability of the product for a period of time. In addition, product quality or safety issues, whether as a result of failure to comply with food safety laws or otherwise, have in the past and could in the future also reduce consumer confidence and demand for our products, cause production and delivery disruptions, and result in increased costs (including payment of fines and/or judgments) and damage our reputation, particularly as we expand into new categories, such as nuts and meat convenient foods globally and the distribution of alcoholic beverages in the United States, all of which can adversely affect our business. Failure to maintain adequate oversight over product quality or safety can result in product recalls, litigation, government investigations or inquiries or civil or criminal proceedings, all of which may result in fines, penalties, damages or criminal liability. Our business can also be adversely affected if consumers lose confidence in product quality, safety and integrity generally, even if such loss of confidence is unrelated to products in our portfolio.
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Any inability to compete effectively can adversely affect our business.
Our products compete against products of international beverage and convenient food companies that, like us, operate in multiple geographies, as well as regional, local and private label and economy brand manufacturers and other competitors, including smaller companies developing and selling micro brands directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms or through retailers focused on locally sourced products. In many countries in which our products are sold, including the United States, The Coca-Cola Company is our primary beverage competitor. Our products compete primarily on the basis of brand recognition and loyalty, taste, price, value, quality, product variety, innovation, distribution, advertising, marketing and promotional activity, packaging, convenience, service and the ability to anticipate and effectively respond to consumer preferences and trends. Our business can be adversely affected if we are unable to effectively promote or develop our existing products or introduce and effectively market new products, if we are unable to effectively adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence and data analytics to develop new commercial insights and improve operating efficiencies, if we are unable to continuously strengthen and evolve our capabilities in digital marketing, if our competitors spend more aggressively than we do or if we are otherwise unable to effectively respond to supply disruptions, pricing pressure (including as a result of commodity inflation) or otherwise compete effectively, and we may be unable to grow or maintain sales or category share or we may need to increase capital, marketing or other expenditures.
Failure to attract, develop and maintain a highly skilled and diverse workforce can have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business requires that we attract, develop and maintain a highly skilled and diverse workforce. Our employees are highly sought after by our competitors and other companies and our continued ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to attract, retain, develop and motivate highly skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. Any unplanned turnover, sustained labor shortage or unsuccessful implementation of our succession plans to backfill current leadership positions, including the Chief Executive Officer, or failure to attract, develop and maintain a highly skilled and diverse workforce, including with key capabilities such as e-commerce and digital marketing and data analytic skills, can deplete our institutional knowledge base, erode our competitive advantage or result in increased costs due to increased competition for employees, higher employee turnover or increased employee benefit costs. In addition, failure to attract, retain and develop associates from underrepresented communities can damage our business results and our reputation. Any of the foregoing can adversely affect our business.
Water scarcity can adversely affect our business.
We and our business partners use water in the manufacturing and sourcing of our products. Water is also essential to the production of the raw materials needed in our manufacturing process. Lack of available water of acceptable quality, increasing focus by governmental and non-governmental organizations, investors, customers and consumers on water scarcity and increasing pressure to conserve and replenish water in areas of scarcity and stress, including due to the effects of climate change, may lead to: supply chain disruption; adverse effects on our operations or the operations of our business partners; higher compliance costs; capital expenditures (including investments in the development of technologies to enhance water efficiency and reduce consumption); higher production costs, including less favorable pricing for water; the interruption or cessation of operations at, or relocation of, our facilities or the facilities of our business partners; failure to achieve our goals relating to water use; perception of our failure to act responsibly with respect to water use or to effectively respond to legal or regulatory requirements concerning water scarcity; or damage to our reputation, any of which can adversely affect our business.
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Changes in the retail landscape or in sales to any key customer can adversely affect our business.
The retail landscape continues to evolve, including continued growth in e-commerce channels and hard discounters. Our business will be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain and develop successful relationships with e-commerce retailers and hard discounters, while also maintaining relationships with our key customers operating in traditional retail channels (many of whom are also focused on increasing their e-commerce sales). Our business can be adversely affected if e-commerce channels and hard discounters take significant additional market share away from traditional retailers or we fail to find ways to create increasingly better digital tools and capabilities for our retail customers to enable them to grow their businesses. In addition, our business can be adversely affected if we are unable to profitably expand our own direct-to-consumer e-commerce capabilities. The retail industry is also impacted by increased consolidation of ownership and purchasing power, particularly in North America, Europe and Latin America, resulting in large retailers or buying groups with increased purchasing power, impacting our ability to compete in these areas. Consolidation also adversely impacts our smaller customers’ ability to compete effectively, resulting in an inability on their part to pay for our products or reduced or canceled orders of our products. Further, we must maintain mutually beneficial relationships with our key customers, including Walmart, to compete effectively. Any inability to resolve a significant dispute with any of our key customers, a change in the business condition (financial or otherwise) of any of our key customers, even if unrelated to us, a significant reduction in sales to any key customer, or the loss of any of our key customers can adversely affect our business.
Disruption of our manufacturing operations or supply chain, including increased commodity, packaging, transportation, labor and other input costs, can adversely affect our business.
We have experienced and could continue to experience disruption in our manufacturing operations and supply chain. Many of the raw materials and supplies used in the production of our products are sourced from countries experiencing civil unrest, political instability or unfavorable economic conditions. Some raw materials and supplies, including packaging materials, are available only from a limited number of suppliers or from a sole supplier or are in short supply when seasonal demand is at its peak. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain favorable arrangements and relationships with suppliers or that our contingency plans will be effective to prevent disruptions that may arise from shortages or discontinuation of any raw materials and other supplies that we use in the manufacture, production and distribution of our products. Any sustained or significant disruption to the manufacturing or sourcing of products or materials could increase our costs and interrupt product supply, which can adversely impact our business.
The raw materials and other supplies, including agricultural commodities, fuel and packaging materials, such as recycled PET, transportation, labor and other supply chain inputs that we use for the manufacturing, production and distribution of our products are subject to price volatility and fluctuations in availability caused by many factors, including changes in supply and demand, supplier capacity constraints, inflation, weather conditions (including potential effects of climate change), fire, natural disasters, disease or pests (including the impact of greening disease on the citrus industry), agricultural uncertainty, health epidemics or pandemics or other contagious outbreaks (including COVID-19), labor shortages (including the lack of availability of truck drivers or as a result of COVID-19), strikes or work stoppages, governmental incentives and controls (including import/export restrictions, such as new or increased tariffs, sanctions, quotas or trade barriers), port congestions or delays, transport capacity constraints, cybersecurity incidents or other disruptions, loss or impairment of key manufacturing sites, political uncertainties, acts of terrorism, governmental instability or currency exchange rates. Many of our raw materials and supplies are purchased in the open market and the prices we pay for such items are subject to fluctuation. We experienced higher than anticipated commodity, packaging and transportation costs during 2021, which may continue. When input prices increase unexpectedly or significantly, we may
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be unwilling or unable to increase our product prices or unable to effectively hedge against price increases to offset these increased costs without suffering reduced volume, revenue, margins and operating results.
Political and social conditions can adversely affect our business.
Political and social conditions in the markets in which our products are sold have been and could continue to be difficult to predict, resulting in adverse effects on our business. The results of elections, referendums or other political conditions (including government shutdowns or hostilities between countries) in these markets have in the past and could continue to impact how existing laws, regulations and government programs or policies are implemented or result in uncertainty as to how such laws, regulations, programs or policies may change, including with respect to tariffs, sanctions, environmental and climate change regulations, taxes, benefit programs, the movement of goods, services and people between countries, relationships between countries, customer or consumer perception of a particular country or its government and other matters, and has resulted in and could continue to result in exchange rate fluctuation, volatility in global stock markets and global economic uncertainty or adversely affect demand for our products, any of which can adversely affect our business. In addition, political and social conditions in certain cities throughout the U.S. as well as globally have resulted in demonstrations and protests, including in connection with political elections and civil rights and liberties. Our operations, including the distribution of our products and the ingredients or other raw materials used in the production of our products, may be disrupted if such events persist for a prolonged period of time, including due to actions taken by governmental authorities in affected cities and regions, which can adversely affect our business.
Our business can be adversely affected if we are unable to grow in developing and emerging markets.
Our success depends in part on our ability to grow our business in developing and emerging markets, including Mexico, Russia, the Middle East, China, South Africa, Brazil and India. There can be no assurance that our products will be accepted or be successful in any particular developing or emerging market, due to competition, price, cultural differences, consumer preferences, method of distribution or otherwise. Our business in these markets has been and could continue in the future to be impacted by economic, political and social conditions; acts of war, terrorist acts, and civil unrest, including demonstrations and protests; competition; tariffs, sanctions or other regulations restricting contact with certain countries in these markets; foreign ownership restrictions; nationalization of our assets or the assets of our business partners; government-mandated closure, or threatened closure, of our operations or the operations of our business partners; restrictions on the import or export of our products or ingredients or substances used in our products; highly inflationary economies; devaluation or fluctuation or demonetization of currency; regulations on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries, currency controls or other currency exchange restrictions, which result in significant cash balances in foreign countries, from time to time, or can significantly affect our ability to effectively manage our operations in certain of these markets and can result in the deconsolidation of such businesses; the lack of well-established or reliable legal systems; increased costs of doing business due to compliance with complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act; and adverse consequences, such as the assessment of fines or penalties, for any failure to comply with laws and regulations. Our business can be adversely affected if we are unable to expand our business in developing and emerging markets, effectively operate, or manage the risks associated with operating, in these markets, or achieve the return on capital we expect from our investments in these markets.
Changes in economic conditions can adversely impact our business.
Many of the jurisdictions in which our products are sold have experienced and could continue to experience uncertain or unfavorable economic conditions, such as recessions or economic slowdowns,
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which have and could continue to result in adverse changes in interest rates, tax laws or tax rates; inflation; volatile commodity markets; labor shortages; highly inflationary economies, devaluation, fluctuation or demonetization of currency; contraction in the availability of credit; austerity or stimulus measures; the effects of any default by or deterioration in the creditworthiness of the countries in which our products are sold; or a decrease in the fair value of pension or post-retirement assets that could increase future employee benefit costs and/or funding requirements of our pension or post-retirement plans. In addition, we cannot predict how current or future economic conditions will affect our business partners, including financial institutions with whom we do business, and any negative impact on any of the foregoing may also have an adverse impact on our business.
Future cyber incidents and other disruptions to our information systems can adversely affect our business.
We depend on information systems and technology, including public websites and cloud-based services, for many activities important to our business, including communications within our company, interfacing with customers and consumers; ordering and managing inventory; managing and operating our facilities; protecting confidential information, including personal data we collect; maintaining accurate financial records and complying with regulatory, financial reporting, legal and tax requirements. Our business has in the past and could in the future be negatively affected by system shutdowns, degraded systems performance, systems disruptions or security incidents. These disruptions or incidents may be caused by cyberattacks and other cyber incidents, network or power outages, software, equipment or telecommunications failures, the unintentional or malicious actions of employees or contractors, natural disasters, fires or other catastrophic events. Cyberattacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently, the techniques used to gain access to information technology systems and data, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated in nature and are being carried out by groups and individuals with a wide range of expertise and motives. Cyberattacks and cyber incidents may be difficult to detect for periods of time and take many forms including cyber extortion, denial of service, social engineering, introduction of viruses or malware (such as ransomware), exploiting vulnerabilities in hardware, software or other infrastructure, hacking, website defacement or theft of passwords and other credentials, unauthorized use of computing resources for digital currency mining and business email compromise. As with other global companies, we are regularly subject to cyberattacks and other cyber incidents, including the types of attacks and incidents described above. If we do not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to continue building and maintaining our information technology infrastructure, or if we fail to timely identify or appropriately respond to cyberattacks or other cyber incidents, our business has been and can continue to be adversely affected, which has resulted in and can continue to result in some or all of the following: transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, inability to access our data or systems, lost revenues or other costs resulting from disruptions or shutdowns of offices, plants, warehouses, distribution centers or other facilities, intellectual property or other data loss, litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations, fines or penalties, remediation costs, damage to our reputation or a negative impact on employee morale and the loss of current or potential customers.
