PepsiCo (PEP 1.18%) has hardly missed a beat through the pandemic. On Thursday the food and beverage giant announced that sales trends returned to positive territory in the three months ended in early September. The rebound came just one quarter after COVID-19 severely disrupted its growth trends starting in late February.
Organic sales in the third quarter rose 4% compared to last quarter's flat result, the company revealed. That boost was powered by strong volume gains in the Frito-Lay snack business and in the Quaker Foods division, which is winning market share even as more consumers eat at home.
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Pepsi's beverage unit is still under strain due to the reduced consumer mobility, but U.S. volumes only dropped 1% compared to last quarter's 10% slump. "Our third-quarter performance reinforces the diversification of our portfolio," CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a press release, "[and] the resilience and agility of our teams."
Executives reinstated their fiscal year outlook and with just one quarter to go they see sales gains landing at about 4% in 2020. That result would mark just a slight slowdown compared to last year's blockbuster 4.5% spike that had set Pepsi's fastest growth rate since 2015.