Similar risks exist with respect to third-party providers, including suppliers, software and cloud-based service providers, that we rely upon for aspects of our information technology support services and administrative functions, including payroll processing, health and benefit plan administration and certain finance and accounting functions, and the systems managed, hosted, provided and/or used by such third parties and their vendors. For example, malicious actors have employed and could continue to employ the information technology supply chain to introduce malware through software updates or compromised supplier accounts or hardware. The need to coordinate with various third-party service providers, including with respect to timely notification and access to personnel and information concerning an incident, may complicate our efforts to resolve issues that arise. As a result, we are subject to the risk that
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the activities associated with our third-party service providers can adversely affect our business even if the attack or breach does not directly impact our systems or information.
Although the cyber incidents and other systems disruptions that we have experienced to date have not had a material effect on our business, such incidents or disruptions could have a material adverse effect on us in the future. While we devote significant resources to network security, disaster recovery, employee training and other measures to secure our information technology systems and prevent unauthorized access to or loss of data, there are no guarantees that they will be adequate to safeguard against all cyber incidents, systems disruptions, system compromises or misuses of data. In addition, while we currently maintain insurance coverage that, subject to its terms and conditions, is intended to address costs associated with certain aspects of cyber incidents and information systems failures, this insurance coverage may not, depending on the specific facts and circumstances surrounding an incident, cover all losses or all types of claims that arise from an incident, or the damage to our reputation or brands that may result from an incident.
Failure to successfully complete or manage strategic transactions can adversely affect our business.
We regularly review our portfolio of businesses and evaluate potential acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution agreements, divestitures, refranchisings and other strategic transactions. The success of these transactions, including the recent completion of the Juice Transaction, is dependent upon, among other things, our ability to realize the full extent of the expected returns, benefits, cost savings or synergies as a result of a transaction, within the anticipated time frame, or at all; and receipt of necessary consents, clearances and approvals. Risks associated with strategic transactions include integrating manufacturing, distribution, sales, accounting, financial reporting and administrative support activities and information technology systems with our company or difficulties separating such personnel, activities and systems in connection with divestitures; operating through new business models or in new categories or territories; motivating, recruiting and retaining executives and key employees; conforming controls (including internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures) and policies (including with respect to environmental compliance, health and safety compliance and compliance with anti-bribery laws); retaining existing customers and consumers and attracting new customers and consumers; managing tax costs or inefficiencies; maintaining good relations with divested or refranchised businesses in our supply or sales chain; inability to offset loss of revenue associated with divested brands or businesses; managing the impact of business decisions or other actions or omissions of our joint venture partners that may have different interests than we do; and other unanticipated problems or liabilities, such as contingent liabilities and litigation. Strategic transactions that are not successfully completed or managed effectively, or our failure to effectively manage the risks associated with such transactions, have in the past and could continue to result in adverse effects on our business.
Our reliance on third-party service providers and enterprise-wide systems can have an adverse effect on our business.
We rely on third-party service providers, including cloud data service providers, for certain areas of our business, including payroll processing, health and benefit plan administration and certain finance and accounting functions. Failure by these third parties to meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations to us, or our failure to adequately monitor their performance, has in the past and could continue to result in our inability to achieve the expected cost savings or efficiencies and result in additional costs to correct errors made by such service providers. Depending on the function involved, such errors can also lead to business disruption, systems performance degradation, processing inefficiencies or other systems disruptions, the loss of or damage to intellectual property or sensitive data through security breaches or otherwise, incorrect or adverse effects on financial reporting, litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations, fines or penalties, remediation costs,
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damage to our reputation or have a negative impact on employee morale, all of which can adversely affect our business.
In addition, we continue on our multi-year phased business transformation initiative to migrate certain of our systems, including our financial processing systems, to enterprise-wide systems solutions and have begun to roll out these systems in certain countries and divisions. We have experienced and could continue to experience systems outages and operating inefficiencies following these planned implementations. In addition, if we do not continue to allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper information technology infrastructure, or if we fail to achieve the expected benefits from this initiative, our business could be adversely affected.
Climate change or measures to address climate change can negatively affect our business or damage our reputation.
Climate change may have a negative effect on agricultural productivity which may result in decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products, such as potatoes, sugar cane, corn, wheat, rice, oats, oranges and other fruits (and fruit-derived oils). In addition, climate change may also increase the frequency or severity of natural disasters and other extreme weather conditions (including rising temperatures and drought), which could pose physical risks to our facilities, impair our production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain or impact demand for our products. Also, there is an increased focus in many jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold regarding environmental policies relating to climate change, regulating greenhouse gas emissions, energy policies and sustainability, including single-use plastics. This increased focus may result in new or increased legal and regulatory requirements, such as potential carbon pricing programs, which could result in significant increased costs and require additional investments in facilities and equipment. As a result, the effects of climate change can negatively affect our business and operations. In addition, any failure to achieve our goals with respect to reducing our impact on the environment or perception of a failure to act responsibly with respect to the environment or to effectively respond to regulatory requirements concerning climate change can lead to adverse publicity, which could adversely affect demand for our products or damage our reputation. Any of the foregoing can adversely affect our business.
Strikes or work stoppages can cause our business to suffer.
Many of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and other employees may seek to be covered by collective bargaining agreements. Strikes or work stoppages or other business interruptions have occurred and may occur in the future if we are unable to renew, or enter into new, collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms and can impair manufacturing and distribution of our products, lead to a loss of sales, increase our costs or otherwise affect our ability to fully implement future operational changes to enhance our efficiency or to adapt to changing business needs or strategy, all of which can adversely affect our business.
Financial Risks
Failure to realize benefits from our productivity initiatives can adversely affect our financial performance.
Our future growth depends, in part, on our ability to continue to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, including our multi-year phased implementation of shared business service organizational models. We continue to identify and implement productivity initiatives that we believe will position our business for long-term sustainable growth by allowing us to achieve a lower cost structure, improve decision-making and operate more efficiently. Some of these measures result in unintended consequences, such as business disruptions, distraction of management and employees, reduced morale and productivity, unexpected
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employee attrition, an inability to attract or retain key personnel and negative publicity. If we are unable to successfully implement our productivity initiatives as planned or do not achieve expected savings as a result of these initiatives, we may not realize all or any of the anticipated benefits, resulting in adverse effects on our financial performance.
A deterioration in our estimates and underlying assumptions regarding the future performance of our business can result in an impairment charge that can adversely affect our results of operations.
We conduct impairment tests on our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets annually or more frequently if circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. In addition, amortizable intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and other long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment upon a significant change in the operating or macroeconomic environment. A deterioration in our underlying assumptions regarding the impact of competitive operating conditions, macroeconomic conditions or other factors used to estimate the future performance of any of our reporting units or assets, including any deterioration in the weighted-average cost of capital based on market data available at the time, can result in an impairment charge, which can adversely affect our results of operations.
Fluctuations in exchange rates impact our financial performance.
Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, the financial statements of our subsidiaries outside the United States, where the functional currency is other than the U.S. dollar, are translated into U.S. dollars. Given our global operations, we also pay for the ingredients, raw materials and commodities used in our business in numerous currencies. Fluctuations in exchange rates, including as a result of inflation, central bank monetary policies, currency controls or other currency exchange restrictions have had, and could continue to have, an adverse impact on our financial performance.
Our borrowing costs and access to capital and credit markets can be adversely affected by a downgrade or potential downgrade of our credit ratings.
Rating agencies routinely evaluate us and their ratings are based on a number of factors, including our cash generating capability, levels of indebtedness, policies with respect to shareholder distributions and our financial strength generally, as well as factors beyond our control, such as the state of the economy and our industry. We expect to maintain Tier 1 commercial paper access, which we believe will facilitate appropriate financial flexibility and ready access to global credit markets at favorable interest rates. Any downgrade or announcement that we are under review for a potential downgrade of our credit ratings, especially any downgrade to below investment grade, can increase our future borrowing costs, impair our ability to access capital and credit markets on terms commercially acceptable to us or at all, result in a reduction in our liquidity, or impair our ability to access the commercial paper market with the same flexibility that we have experienced historically (and therefore require us to rely more heavily on more expensive types of debt financing), all of which can adversely affect our financial performance.
Legal, Tax and Regulatory Risks
Taxes aimed at our products can adversely affect our business or financial performance.
Certain jurisdictions in which our products are sold have either imposed, or are considering imposing, new or increased taxes on the manufacture, distribution or sale of certain of our products, particularly our beverages, as a result of the ingredients or substances contained in our products. These taxes vary in scope and form: some apply to all beverages, including non-caloric beverages, while others apply only to beverages with a caloric sweetener (e.g., sugar). Similarly, some measures apply a single tax rate per ounce/liter on beverages containing over a certain amount of added sugar (or other sweetener), some apply a graduated tax rate depending upon the amount of added sugar (or other sweetener) in the beverage and others apply a flat tax rate on beverages containing any amount of added sugar (or other sweetener). For example, certain provinces in Canada enacted a flat tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages, effective
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September 1, 2022, at a rate of 0.20 Canadian dollars (0.16 U.S. dollars) per liter. These tax measures, whatever their scope or form, have in the past and could continue to increase the cost of certain of our products, reduce overall consumption of our products or lead to negative publicity, resulting in an adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Limitations on the marketing or sale of our products can adversely affect our business and financial performance.
Certain jurisdictions in which our products are sold have either imposed, or are considering imposing, limitations on the marketing or sale of our products as a result of ingredients or substances in our products. These limitations require that we highlight perceived concerns about a product, warn consumers to avoid consumption of certain ingredients or substances present in our products, restrict the age of consumers to whom products are marketed or sold or limit the location in which our products may be available. For example, Argentina and Colombia enacted warning labeling requirements in 2021 to indicate whether a particular pre-packaged food or beverage product is considered to be high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat. Certain jurisdictions have imposed or are considering imposing color-coded labeling requirements where colors such as red, yellow and green are used to indicate various levels of a particular ingredient, such as sugar, sodium or saturated fat, in products. The imposition or proposed imposition of additional limitations on the marketing or sale of our products has in the past and could continue to reduce overall consumption of our products, lead to negative publicity or leave consumers with the perception that our products do not meet their health and wellness needs, resulting in an adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Laws and regulations related to the use or disposal of plastics or other packaging materials can adversely affect our business and financial performance.
We rely on diverse packaging solutions to safely deliver products to our customers and consumers. Certain of our products are sold in packaging designed to be recyclable or commercially compostable. However, not all packaging is recycled, whether due to lack of infrastructure or otherwise, and certain of our packaging is not currently recyclable. Packaging waste not properly disposed of that displays one or more of our brands has in the past resulted in and could continue to result in negative publicity, litigation or reduced consumer demand for our products, adversely affecting our financial performance. Many jurisdictions in which our products are sold have imposed or are considering imposing regulations or policies intended to encourage the use of sustainable packaging, waste reduction or increased recycling rates or to restrict the sale of products utilizing certain packaging. These regulations vary in form and scope and include extended producer responsibility policies, plastic or packaging taxes, restrictions on certain products and materials, requirements for bottle caps to be tethered to bottles, bans on the use of single-use plastics and requirements to charge deposit fees. For example, the European Union, Peru and certain states in the United States, among other jurisdictions, have imposed a minimum recycled content requirement for beverage bottle packaging and similar legislation is under consideration in other jurisdictions. These laws and regulations have in the past and could continue to increase the cost of our products, impact demand for our products, result in negative publicity and require us and our business partners, including our independent bottlers, to increase capital expenditures to invest in minimizing the amount of plastic or other materials used in our packaging or to develop alternative packaging, all of which can adversely affect our business and financial performance.
Failure to comply with personal data protection and privacy laws can adversely affect our business.
We are subject to a variety of continuously evolving and developing laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions regarding personal data protection and privacy laws. These laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied differently from country to country or, within the United States, from state to state, and can create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. Our efforts to comply with these laws and
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regulations, including with respect to data from residents of the European Union who are covered by the General Data Protection Regulation or residents of the state of California who are covered by the California Consumer Privacy Act (as modified by the California Privacy Rights Act), impose significant costs and challenges that are likely to continue to increase over time, particularly as additional jurisdictions adopt similar regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations or to otherwise protect personal data from unauthorized access, use or other processing, have in the past and could in the future result in litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations, damage to our reputation, fines or penalties, all of which can adversely affect our business.
Increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or disagreements with tax authorities can adversely affect our financial performance.
Increases in income tax rates or other changes in tax laws, including changes in how existing tax laws are interpreted or enforced, can adversely affect our financial performance. For example, economic and political conditions in countries where we are subject to taxes, including the United States, have in the past and could continue to result in significant changes in tax legislation or regulation, including those proposed and under consideration by the United States Congress and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. For example, numerous countries have recently agreed to a statement in support of a global minimum tax rate of 15% as well as global profit reallocation. There can be no assurance that these changes will be adopted by individual countries, or that once adopted by individual countries, that they will not have adverse effects on our financial performance. This increasingly complex global tax environment has in the past and could continue to increase tax uncertainty, resulting in higher compliance costs and adverse effects on our financial performance. We are also subject to regular reviews, examinations and audits by numerous taxing authorities with respect to income and non-income based taxes. Economic and political pressures to increase tax revenues in jurisdictions in which we operate, or the adoption of new or reformed tax legislation or regulation, has made and could continue to make resolving tax disputes more difficult and the final resolution of tax audits and any related litigation can differ from our historical provisions and accruals, resulting in an adverse effect on our financial performance.
If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, or if we are found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, our business can be adversely affected.
We possess intellectual property rights that are important to our business, including ingredient formulas, trademarks, copyrights, patents, business processes and other trade secrets. The laws of various jurisdictions in which we operate have differing levels of protection of intellectual property. Our competitive position and the value of our products and brands can be reduced and our business adversely affected if we fail to obtain or adequately protect our intellectual property, including our ingredient formulas, or if there is a change in law that limits or removes the current legal protections afforded our intellectual property. Also, in the course of developing new products or improving the quality of existing products, we have in the past infringed or been alleged to have infringed, and could in the future infringe or be alleged to infringe, on the intellectual property rights of others. Such infringement or allegations of infringement could result in expensive litigation and damages, damage to our reputation, disruption to our operations, injunctions against development, manufacturing, use and/or sale of certain products, inventory write-offs or other limitations on our ability to introduce new products or improve the quality of existing products, resulting in an adverse effect on our business.
Failure to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our business can adversely affect our business.
The conduct of our business is subject to numerous laws and regulations relating to the production, storage, distribution, sale, display, advertising, marketing, labeling, content (including whether a product
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contains genetically engineered ingredients), quality, safety, transportation, traceability, sourcing (including pesticide use), packaging, disposal, recycling and use of our products or raw materials, employment and occupational health and safety, environmental, social and governance matters (including climate change) and data privacy and protection. In addition, in many jurisdictions, compliance with competition laws is of special importance to us due to our competitive position, as is compliance with anti-corruption laws. The imposition of new laws, changes in laws or regulatory requirements or changing interpretations thereof, and differing or competing regulations and standards across the markets where our products or raw materials are made, manufactured, distributed or sold, have in the past and could continue to result in higher compliance costs, capital expenditures and higher production costs, resulting in adverse effects on our business. For example, increasing governmental and societal attention to environmental, social and governance matters has resulted and could continue to result in new laws or regulatory requirements. In addition, the entry into new markets or categories, including our planned entry into the alcoholic beverage industry as a distributor in the United States and expansion into the nuts and meat convenient foods categories globally, has resulted in and could continue to result in our business being subject to additional regulations resulting in higher compliance costs. If one jurisdiction imposes or proposes to impose new laws or regulations that impact the manufacture, distribution or sale of our products, other jurisdictions may follow. Failure to comply with such laws or regulations can subject us to criminal or civil enforcement actions, including fines, injunctions, product recalls, penalties, disgorgement of profits or activity restrictions, all of which can adversely affect our business. In addition, the results of third-party studies (whether or not scientifically valid) purporting to assess the health implications of consumption of certain ingredients or substances present in certain of our products or packaging materials have resulted in and could continue to result in our being subject to new taxes and regulations or lawsuits that can adversely affect our business.
Potential liabilities and costs from litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations can have an adverse impact on our business.
We and our subsidiaries are party to a variety of litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries and investigations, including but not limited to matters related to our advertising, marketing or commercial practices, product labels, claims and ingredients, personal injury and property damage, intellectual property rights, privacy, employment, tax and insurance matters, environmental, social and governance matters and matters relating to our compliance with applicable laws and regulations. These matters are inherently uncertain and there is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves or that our assessment of the materiality of these matters and the likely outcome or potential losses and established reserves will be consistent with the ultimate outcome of such matters. Responding to these matters, even those that are ultimately non-meritorious, requires us to incur significant expense and devote significant resources, and may generate adverse publicity that damages our reputation or brand image. Any of the foregoing can adversely affect our business.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
We have received no written comments regarding our periodic or current reports from the staff of the SEC that were issued 180 days or more preceding the end of our 2021 year and that remain unresolved.
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Item 2. Properties.
Our principal executive office located in Purchase, New York and our facilities located in Plano, Texas, all of which we own, are our most significant corporate properties.
In connection with making, marketing, distributing and selling our products, each division utilizes manufacturing, processing, bottling and production plants, warehouses, distribution centers, storage facilities, offices, including division headquarters, research and development facilities and other facilities, all of which are either owned or leased.
Significant properties by division are as follows:
Property Type Location Owned/ Leased
FLNA Research and development facility Plano, Texas Owned
QFNA Convenient food plant Cedar Rapids, Iowa Owned
PBNA Research and development facility Valhalla, New York Owned
PBNA Concentrate plant Arlington, Texas Owned
PBNA Tropicana plant (a) Bradenton, Florida Owned
LatAm Convenient food plant Celaya, Mexico Owned
LatAm Two convenient food plants Vallejo, Mexico Owned
Europe Convenient food plant Kashira, Russia Owned
Europe Manufacturing plant Lehavim, Israel Owned
Europe Dairy plant Moscow, Russia Owned (b)
AMESA Convenient food plant Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Owned (b)
APAC Convenient food plant Wuhan, China Owned (b)
FLNA, QFNA, PBNA Shared service center Winston Salem, North Carolina Leased
PBNA, LatAm Concentrate plant Colonia, Uruguay Owned (b)
PBNA, Europe, AMESA Two concentrate plants Cork, Ireland Owned
PBNA, AMESA, APAC Concentrate plant Singapore Owned (b)
All divisions Shared service center Hyderabad, India Leased
(a)As of December 25, 2021, this property was reclassified as held for sale on the consolidated balance sheet in connection with our Juice Transaction. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
(b)The land on which these properties are located is leased.
Most of our plants are owned or leased on a long-term basis. In addition to company-owned or leased properties described above, we also utilize a highly distributed network of plants, warehouses and distribution centers that are owned or leased by our contract manufacturers, co-packers, strategic alliances or joint ventures in which we have an equity interest. We believe that our properties generally are in good operating condition and, taken as a whole, are suitable, adequate and of sufficient capacity for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
We and our subsidiaries are party to a variety of litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries and investigations. While the results of such litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries and investigations cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes that the final outcome of the foregoing will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. See also “Item 1. Business – Regulatory Matters” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
__________________________________________________
Information About Our Executive Officers
The following is a list of names, ages and backgrounds of our current executive officers:
Name Age Title
Marie T. Gallagher 62 Senior Vice President and Controller, PepsiCo
Silviu Popovici 54 Chief Executive Officer, Europe
Paula Santilli 57 Chief Executive Officer, Latin America
Kirk Tanner 53 Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Beverages North America
Eugene Willemsen 54 Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia
Steven Williams 56 Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Foods North America
David J. Flavell has served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, PepsiCo since March 2021. Mr. Flavell previously held a number of leadership roles at PepsiCo, including as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer for PepsiCo from 2019 to 2021, as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Managing Attorney from 2018 to 2019, as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & General Counsel, International and Global Groups from 2017 to 2018, as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & General Counsel, Latin America and Frito-Lay North America from 2016 to 2017, as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Latin America and Frito-Lay North America from 2015 to 2016, and as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Asia, Middle East and Africa from 2011 to 2015. Before joining PepsiCo in 2011, Mr. Flavell was general counsel for Danone S.A.’s Asia Pacific and Middle East business. Prior to that, Mr. Flavell served as senior legal counsel at Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited and was a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Marie T. Gallagher was appointed PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President and Controller in 2011. Ms. Gallagher joined PepsiCo in 2005 as Vice President and Assistant Controller. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Ms. Gallagher was Assistant Controller at Altria Corporate Services from 1992 to 2005 and, prior to that, a senior manager at Coopers & Lybrand.
Hugh F. Johnston was appointed Vice Chairman, PepsiCo in 2015 and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, PepsiCo in 2010. In addition to providing strategic financial leadership for PepsiCo, Mr. Johnston’s portfolio has included a variety of responsibilities, including leadership of the Company’s information technology function since 2015, the Company’s global e-commerce business from 2015 to 2019, and the Quaker Foods North America division from 2014 to 2016. He has also held a number of leadership roles throughout his PepsiCo career, serving as Executive Vice President, Global Operations from 2009 to 2010, President of Pepsi-Cola North America from 2007 to 2009, Executive Vice
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President, Operations from 2006 to 2007, and Senior Vice President, Transformation from 2005 to 2006. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods from 2002 through 2005, and as PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions in 2002. Mr. Johnston joined PepsiCo in 1987 as a Business Planner and held various finance positions until 1999 when he left to join Merck & Co., Inc. as Vice President, Retail, a position which he held until he rejoined PepsiCo in 2002. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 1987, Mr. Johnston was with General Electric Company in a variety of finance positions.
Ram Krishnan has served as Chief Executive Officer, International Beverages and Chief Commercial Officer of PepsiCo, effective January 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Krishnan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, PepsiCo, from 2019 to 2021, as President and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo’s Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region from 2018 to 2020, and as PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer for Walmart, leading PepsiCo’s global Walmart customer team, from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Krishnan joined PepsiCo in 2006 and held marketing roles of increasing responsibility from 2006 to 2016, including as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Frito-Lay North America from 2014 to 2016, as Senior Vice President, Marketing, Frito-Lay North America from 2012 to 2013 and as Vice President of Global Brands, Frito-Lay North America from 2011 to 2012. Prior to PepsiCo, Mr. Krishnan spent six years at General Motors Company as a marketing manager for Cadillac.
Ramon L. Laguarta has served as PepsiCo’s Chief Executive Officer and a director on the Board since 2018, and assumed the role of Chairman of the Board in 2019. Mr. Laguarta previously served as President of PepsiCo from 2017 to 2018. Prior to serving as President, Mr. Laguarta held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in Europe, including as Commercial Vice President of PepsiCo Europe from 2006 to 2008, PepsiCo Eastern Europe Region from 2008 to 2012, President, Developing & Emerging Markets, PepsiCo Europe from 2012 to 2015, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Europe in 2015, and Chief Executive Officer, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa from 2015 until 2017. From 2002 to 2006, he was General Manager for Iberia Snacks and Juices, and from 1999 to 2001 a General Manager for Greece Snacks. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 1996 as a marketing vice president for Spain Snacks, Mr. Laguarta worked for Chupa Chups, S.A., where he worked in several international assignments in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Mr. Laguarta has served as a director of Visa Inc. since 2019.
Silviu Popovici was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Europe, effective 2019. Prior to this role, he served as Chief Executive Officer, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019 and as President, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa from 2017 to early 2019. Mr. Popovici previously served as President, Russia, Ukraine and CIS (The Commonwealth of Independent States) from 2015 to 2017, and as President, PepsiCo Russia from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Popovici joined PepsiCo in 2011 following PepsiCo’s acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC (WBD) and served as General Manager, WBD Foods Division from 2011 until 2012. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Popovici held senior leadership roles at WBD, running its dairy business from 2008 to 2011 and its beverages business from 2006 to 2008.
Paula Santilli was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Latin America, effective 2019. Previously, she served in various leadership positions at PepsiCo Mexico Foods, as President from 2017 to 2019, as Chief Operating Officer from 2016 to 2017 and as Vice President and General Manager from 2011 to 2016. Prior to joining PepsiCo Mexico Foods, she held a variety of roles, including leadership positions in Beverages in Mexico, as well as in Foods and Snacks in the Latin America Southern Cone region comprising Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Ms. Santilli joined PepsiCo in 2001 following PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company. At Quaker, she held various roles of increasing responsibility from 1992 to 2001, including running the regional Quaker Foods and Gatorade businesses in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
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Ronald Schellekens was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, PepsiCo, in 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Schellekens served as Group HR Director of Vodafone Group Services Limited from 2009 to 2018, where he was responsible for the Vodafone Human Resource Management function, as well as health and safety, and property and real estate functions. Prior to joining Vodafone, Mr. Schellekens was executive vice president, human resources for the global downstream division of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Prior to that, he worked for PepsiCo for nine years from 1994 to 2003 in various international, senior human resources roles, including assignments in Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Poland, where he was most recently responsible for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region for PepsiCo Foods International. Prior to that, he served for nine years at AT&T Inc. in Human Resources.
Kirk Tanner was appointed Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Beverages North America, effective 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Tanner served as President and Chief Operating Officer, North America Beverages from 2016 to 2018, Chief Operating Officer, North America Beverages and President, Global Foodservice from 2015 to 2016, and President, Global Foodservice from 2014 to 2015. Mr. Tanner joined PepsiCo in 1992, where he has worked in numerous domestic and international locations and in a variety of roles, including Senior Vice President of Frito-Lay North America’s West region from 2009 to 2013, Vice President, Sales of PepsiCo U.K. and Ireland from 2008 to 2009, Region Vice President of Frito-Lay North America’s Mountain region from 2005 to 2008, Region Vice President of Frito-Lay North America’s Mid-America region from 2002 to 2005 and Region Vice President of Frito-Lay North America’s California region from 2000 to 2002.
Eugene Willemsen was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, effective 2019. Previously he served as Chief Executive Officer, Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019 and as Executive Vice President, Global Categories and Franchise Management from 2015 to 2019. Before that, he led the global Pepsi-Lipton Joint Venture as President from 2014 to 2015. Prior to such role, Mr. Willemsen served as PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, South East Europe from 2011 to 2013, as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Commercial, Europe from 2008 to 2011, as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Northern Europe from 2006 to 2008, as Vice President, General Manager, Benelux from 2000 to 2005 and as Commercial Director, Benelux for the snacks business from 1998 to 2000. Mr. Willemsen joined PepsiCo in 1995 as a business development manager.
Steven Williams was appointed Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Foods North America, effective 2019. Prior to this role, Mr. Williams served in leadership positions for Frito-Lay’s U.S. operations, as Senior Vice President, Commercial Sales and Chief Commercial Officer from 2017 to 2019 and as General Manager and Senior Vice President, East Division from 2016 to 2017. Prior to that, he served as General Manager and Senior Vice President, Customer Management for PepsiCo’s global Walmart business from 2013 to 2016, as Sales Senior Vice President, North American Nutrition from 2011 to 2013 and as Vice President, Sales, Central Division from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Williams joined PepsiCo in 2001 as a part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997 and has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in sales and customer management.
Executive officers are elected by our Board of Directors, and their terms of office continue until the next annual meeting of the Board or until their successors are elected and have qualified. There are no family relationships among our executive officers.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Stock Trading Symbol – PEP.
Stock Exchange Listings – The Nasdaq Global Select Market is the principal market for our common stock, which is also listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Shareholders – As of February 3, 2022, there were approximately 101,778 shareholders of record of our common stock.
Dividends – We have paid consecutive quarterly cash dividends since 1965. The declaration and payment of future dividends are at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Dividends are usually declared in February, May, July and November and paid at the end of March, June and September and the beginning of January. On February 2, 2022, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $1.075 per share payable March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record on March 4, 2022. For the remainder of 2022, the record dates for these dividend payments are expected to be June 3, September 2 and December 2, 2022, subject to approval of the Board of Directors. On February 10, 2022, we announced a 7% increase in our annualized dividend to $4.60 per share from $4.30 per share, effective with the dividend expected to be paid in June 2022.
Additionally, on February 10, 2022, we announced a share repurchase program providing for the repurchase of up to $10.0 billion of PepsiCo common stock commencing on February 11, 2022 and expiring on February 28, 2026 (2022 share repurchase program). Shares repurchased under this program may be repurchased in open market transactions, in privately negotiated transactions, in accelerated stock repurchase transactions or otherwise. We expect to return a total of approximately $7.7 billion to shareholders in 2022, comprising dividends of approximately $6.2 billion and share repurchases of approximately $1.5 billion.
For information on securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans, see “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
OUR BUSINESS
Executive Overview 30
Our Operations 31
Other Relationships 31
Our Business Risks 31
OUR FINANCIAL RESULTS
Results of Operations – Consolidated Review 36
Results of Operations – Division Review 38
Results of Operations – Other Consolidated Results 43
Non-GAAP Measures 43
Items Affecting Comparability 46
Our Liquidity and Capital Resources 49
Return on Invested Capital 52
OUR CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Revenue Recognition 53
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets 54
Income Tax Expense and Accruals 55
Pension and Retiree Medical Plans 56
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME 59
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 60
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 61
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET 63
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY 64
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 – Basis of Presentation and Our Divisions 65
Note 2 – Our Significant Accounting Policies 70
Note 3 – Restructuring and Impairment Charges 73
Note 4 – Intangible Assets 75
Note 5 – Income Taxes 78
Note 6 – Share-Based Compensation 81
Note 7 – Pension, Retiree Medical and Savings Plans 85
Note 8 – Debt Obligations 92
Note 9 – Financial Instruments 94
Note 10 – Net Income Attributable to PepsiCo per Common Share 99
Note 11 – Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Attributable to PepsiCo 100
Note 13 – Acquisitions and Divestitures 103
Note 14 – Supplemental Financial Information 106
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 108
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Our discussion and analysis is intended to help the reader understand our results of operations and financial condition and is provided as an addition to, and should be read in connection with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Definitions of key terms can be found in the glossary. Unless otherwise noted, tabular dollars are presented in millions, except per share amounts. All per share amounts reflect common stock per share amounts, assume dilution unless otherwise noted, and are based on unrounded amounts. Percentage changes are based on unrounded amounts.
Discussion in this Form 10-K includes results of operations and financial condition for 2021 and 2020 and year-over-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020. For discussion on results of operations and financial condition pertaining to 2019 and year-over-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019, please refer to “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2020.
OUR BUSINESS
Executive Overview
PepsiCo is a leading global beverage and convenient food company with a complementary portfolio of brands, including Lays, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker and SodaStream. Through our operations, authorized bottlers, contract manufacturers and other third parties, we make, market, distribute and sell a wide variety of beverages and convenient foods, serving customers and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories.
As a global company with deep local ties, we faced many of the same challenges in 2021 as our consumers, customers, and competitors across the world, including the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic; a worsening climate crisis; supply chain disruptions; inflationary pressures; shifting consumer preferences and behaviors; a highly competitive operating environment; a rapidly changing retail landscape, including the growth in e-commerce; continued macroeconomic and political volatility; and an evolving regulatory landscape.
To meet the challenges of today – and those of tomorrow – we are driven by an approach called PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is a strategic end-to-end transformation of our business, with sustainability at the center of how the company will strive to create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people. pep+ will guide how we will work to transform our business operations, from sourcing ingredients and making and selling products in a more sustainable way, to leveraging our more than one billion connections with consumers each day to take sustainability mainstream and engage people to make choices that are better for themselves and the planet.
pep+ drives action and progress across three key pillars, bringing together a number of industry-leading 2030 sustainability goals under a comprehensive framework:
•Positive Agriculture: We are working to spread regenerative practices to restore the Earth across land equal to the company's entire agricultural footprint (approximately 7 million acres), sustainably source key crops and ingredients, and improve the livelihoods of more people in our agricultural supply chain.
•Positive Value Chain: We are working to build a circular and inclusive value chain through actions to: achieve net-zero emissions by 2040; become net water positive by 2030; and introduce more sustainable packaging into the value chain. Our packaging goals include cutting virgin plastic per serving, using recycled content in our plastic packaging, and scaling our SodaStream business globally, an innovative platform that almost entirely eliminates the need for beverage packaging, among other levers. Additionally, we are making progress on our diversity, equity and inclusion journey. And we have introduced a new global workforce volunteering program, One Smile at a
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Time, to encourage, support and empower each one of our approximately 309,000 employees to make positive impacts in their local communities.
•Positive Choices: We continue working to evolve our portfolio of beverage and convenient food products so that they are better for the planet and people, including by incorporating more diverse ingredients in both new and existing food products that are better for the planet and/or deliver nutritional benefits, prioritizing chickpeas, plant-based proteins and whole grains; expanding our position in the nuts & seeds category, where PepsiCo is already the global branded leader, including leadership positions in Mexico, China and several Western European markets; and accelerating our reduction of added sugars and sodium through the use of science-based targets across our portfolio and cooking our food offerings with healthier oils. We are also continuing to scale new business models that require little or no single-use packaging, including SodaStream – an icon of a Positive Choice and the largest sparkling water brand in the world by volume. SodaStream, already sold in more than 40 countries, and its new SodaStream Professional platform is expected to expand into functional beverages and reach additional markets by the end of 2022, part of the brand's effort to help consumers avoid plastic bottles.
We believe these priorities will position our Company for long-term sustainable growth.
See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further information about risks and uncertainties that the Company faces.
Our Operations
See “Item 1. Business” for information on our divisions and a description of our distribution network, ingredients and other supplies, brands and intellectual property rights, seasonality, customers, competition and human capital. In addition, see Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for financial information about our divisions and geographic areas.
Other Relationships
Certain members of our Board of Directors also serve on the boards of certain vendors and customers. These Board members do not participate in our vendor selection and negotiations nor in our customer negotiations. Our transactions with these vendors and customers are in the normal course of business and are consistent with terms negotiated with other vendors and customers. In addition, certain of our employees serve on the boards of Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC and other affiliated companies of PepsiCo and do not receive incremental compensation for such services.
Our Business Risks
COVID-19
Our global operations continue to expose us to risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to result in challenging operating environments and has affected almost all of the more than 200 countries and territories in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold. Numerous measures have been implemented around the world to try to reduce the spread of the virus, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, curfews, restrictions on public gatherings, shelter in place and safer-at-home orders, business shutdowns and closures. These measures have impacted and will continue to impact us, our customers (including foodservice customers), consumers, employees, bottlers, contract manufacturers, distributors, joint venture partners, suppliers and other third parties with whom we do business, which may continue to result in changes in demand for our products, increases in operating costs (whether as a result of changes to our supply chain or increases in employee costs, including expanded benefits and frontline incentives, costs associated with the provision of personal protective equipment and increased sanitation, or otherwise), or adverse impacts to our supply chain through labor shortages, raw
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material shortages or reduced availability of air or other commercial transport, port closures or border restrictions, any of which can impact our ability to make, manufacture, distribute and sell our products. In addition, measures that impact our ability to access our offices, plants, warehouses, distribution centers or other facilities, or that impact the ability of our business partners to do the same or the inability of a significant portion of our or our business partners’ workforce to work because of illness, absenteeism, quarantine, vaccine mandates, or travel or other governmental restrictions, may continue to impact the availability or productivity of our and their employees, many of whom are not able to perform their job functions remotely.
Public concern regarding the risk of contracting COVID-19 has impacted and may continue to impact demand from consumers, including due to consumers not leaving their homes or leaving their homes less often than they did prior to the start of the pandemic or otherwise shopping for and consuming food and beverage products in a different manner than they historically have or because some of our consumers have lower discretionary income due to unemployment or reduced or limited work as a result of measures taken in response to the pandemic. Even as governmental restrictions are relaxed and economies gradually, partially, or fully reopen in certain of these jurisdictions and markets, the ongoing economic impacts and health concerns associated with the pandemic may continue to affect consumer behavior, spending levels and shopping and consumption preferences. Changes in consumer purchasing and consumption patterns may increase demand for our products in one quarter, resulting in decreased demand for our products in subsequent quarters, or in a lower-margin sales channel resulting in potentially reduced profit from sales of our products. We continue to see shifts in product and channel preferences as markets move through varying stages of restrictions and re-opening at different times, including changes in at-home consumption, in immediate consumption and away-from-home channels, such as convenience and gas and foodservice. In addition, we continue to see an increase in demand in the e-commerce and online-to-offline channels and any failure to capitalize on this demand could adversely affect our ability to maintain and grow sales or category share and erode our competitive position.
Any reduced demand for our products or change in consumer purchasing and consumption patterns, as well as continued economic uncertainty (including supply chain disruptions and labor shortages), can adversely affect our customers’ and business partners’ financial condition, which can result in bankruptcy filings and/or an inability to pay for our products, reduced or canceled orders of our products, continued or additional closing of restaurants, stores, entertainment or sports complexes, schools or other venues in which our products are sold, or reduced capacity at any of the foregoing, or our business partners’ inability to supply us with ingredients or other items necessary for us to make, manufacture, distribute or sell our products. Such adverse changes in our customers’ or business partners’ financial condition have also resulted and may continue to result in our recording additional charges for our inability to recover or collect any accounts receivable, owned or leased assets, including certain foodservice and vending and other equipment, or prepaid expenses. In addition, continued economic uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in volatility in the global capital and credit markets which can impair our ability to access these markets on terms commercially acceptable to us, or at all.
While we have developed and implemented and continue to develop and implement health and safety protocols, business continuity plans and crisis management protocols in an effort to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 to our employees and our business, the extent of the impact of the pandemic on our business and financial results will continue to depend on numerous evolving factors that we are not able to accurately predict and which will vary by jurisdiction and market, including the duration and scope of the pandemic, the emergence and spread of new variants of the virus, including the omicron and delta variants, the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, the speed at which vaccines are administered, the efficacy of vaccines against the virus and evolving strains or variants of the virus, global economic conditions during and after the pandemic, governmental actions that have been
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taken, or may be taken in the future, in response to the pandemic and changes in consumer behavior in response to the pandemic, some of which may be more than just temporary.
Risks Associated with Commodities and Our Supply Chain
Many of the commodities used in the production and transportation of our products are purchased in the open market. The prices we pay for such items are subject to fluctuation, and we manage this risk through the use of fixed-price contracts and purchase orders, pricing agreements and derivative instruments, including swaps and futures. During 2021, we experienced higher than anticipated transportation and commodity costs, which we expect to continue in 2022. A number of external factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, adverse weather conditions, supply chain disruptions (including raw material shortages) and labor shortages, have impacted and may continue to impact transportation and commodity availability and costs. When prices increase, we may or may not pass on such increases to our customers without suffering reduced volume, revenue, margins and operating results.
See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on how we manage our exposure to commodity prices.
Risks Associated with Climate Change
Certain jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold have either imposed, or are considering imposing, new or increased legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the potential effects of climate change, including regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and potential carbon pricing programs. These new or increased legal or regulatory requirements could result in significant increased costs of compliance and additional investments in facilities and equipment. However, we are unable to predict the scope, nature and timing of any new or increased environmental laws and regulations and therefore cannot predict the ultimate impact of such laws and regulations on our business or financial results. We continue to monitor existing and proposed laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed and sold and to consider actions we may take to potentially mitigate the unfavorable impact, if any, of such laws or regulations.
Risks Associated with International Operations
We are subject to risks in the normal course of business that are inherent to international operations. During the periods presented in this report, certain jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold, including in certain developing and emerging markets, operated in a challenging environment, experiencing unstable economic, political and social conditions, civil unrest, natural disasters, debt and credit issues and currency controls or fluctuations. We continue to monitor the economic, operating and political environment in these markets closely and to identify actions to potentially mitigate any unfavorable impacts on our future results.
Imposition of Taxes and Regulations on our Products
Certain jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold have either imposed, or are considering imposing, new or increased taxes or regulations on the manufacture, distribution or sale of our products or their packaging, ingredients or substances contained in, or attributes of, our products or their packaging, commodities used in the production of our products or their packaging or the recyclability or recoverability of our packaging. These taxes and regulations vary in scope and form. For example, some taxes apply to all beverages, including non-caloric beverages, while others apply only to beverages with a caloric sweetener (e.g., sugar). In addition, COVID-19 has resulted in increased regulatory focus on labeling in certain jurisdictions, including in Mexico which enacted product labeling requirements and limitations on the marketing of certain of our products as a result of ingredients or substances contained in such products. Further, some regulations apply to all products using certain types of packaging (e.g., plastic), while others are designed to increase the sustainability of packaging,
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encourage waste reduction and increased recycling rates or facilitate the waste management process or restrict the sale of products in certain packaging.
We sell a wide variety of beverages and convenient foods in more than 200 countries and territories and the profile of the products we sell, the amount of revenue attributable to such products and the type of packaging used vary by jurisdiction. Because of this, we cannot predict the scope or form potential taxes, regulations or other limitations on our products or their packaging may take, and therefore cannot predict the impact of such taxes, regulations or limitations on our financial results. In addition, taxes, regulations and limitations may impact us and our competitors differently. We continue to monitor existing and proposed taxes and regulations in the jurisdictions in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed and sold and to consider actions we may take to potentially mitigate the unfavorable impact, if any, of such taxes, regulations or limitations, including advocating alternative measures with respect to the imposition, form and scope of any such taxes, regulations or limitations.
Retail Landscape
Our industry continues to be affected by disruption of the retail landscape, including the rapid growth in sales through e-commerce websites and mobile commerce applications, including through subscription services, the integration of physical and digital operations among retailers and the international expansion of hard discounters. We have seen and expect to continue to see a further shift to e-commerce, online-to-offline and other online purchasing by consumers, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to monitor changes in the retail landscape and seek to identify actions we may take to build our global e-commerce and digital capabilities, such as expanding our direct-to-consumer business, and distribute our products effectively through all existing and emerging channels of trade and potentially mitigate any unfavorable impacts on our future results.
See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Executive Overview” above and “Market Risks” below for more information about these risks and the actions we have taken to address key challenges.
Risk Management Framework
The achievement of our strategic and operating objectives involves taking risks and that those risks may evolve over time. To identify, assess, prioritize, address, manage, monitor and communicate these risks across the Company’s operations, we leverage an integrated risk management framework. This framework includes the following:
•PepsiCo’s Board of Directors has oversight responsibility for PepsiCo’s integrated risk management framework. One of the Board’s primary responsibilities is overseeing and interacting with senior management with respect to key aspects of the Company’s business, including risk assessment and risk mitigation of the Company’s top risks. The Board receives updates on key risks throughout the year, including risks related to food safety and cybersecurity. During 2021, in addition to COVID-19 discussions as part of risk updates to the Board and the relevant Committees, the Board was provided with updates on COVID-19’s impact to our business, financial condition and operations through memos, teleconferences or other appropriate means of communication. In addition, the Board has tasked designated Committees of the Board with oversight of certain categories of risk management, and the Committees report to the Board regularly on these matters.
◦The Audit Committee of the Board reviews and assesses the guidelines and policies governing PepsiCo’s risk management and oversight processes, and assists the Board’s oversight of financial, compliance and employee safety risks facing PepsiCo;
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◦The Compensation Committee of the Board reviews PepsiCo’s employee compensation policies and practices to assess whether such policies and practices could lead to unnecessary risk-taking behavior;
◦The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board in its oversight of the Company’s governance structure and other corporate governance matters, including succession planning; and
◦The Sustainability, Diversity and Public Policy Committee of the Board assists the Board in its oversight of PepsiCo’s policies, programs and related risks that concern key sustainability (including climate change), diversity, equity and inclusion, and public policy matters.
•The PepsiCo Risk Committee (PRC), which is comprised of a cross-functional, geographically diverse, senior management group, including PepsiCo’s Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, meets regularly to identify, assess, prioritize and address top strategic, financial, operating, compliance, safety, reputational and other risks. The PRC is also responsible for reporting progress on our risk mitigation efforts to the Board;
•Division and key market risk committees, comprised of cross-functional senior management teams, meet regularly to identify, assess, prioritize and address division and country-specific business risks;
•PepsiCo’s Risk Management Office, which manages the overall risk management process, provides ongoing guidance, tools and analytical support to the PRC and the division and key country risk committees, identifies and assesses potential risks and facilitates ongoing communication between the parties, as well as with PepsiCo’s Board of Directors, the Audit Committee of the Board and other Committees of the Board;
•PepsiCo’s Corporate Audit Department evaluates the ongoing effectiveness of our key internal controls through periodic audit and review procedures; and
•PepsiCo’s Compliance & Ethics and Law Departments lead and coordinate our compliance policies and practices.
Market Risks
We are exposed to market risks arising from adverse changes in:
•commodity prices, affecting the cost of our raw materials and energy;
•foreign exchange rates and currency restrictions; and
•interest rates.
In the normal course of business, we manage commodity price, foreign exchange and interest rate risks through a variety of strategies, including productivity initiatives, global purchasing programs and hedging. Ongoing productivity initiatives involve the identification and effective implementation of meaningful cost-saving opportunities or efficiencies, including the use of derivatives. Our global purchasing programs include fixed-price contracts and purchase orders and pricing agreements. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further discussion of our market risks.
The fair value of our derivatives fluctuates based on market rates and prices. The sensitivity of our derivatives to these market fluctuations is discussed below. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of these derivatives and our hedging policies. See “Our Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” for a discussion of the exposure of our pension and retiree medical plan assets and liabilities to risks related to market fluctuations.
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Inflationary, deflationary and recessionary conditions impacting these market risks also impact the demand for and pricing of our products. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further discussion.
Commodity Prices
Our commodity derivatives had a total notional value of $1.6 billion as of December 25, 2021 and $1.1 billion as ofDecember 26, 2020. At the end of 2021, the potential change in fair value of commodity derivative instruments, assuming a 10% decrease in the underlying commodity price, would have decreased our net unrealized gains in 2021 by $177 million, which would generally be offset by a reduction in the cost of the underlying commodity purchases.
Foreign Exchange
Our operations outside of the United States generated 44% of our consolidated net revenue in 2021, with Mexico, Russia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and South Africa, collectively, comprising approximately 23% of our consolidated net revenue in 2021. As a result, we are exposed to foreign exchange risks in the international markets in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold. Additionally, we are exposed to foreign exchange risk from net investments in foreign subsidiaries, foreign currency purchases, foreign currency assets and liabilities created in the normal course of business. During 2021, favorable foreign exchange contributed 1 percentage point to net revenue growth, primarily due to appreciation in the Mexican peso, Canadian dollar and South African rand. Currency declines against the U.S. dollar which are not offset could adversely impact our future financial results.
In addition, volatile economic, political and social conditions and civil unrest in certain markets in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold, including in Argentina, Brazil, China, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia and Turkey, and currency controls or fluctuations in certain of these international markets, continue to, and the threat or imposition of new or increased tariffs or sanctions or other impositions in or related to these international markets may, result in challenging operating environments.
Our foreign currency derivatives had a total notional value of $2.8 billion as of December 25, 2021 and $1.9 billion as of December 26, 2020. At the end of 2021, we estimate that an unfavorable 10% change in the underlying exchange rates would have decreased our net unrealized gains in 2021 by $278 million, which would be significantly offset by an inverse change in the fair value of the underlying exposure.
The total notional amount of our debt instruments designated as net investment hedges was $2.1 billion as of December 25, 2021 and $2.7 billion as of December 26, 2020.
Interest Rates
Our interest rate derivatives had a total notional value of $2.1 billion as of December 25, 2021 and $3.0 billion as of December 26, 2020.Assuming year-end 2021 investment levels and variable rate debt, a 1-percentage-point increase in interest rates would have decreased our net interest expense in 2021 by $47 million due to higher cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments levels, as compared with our variable rate debt.
OUR FINANCIAL RESULTS
Results of Operations — Consolidated Review
Volume
Physical or unit volume is one of the key metrics management uses internally to make operating and strategic decisions, including the preparation of our annual operating plan and the evaluation of our business performance. We believe volume provides additional information to facilitate the comparison of our historical operating performance and underlying trends, and provides additional transparency on how we evaluate our business because it measures demand for our products at the consumer level.
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Beverage volume includes volume of concentrate sold to independent bottlers and volume of finished products bearing company-owned or licensed trademarks and allied brand products and joint venture trademarks sold by company-owned bottling operations. Beverage volume also includes volume of finished products bearing company-owned or licensed trademarks sold by our noncontrolled affiliates. Concentrate volume sold to independent bottlers is reported in concentrate shipments and equivalents (CSE), whereas finished beverage product volume is reported in bottler case sales (BCS). Both CSE and BCS convert all beverage volume to an 8-ounce-case metric. Typically, CSE and BCS are not equal in any given period due to seasonality, timing of product launches, product mix, bottler inventory practices and other factors. While our net revenue is not entirely based on BCS volume due to the independent bottlers in our supply chain, we believe that BCS is a better measure of the consumption of our beverage products. PBNA, LatAm, Europe, AMESA and APAC, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, make, market, distribute and sell ready-to-drink tea products through a joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name), and PBNA, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink coffee products through a joint venture with Starbucks. In addition, APAC licenses the Tropicana brand for use in China on co-branded juice products in connection with a strategic alliance with Tingyi.
Convenient food volume includes volume sold by our subsidiaries and noncontrolled affiliates of convenient food products bearing company-owned or licensed trademarks. Internationally, we measure convenient food product volume in kilograms, while in North America we measure convenient food product volume in pounds. FLNA makes, markets, distributes and sells Sabra refrigerated dips and spreads through a joint venture with Strauss Group.
Consolidated Net Revenue and Operating Profit
See “Results of Operations – Division Review” for a tabular presentation and discussion of key drivers of net revenue.
Operating profit grew 11% and operating margin declined 0.3 percentage points. Operating profit growth was primarily driven by net revenue growth and productivity savings, partially offset by certain operating cost increases, a 14-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs, and higher advertising and marketing expenses. The operating margin decline primarily reflects higher commodity costs.
Lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the prior year contributed 6 percentage points to operating profit growth. Additionally, lower acquisition and divestiture-related charges included in “Items Affecting Comparability” contributed 3 percentage points to operating profit growth.
Juice Transaction
In the first quarter of 2022, we sold our Tropicana, Naked and other select juice brands to PAI Partners, while retaining a 39% noncontrolling interest in a newly formed joint venture that will operate across North America and Europe. These juice businesses delivered approximately $3 billion in net revenue in 2021. In the U.S., PepsiCo acts as the exclusive distributor for the new joint venture’s portfolio of brands for small-format and foodservice customers with chilled direct-store-delivery. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
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Results of Operations — Division Review
See “Our Business Risks,” “Non-GAAP Measures” and “Items Affecting Comparability” for a discussion of items to consider when evaluating our results and related information regarding measures not in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
In the discussions of net revenue and operating profit below, “effective net pricing” reflects the year-over-year impact of discrete pricing actions, sales incentive activities and mix resulting from selling varying products in different package sizes and in different countries and “net pricing” reflects the year-over-year combined impact of list price changes, weight changes per package, discounts and allowances. Additionally, “acquisitions and divestitures” reflect mergers and acquisitions activity, as well as divestitures and other structural changes, including changes in ownership or control in consolidated subsidiaries and nonconsolidated equity investees.
Net Revenue and Organic Revenue Growth
Organic revenue growth is a non-GAAP financial measure. For further information on this measure, see “Non-GAAP Measures.”
Impact of Impact of
QFNA — % (1) — — % (7) 7
(a)Amounts may not sum due to rounding.
(b)Excludes the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, including the impact of an extra month of volume for our acquisitions of Pioneer Food Group Ltd. (Pioneer Foods) in our AMESA division and Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co., Ltd. (Be & Cheery) in our APAC division as we aligned the reporting calendars of these acquisitions with those of our divisions. In certain instances, the impact of organic volume growth on net revenue growth differs from the unit volume growth disclosed in the following divisional discussions due to the impacts of acquisitions and divestitures, product mix, nonconsolidated joint venture volume, and, for our beverage businesses, temporary timing differences between BCS and CSE. Our net revenue excludes nonconsolidated joint venture volume, and, for our franchise-owned beverage businesses, is based on CSE.
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Operating Profit, Operating Profit Adjusted for Items Affecting Comparability and Operating Profit Growth Adjusted for Items Affecting Comparability on a Constant Currency Basis
Operating profit adjusted for items affecting comparability and operating profit growth adjusted for items affecting comparability on a constant currency basis are both non-GAAP financial measures. For further information on these measures see “Non-GAAP Measures” and “Items Affecting Comparability.”
Operating Profit and Operating Profit Adjusted for Items Affecting Comparability
Items Affecting Comparability(a)
Items Affecting Comparability(a)
(a)See “Items Affecting Comparability.”
(b)Includes the charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
(c)The income amounts primarily relate to gains associated with the contingent consideration in connection with our acquisition of Rockstar Energy Beverages (Rockstar). In 2021, this impact is partially offset by divestiture-related charges associated with the Juice Transaction. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
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Operating Profit Growth and Operating Profit Growth Adjusted for Items Affecting Comparability on a Constant Currency Basis
Impact of Items Affecting Comparability(a) Impact of
Corporate unallocated expenses 17 % (7) (1) 1 10 % — 10 %
(a)See “Items Affecting Comparability” for further information.
(b)Amounts may not sum due to rounding.
FLNA
Net revenue grew 8%, primarily driven by effective net pricing and organic volume growth. Unit volume grew 2%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in variety packs and the impact of our BFY Brands, Inc. (BFY Brands) acquisition in the first quarter of 2020, partially offset by a low-single-digit decline in trademark Tostitos and a double-digit decline in trademark Santitas.
Operating profit increased 5.5%, primarily reflecting the net revenue growth, productivity savings and a 3-percentage-point impact of lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These impacts were partially offset by certain operating cost increases, including strategic initiatives and incremental transportation costs, and a 4-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs, primarily packaging material and cooking oil.
QFNA
Net revenue grew slightly and unit volume declined 7%. The net revenue growth reflects effective net pricing and a 1-percentage-point impact of favorable foreign exchange, largely offset by a decrease in organic volume. The unit volume decline was primarily driven by double-digit declines in pancake syrups and mixes and in ready-to-eat cereals and a high-single-digit decline in oatmeal, partially offset by growth in Cheetos macaroni and cheese, which was introduced in the third quarter of 2020, and double-digit growth in lite snacks.
Operating profit declined 14%, primarily reflecting certain operating cost increases, including incremental transportation costs, and an 8-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs, partially offset by productivity savings.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a current-year decrease in consumer demand, which had a negative impact on net revenue, unit volume and operating profit performance compared to the significant COVID-19 related surge in consumer demand in the prior year.
PBNA
Net revenue increased 12%, primarily driven by effective net pricing and an increase in organic volume. Unit volume increased 6%, driven by a 7% increase in non-carbonated beverage (NCB) volume and a 4% increase in CSD volume. The NCB volume increase primarily reflected double-digit increases in our
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overall water portfolio and our energy portfolio, a low-single-digit increase in Gatorade sports drinks and a mid-single-digit increase in Lipton ready-to-drink teas.
Operating profit increased 26%, primarily reflecting the net revenue growth, a 15-percentage-point impact of lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and productivity savings. These impacts were partially offset by certain operating cost increases, including incremental transportation costs, an 18-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs and higher advertising and marketing expenses. Higher prior-year acquisition and divestiture-related charges contributed 4 percentage points to operating profit growth.
Changes in consumer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a current-year increase in consumer demand, which had a positive impact on net revenue, unit volume and operating profit performance.
In 2020, we received a notice of termination without cause from Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which would end our distribution rights of Bang Energy drinks, effective October 24, 2023.
LatAm
Net revenue increased 17%, primarily reflecting effective net pricing and organic volume growth.
Convenient foods unit volume grew 3.5%, primarily reflecting low-single-digit growth in Brazil and Mexico.
Beverage unit volume grew 8%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in Argentina and Chile. Additionally, Brazil experienced low-single-digit growth, Mexico experienced mid-single-digit growth and Guatemala experienced high-single-digit growth.
Operating profit increased 33%, primarily reflecting the net revenue growth, productivity savings and a 4.5-percentage-point impact of favorable foreign exchange. These impacts were partially offset by certain operating cost increases, a 30-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs and higher advertising and marketing expenses. A current-year recognition of certain indirect tax credits in Brazil and lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed 6 percentage points and 4 percentage points, respectively, to operating profit growth.
Changes in consumer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a current-year increase in consumer demand, which had a positive impact on net revenue, unit volume and operating profit performance.
Europe
Net revenue increased 9%, primarily reflecting organic volume growth and effective net pricing.
Convenient foods unit volume grew 4%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in Turkey and mid-single-digit growth in Russia and Poland, partially offset by a mid-single-digit decline in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the Netherlands grew slightly and France experienced low-single-digit growth.
Beverage unit volume grew 8%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom and high-single-digit growth in France, partially offset by a low-single-digit decline in Germany.
Operating profit decreased 4.5%, primarily reflecting certain operating cost increases, a 28-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs and a 2.5-percentage-point impact each from higher restructuring and impairment charges and a gain on an asset sale in the prior year. These impacts were partially offset by the net revenue growth and productivity savings. Additionally, lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and favorable settlements of promotional spending accruals compared to the prior
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year positively contributed 5 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively, to operating profit performance.
Changes in consumer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a current-year increase in consumer demand, which had a positive impact on net revenue and unit volume performance.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in the United Kingdom caused a temporary disruption to our United Kingdom operations which had a negative impact on net revenue, unit volume and operating profit performance. These issues were largely resolved within the quarter and the business operations had resumed by year end.
AMESA
Net revenue increased 33%, reflecting a 14-percentage-point impact of our Pioneer Foods acquisition, which included the impact of an extra month of net revenue compared to the prior year as we aligned Pioneer Foods’ reporting calendar with that of our AMESA division, as well as organic volume growth and effective net pricing. Favorable foreign exchange contributed 4.5 percentage points to net revenue growth.
Convenient foods unit volume grew 38%, primarily reflecting a 35-percentage-point impact of our Pioneer Foods acquisition, which included the impact of an extra month of unit volume as we aligned Pioneer Foods’ reporting calendar with that of our AMESA division, double-digit growth in India and Pakistan and high-single-digit growth in the Middle East, partially offset by a low-single-digit decline in South Africa (excluding our Pioneer Foods acquisition).
Beverage unit volume grew 20%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in India and Pakistan. Additionally, the Middle East experienced double-digit growth and Nigeria experienced high-single-digit growth.
Operating profit increased 43%, primarily reflecting the net revenue growth, a 31-percentage-point impact of the prior-year acquisition and divestiture-related charges associated with our Pioneer Foods acquisition and productivity savings. These impacts were partially offset by certain operating cost increases, a 13-percentage-point impact of higher commodity costs and higher advertising and marketing expenses. Additionally, lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and our Pioneer Foods acquisition contributed 3 percentage points and 2 percentage points, respectively, to operating profit growth.
Changes in consumer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a current-year increase in consumer demand, which had a positive impact on net revenue, unit volume and operating profit performance.
APAC
Net revenue increased 34%, reflecting a 15-percentage-point impact of our Be & Cheery acquisition, which included the impact of an extra month of net revenue compared to the prior year as we aligned Be & Cheery’s reporting calendar with that of our APAC division, as well as organic volume growth, a 6- percentage-point impact of favorable foreign exchange and effective net pricing.
Convenient foods unit volume grew 19%, primarily reflecting a 16-percentage-point impact of our Be & Cheery acquisition, which included the impact of an extra month of unit volume as we aligned Be & Cheery’s reporting calendar with that of our APAC division, and double-digit growth in China (excluding our Be & Cheery acquisition) and Thailand. Additionally, Australia, Indonesia and Taiwan each experienced low-single-digit growth.
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Beverage unit volume grew 13%, primarily reflecting double-digit growth in China, partially offset by a low-single-digit decline in Vietnam. Additionally, the Philippines experienced low-single-digit growth and Thailand experienced mid-single-digit growth.
Operating profit increased 14%, primarily reflecting the net revenue growth, productivity savings and a 2- percentage-point contribution from our Be & Cheery acquisition, partially offset by certain operating cost increases and higher advertising and marketing expenses. Additionally, impairment charges associated with an equity method investment reduced operating profit growth by 3 percentage points. Favorable foreign exchange contributed 3 percentage points to operating profit growth.
Other Consolidated Results
Other pension and retiree medical benefits income $ 522 $ 117 $ 405
Net interest expense and other $ (1,863) $ (1,128) $ (735)
Net income attributable to PepsiCo (a) $ 7,618 $ 7,120 7 %
(a)In 2021, lower charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed 7 percentage points to both net income attributable to PepsiCo growth and net income attributable to PepsiCo per common share growth. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
Other pension and retiree medical benefits income increased $405 million, primarily reflecting lower settlement charges in 2021, the recognition of fixed income gains on plan assets, the impact of plan changes approved in 2020, as discussed in Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements, and the impact of discretionary plan contributions, partially offset by a decrease in the expected rate of return on plan assets.
Net interest expense and other increased $735 million, reflecting a charge of $842 million in connection with our cash tender offers. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for further information. This impact was partially offset by lower interest rates on average debt balances.
The reported tax rate increased 0.9 percentage points, primarily reflecting the net tax impact of adjustments to uncertain tax positions related to the final assessment from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit for the tax years 2014 through 2016.
Non-GAAP Measures
Certain financial measures contained in this Form 10-K adjust for the impact of specified items and are not in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We use non-GAAP financial measures internally to make operating and strategic decisions, including the preparation of our annual operating plan, evaluation of our overall business performance and as a factor in determining compensation for certain employees. We believe presenting non-GAAP financial measures in this Form 10-K provides additional information to facilitate comparison of our historical operating results and trends in our underlying operating results and provides additional transparency on how we evaluate our business. We also believe presenting these measures in this Form 10-K allows investors to view our performance using the same measures that we use in evaluating our financial and business performance and trends.
We consider quantitative and qualitative factors in assessing whether to adjust for the impact of items that may be significant or that could affect an understanding of our ongoing financial and business performance or trends. Examples of items for which we may make adjustments include: amounts related to mark-to-market gains or losses (non-cash); charges related to restructuring plans; costs associated with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other structural changes; gains associated with divestitures; pension and retiree medical-related amounts (including all settlement and curtailment gains and losses); charges or
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adjustments related to the enactment of new laws, rules or regulations, such as tax law changes; amounts related to the resolution of tax positions; tax benefits related to reorganizations of our operations; debt redemptions, cash tender or exchange offers; asset impairments (non-cash); and remeasurements of net monetary assets. Previously, certain immaterial pension and retiree medical-related settlement and curtailment gains and losses were not considered items affecting comparability. Pension and retiree medical-related service cost, interest cost, expected return on plan assets, and other net periodic pension costs will continue to be reflected in our core results. See below and “Items Affecting Comparability” for a description of adjustments to our U.S. GAAP financial measures in this Form 10-K.
Non-GAAP information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be the same as or comparable to similar non-GAAP measures presented by other companies.
The following non-GAAP financial measures contained in this Form 10-K are discussed below:
Cost of sales, gross profit, selling, general and administrative expenses, other pension and retiree medical benefits income, net interest expense and other, provision for income taxes, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and net income attributable to PepsiCo, each adjusted for items affecting comparability, operating profit and net income attributable to PepsiCo per common share – diluted, each adjusted for items affecting comparability, and the corresponding constant currency growth rates
These measures exclude the net impact of mark-to-market gains and losses on centrally managed commodity derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting, restructuring and impairment charges related to our 2019 Multi-Year Productivity Plan (2019 Productivity Plan), costs associated with our acquisitions and divestitures, the impact of settlement and curtailment gains and losses related to pension and retiree medical plans, a charge related to cash tender offers and tax expense related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJ Act) (see “Items Affecting Comparability” for a detailed description of each of these items). We also evaluate performance on operating profit and net income attributable to PepsiCo per common share – diluted, each adjusted for items affecting comparability, on a constant currency basis, which measure our financial results assuming constant foreign currency exchange rates used for translation based on the rates in effect for the comparable prior-year period. In order to compute our constant currency results, we multiply or divide, as appropriate, our current-year U.S. dollar results by the current-year average foreign exchange rates and then multiply or divide, as appropriate, those amounts by the prior-year average foreign exchange rates. We believe these measures provide useful information in evaluating the results of our business because they exclude items that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing performance or that we believe impact comparability with the prior year.
Organic revenue growth
We define organic revenue growth as a measure that adjusts for the impacts of foreign exchange translation, acquisitions and divestitures, and where applicable, the impact of an additional week of results every five or six years (53rd reporting week), including in our 2022 financial results. Adjusting for acquisitions and divestitures reflects mergers and acquisitions activity, including the impact in 2021 of an extra month of net revenue for our acquisitions of Pioneer Foods in our AMESA division and Be & Cheery in our APAC division as we aligned the reporting calendars of these acquisitions with those of our divisions, as well as divestitures and other structural changes, including changes in ownership or control in consolidated subsidiaries and nonconsolidated equity investees. We believe organic revenue growth provides useful information in evaluating the results of our business because it excludes items that we believe are not indicative of ongoing performance or that we believe impact comparability with the prior year.
See “Net Revenue and Organic Revenue Growth” in “Results of Operations – Division Review” for further information.
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Free cash flow
We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less capital spending, plus sales of property, plant and equipment. Since net capital spending is essential to our product innovation initiatives and maintaining our operational capabilities, we believe that it is a recurring and necessary use of cash. As such, we believe investors should also consider net capital spending when evaluating our cash from operating activities. Free cash flow is used by us primarily for acquisitions and financing activities, including debt repayments, dividends and share repurchases. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.
See “Free Cash Flow” in “Our Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further information.
Return on invested capital (ROIC) and net ROIC, excluding items affecting comparability
We define ROIC as net income attributable to PepsiCo plus interest expense after-tax divided by the sum of quarterly average debt obligations and quarterly average common shareholders’ equity. Although ROIC is a common financial metric, numerous methods exist for calculating ROIC. Accordingly, the method used by management to calculate ROIC may differ from the methods other companies use to calculate their ROIC.
We believe this metric serves as a measure of how well we use our capital to generate returns. In addition, we use net ROIC, excluding items affecting comparability, to compare our performance over various reporting periods on a consistent basis because it removes from our operating results the impact of items that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing performance and reflects how management evaluates our operating results and trends. We define net ROIC, excluding items affecting comparability, as ROIC, adjusted for quarterly average cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, after-tax interest income and items affecting comparability. We believe the calculation of ROIC and net ROIC, excluding items affecting comparability, provides useful information to investors and is an additional relevant comparison of our performance to consider when evaluating our capital allocation efficiency.
See “Return on Invested Capital” in “Our Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further information.
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Items Affecting Comparability
Our reported financial results in this Form 10-K are impacted by the following items in each of the following years:
Items Affecting Comparability
Acquisition and divestiture-related charges (1) 1 5 (4) — — 23 — (27)
Pension and retiree medical-related impact — — — — 12 — 1 — 11
Charge related to cash tender offers — — — — — 842 165 — 677
Tax expense related to the TCJ Act — — — — — — (190) — 190
Items Affecting Comparability
Pension and retiree medical-related impact — — — — 205 47 158
(a)Provision for income taxes is the expected tax charge/benefit on the underlying item based on the tax laws and income tax rates applicable to the underlying item in its corresponding tax jurisdiction.
Mark-to-market net impact 0.01 (0.04)
Restructuring and impairment charges 0.15 0.17
Acquisition and divestiture-related charges (0.02) 0.17
Pension and retiree medical-related impact 0.01 0.11
Charge related to cash tender offers 0.49 —
Tax expense related to the TCJ Act 0.14 —
Impact of foreign exchange translation (1.5)
(a)Does not sum due to rounding.
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Mark-to-Market Net Impact
We centrally manage commodity derivatives on behalf of our divisions. These commodity derivatives include agricultural products, energy and metals. Commodity derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment are marked to market each period with the resulting gains and losses recorded in corporate unallocated expenses as either cost of sales or selling, general and administrative expenses, depending on the underlying commodity. These gains and losses are subsequently reflected in division results when the divisions recognize the cost of the underlying commodity in operating profit. Therefore, the divisions realize the economic effects of the derivative without experiencing any resulting mark-to-market volatility, which remains in corporate unallocated expenses.
Restructuring and Impairment Charges
2019 Multi-Year Productivity Plan
The 2019 Productivity Plan, publicly announced on February 15, 2019, will leverage new technology and business models to further simplify, harmonize and automate processes; re-engineer our go-to-market and information systems, including deploying the right automation for each market; and simplify our organization and optimize our manufacturing and supply chain footprint. To build on the successful implementation of the 2019 Productivity Plan to date, we expanded and extended the program through the end of 2026 to take advantage of additional opportunities within the initiatives of the 2019 Productivity Plan. We now expect to incur pre-tax charges of approximately $3.15 billion, including cash expenditures of approximately $2.4 billion, as compared to our previous estimate of pre-tax charges of approximately $2.5 billion, which included cash expenditures of approximately $1.6 billion. Plan to date through December 25, 2021, we have incurred pre-tax charges of $1.0 billion, including cash expenditures of $776 million. In our 2022 financial results, we expect to incur pre-tax charges of approximately $350 million, including cash expenditures of approximately $300 million. These charges will be funded primarily through cash from operations. We expect to incur the majority of the remaining pre-tax charges and cash expenditures in our 2022 and 2023 financial results, with the balance to be incurred through 2026.
See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for further information related to our 2019 Productivity Plan. We regularly evaluate productivity initiatives beyond the productivity plan and other initiatives discussed above and in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements.
Acquisition and Divestiture-Related Charges
Acquisition and divestiture-related charges primarily include fair value adjustments to the acquired inventory included in the acquisition-date balance sheets, merger and integration charges and costs associated with divestitures. Merger and integration charges include liabilities to support socioeconomic programs in South Africa, closing costs, employee-related costs, gains associated with contingent consideration, contract termination costs and other integration costs.
See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
Pension and Retiree Medical-Related Impact
Pension and retiree medical-related impact primarily includes settlement charges related to lump sum distributions exceeding the total of annual service and interest costs, as well as curtailment gains related to plan changes.
See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
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Charge Related to Cash Tender Offers
As a result of the cash tender offers for some of our long-term debt, we recorded a charge primarily representing the tender price paid over the carrying value of the tendered notes and loss on treasury rate locks used to mitigate the interest rate risk on the cash tender offers.
See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
Tax Expense Related to the TCJ Act
Tax expense related to the TCJ Act reflects adjustments to the mandatory transition tax liability under the TCJ Act.
See Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
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Our Liquidity and Capital Resources
We believe that our cash generating capability and financial condition, together with our revolving credit facilities, working capital lines and other available methods of debt financing, such as commercial paper borrowings and long-term debt financing, will be adequate to meet our operating, investing and financing needs, including with respect to our net capital spending plans. Our primary sources of liquidity include cash from operations, pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately $3.5 billion from the Juice Transaction,proceeds obtained from issuances of commercial paper and long-term debt, and cash and cash equivalents. These sources of cash are available to fund cash outflows that have both a short- and long-term component, including debt repayments and related interest payments; payments for acquisitions, including support for socioeconomic programs in South Africa related to our acquisition of Pioneer Foods; operating leases; purchase, marketing, and other contractual commitments, including capital expenditures and the transition tax liability under the TCJ Act. In addition, these sources of cash fund other cash outflows including anticipated dividend payments and share repurchases. We do not have guarantees or off-balance sheet financing arrangements, including variable interest entities, that we believe could have a material impact on our liquidity. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Our Business Risks” and Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
Our sources and uses of cash were not materially adversely impacted by COVID-19 and, to date, we have not identified any material liquidity deficiencies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the information currently available to us, we do not expect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to have a material impact on our future liquidity. We will continue to monitor and assess the impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our business and financial results. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Our Business Risks” and Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and financial results.
As of December 25, 2021, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments in our consolidated subsidiaries subject to currency controls or currency exchange restrictions were not material.
The TCJ Act imposed a one-time mandatory transition tax on undistributed international earnings, including $18.9 billion held in our consolidated subsidiaries outside the United States as of December 30, 2017. As of December 25, 2021, our mandatory transition tax liability was $2.9 billion, which must be paid through 2026 under the provisions of the TCJ Act; we currently expect to pay approximately $309 million of this liability in 2022. Any additional guidance issued by the IRS may impact our recorded amounts for this transition tax liability. See Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the TCJ Act.
As part of our evolving market practices, we work with our suppliers to optimize our terms and conditions, which include the extension of payment terms. Our current payment terms with a majority of our suppliers generally range from 60 to 90 days, which we deem to be commercially reasonable. We will continue to monitor economic conditions and market practice working with our suppliers to adjust as necessary. We also maintain voluntary supply chain finance agreements with several participating global financial institutions. Under these agreements, our suppliers, at their sole discretion, may elect to sell their accounts receivable with PepsiCo to these participating global financial institutions. Supplier participation in these financing arrangements is voluntary. Our suppliers negotiate their financing agreements directly with the respective global financial institutions and we are not a party to these agreements. These financing arrangements allow participating suppliers to leverage PepsiCo’s creditworthiness in establishing credit spreads and associated costs, which generally provides our suppliers with more favorable terms than they would be able to secure on their own. Neither PepsiCo nor any of its subsidiaries provide any guarantees to any third party in connection with these financing arrangements. We have no economic interest in our suppliers’ decision to participate in these agreements. Our obligations to our suppliers, including amounts due and scheduled payment terms, are not impacted. All
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outstanding amounts related to suppliers participating in such financing arrangements are recorded within accounts payable and other current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet. We were informed by the participating financial institutions that as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively, of our accounts payable to suppliers who participate in these financing arrangements are outstanding. These supply chain finance arrangements did not have a material impact on our liquidity or capital resources in the periods presented and we do not expect such arrangements to have a material impact on our liquidity or capital resources for the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, our cash provided from operating activities is somewhat impacted by seasonality. Working capital needs are impacted by weekly sales, which are generally highest in the third quarter due to seasonal and holiday-related sales patterns and generally lowest in the first quarter. On a continuing basis, we consider various transactions to increase shareholder value and enhance our business results, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, dividends, share repurchases, productivity and other efficiency initiatives and other structural changes. These transactions may result in future cash proceeds or payments.
The table below summarizes our cash activity:
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 11,616 $ 10,613
Net cash used for investing activities $ (3,269) $ (11,619)
Net cash (used for)/provided by financing activities $ (10,780) $ 3,819
Operating Activities
In 2021, net cash provided by operating activities was $11.6 billion, compared to $10.6 billion in the prior year. The increase in operating cash flow primarily reflects favorable working capital comparisons and operating profit performance, partially offset by higher pre-tax pension and retiree medical plan contributions and higher net cash tax payments in the current year.
Investing Activities
In 2021, net cash used for investing activities was $3.3 billion, primarily reflecting net capital spending of $4.5 billion, partially offset by maturities of short-term investments with maturities greater than three months of $1.1 billion.
In 2020, net cash used for investing activities was $11.6 billion, primarily reflecting net cash paid in connection with our acquisitions of Rockstar of $3.85 billion, Pioneer Foods of $1.2 billion and Be & Cheery of $0.7 billion, net capital spending of $4.2 billion, as well as purchases of short-term investments with maturities greater than three months of $1.1 billion.
See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of capital spending by division; see Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our investments in debt securities; and see Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our acquisitions.
We regularly review our plans with respect to net capital spending, including in light of the ongoing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, and believe that we have sufficient liquidity to meet our net capital spending needs.
Financing Activities
In 2021, net cash used for financing activities was $10.8 billion, primarily reflecting the return of operating cash flow to our shareholders largely through dividend payments of $5.8 billion, cash tender offers/debt redemption of $4.8 billion, payments of long-term debt borrowings of $3.5 billion and
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payments of acquisition-related contingent consideration of $0.8 billion, partially offset by proceeds from issuances of long-term debt of $4.1 billion.
In 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $3.8 billion, primarily reflecting proceeds from issuances of long-term debt of $13.8 billion, partially offset by the return of operating cash flow to our shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases of $7.5 billion, payments of long-term debt borrowings of $1.8 billion and debt redemptions of $1.1 billion.
See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of debt obligations.
We annually review our capital structure with our Board of Directors, including our dividend policy and share repurchase activity. On February 13, 2018, we announced the 2018 share repurchase program providing for the repurchase of up to $15.0 billion of PepsiCo common stock which commenced on July 1, 2018 and expired on June 30, 2021. On February 10, 2022, we announced the 2022 share repurchase program. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” for further information. In addition, on February 10, 2022, we announced a 7% increase in our annualized dividend to $4.60 per share from $4.30 per share, effective with the dividend expected to be paid in June 2022. We expect to return a total of approximately $7.7 billion to shareholders in 2022, comprising dividends of approximately $6.2 billion and share repurchases of approximately $1.5 billion.
Free Cash Flow
The table below reconciles net cash provided by operating activities, as reflected on our cash flow statement, to our free cash flow.Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure. For further information on free cash flow, see “Non-GAAP Measures.”
Net cash provided by operating activities, GAAP measure $ 11,616 $ 10,613 9 %
Sales of property, plant and equipment 166 55
Free cash flow, non-GAAP measure $ 7,157 $ 6,428 11 %
We use free cash flow primarily for acquisitions and financing activities, including debt repayments, dividends and share repurchases. We expect to continue to return free cash flow to our shareholders primarily through dividends and share repurchases while maintaining Tier 1 commercial paper access, which we believe will facilitate appropriate financial flexibility and ready access to global capital and credit markets at favorable interest rates. However, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Our Business Risks” for certain factors that may impact our credit ratings or our operating cash flows.
Any downgrade of our credit ratings by a credit rating agency, especially any downgrade to below investment grade, whether or not as a result of our actions or factors which are beyond our control, could increase our future borrowing costs and impair our ability to access capital and credit markets on terms commercially acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, any downgrade of our current short-term credit ratings could impair our ability to access the commercial paper market with the same flexibility that we have experienced historically, and therefore require us to rely more heavily on more expensive types of debt financing. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Our Business Risks” and Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
Material Changes in Line Items in Our Consolidated Financial Statements
Material changes in line items in our consolidated statement of income are discussed in “Results of Operations – Division Review” and “Items Affecting Comparability.”
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Material changes in line items in our consolidated statement of cash flows are discussed in “Our Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Material changes in line items in our consolidated balance sheet are discussed below:
Total Assets
In 2021, total assets were $92.4 billion, compared to $92.9 billion in the prior year. The decrease in total assets is primarily driven by the following line items:
Change(a) Reference
Cash and cash equivalents $ (2.6) Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Short-term investments $ (1.0) Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Assets held for sale $ 1.8 Note 13
Property, plant and equipment, net $ 1.0 Note 1, Note 14
Other indefinite-lived intangible assets $ (0.5) Note 4
Other assets $ 0.9 Note 14
Total Liabilities
In 2021, total liabilities were $76.2 billion, compared to $79.4 billion in the prior year. The decrease in total liabilities is primarily driven by the following line items:
Change(a) Reference
Accounts payable and other current liabilities $ 1.6 Note 14
Liabilities held for sale $ 0.8 Note 13
Long-term debt obligations $ (4.3) Note 8
Other liabilities (b) $ (2.2) Note 7, Note 9 and Note 12
(a)In billions.
(b)Reflects changes primarily related to pension and retiree medical plans, contingent consideration associated with our acquisition of Rockstar and leases.
Total Equity
Refer to our consolidated statement of equity for material changes in equity line items.
Return on Invested Capital
ROIC is a non-GAAP financial measure. For further information on ROIC, see “Non-GAAP Measures.”
Net income attributable to PepsiCo $ 7,618 $ 7,120
Tax on interest expense (441) (278)
Average common shareholders’ equity (b) 14,924 13,536
ROIC, non-GAAP measure 16.0 % 14.7 %
(a)Includes a quarterly average of short-term and long-term debt obligations.
(b)Includes a quarterly average of common stock, capital in excess of par value, retained earnings, accumulated other comprehensive loss and repurchased common stock.
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The table below reconciles ROIC as calculated above to net ROIC, excluding items affecting comparability.
ROIC, non-GAAP measure 16.0 % 14.7 %
Impact of:
Average cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments 2.2 3.4
Interest income (0.2) (0.2)
Tax on interest income — 0.1
Mark-to-market net impact 0.1 (0.1)
Restructuring and impairment charges 0.2 0.3
Acquisition and divestiture-related charges (0.1) 0.4
Pension and retiree medical-related impact (0.1) 0.2
Tax expense related to the TCJ Act 0.3 0.1
Other net tax benefits — 1.0
Core Net ROIC, non-GAAP measure 18.4 % 19.9 %
OUR CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
An appreciation of our critical accounting policies and estimates is necessary to understand our financial results. These policies may require management to make difficult and subjective judgments regarding uncertainties, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, such estimates may significantly impact our financial results. The precision of these estimates and the likelihood of future changes depend on a number of underlying variables and a range of possible outcomes. We applied our critical accounting policies and estimation methods consistently in all material respects and for all periods presented. We have discussed our critical accounting policies and estimates with our Audit Committee.
Our critical accounting policies and estimates are:
•revenue recognition;
•goodwill and other intangible assets;
•income tax expense and accruals; and
•pension and retiree medical plans.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue when our performance obligation is satisfied. Our primary performance obligation (the distribution and sales of beverage and convenient food products) is satisfied upon the shipment or delivery of products to our customers, which is also when control is transferred. The transfer of control of products to our customers is typically based on written sales terms that do not allow for a right of return. However, our policy for DSD, including certain chilled products, is to remove and replace damaged and out-of-date products from store shelves to ensure that consumers receive the product quality and freshness they expect. Similarly, our policy for certain warehouse-distributed products is to replace damaged and out-of-date products. As a result, we record reserves, based on estimates, for anticipated damaged and out-of-date products.
Our products are sold for cash or on credit terms. Our credit terms, which are established in accordance with local and industry practices, typically require payment within 30 days of delivery in the United States, and generally within 30 to 90 days internationally, and may allow discounts for early payment.
We estimate and reserve for our expected credit loss exposure based on our experience with past due accounts and collectibility, write-off history, the aging of accounts receivable, our analysis of customer data, and forward-looking information (including the expected impact of the global economic uncertainty
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related to the COVID-19 pandemic), leveraging estimates of creditworthiness and projections of default and recovery rates for certain of our customers.
Our policy is to provide customers with product when needed. In fact, our commitment to freshness and product dating serves to regulate the quantity of product shipped or delivered. In addition, DSD products are placed on the shelf by our employees with customer shelf space and storerooms limiting the quantity of product. For product delivered through other distribution networks, we monitor customer inventory levels.
As discussed in “Our Customers” in “Item 1. Business,” we offer sales incentives and discounts through various programs to customers and consumers. Total marketplace spending includes sales incentives, discounts, advertising and other marketing activities. Sales incentives and discounts are primarily accounted for as a reduction of revenue and include payments to customers for performing activities on our behalf, such as payments for in-store displays, payments to gain distribution of new products, payments for shelf space and discounts to promote lower retail prices. Sales incentives and discounts also include support provided to our independent bottlers through funding of advertising and other marketing activities.