Based on the aggregated intelligence of 145,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, beverage behemoth PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at PepsiCo's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

PepsiCo facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Purchase, N.Y. (1898)

Market Cap

$100.2 billion

Industry

Soft drinks

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$42.7 billion

Management

CEO Indra Nooyi (since 2006)
CFO Richard Goodman (since 2006)

Major Brands

Pepsi, Gatorade, 7UP, Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

35.7%

Cash / Debt

$3.46 billion / $7.95 billion

Dividend Yield

2.8%

Competitors

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)
Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT)
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE:DPS)

CAPS Members Bullish on PEP Also Bullish on

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)

CAPS Members Bearish on PEP Also Bearish on

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)
Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 3,799 members who have rated PepsiCo believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include truthisntstupid and mistercube.

Late last month, truthisntstupid wrote that PepsiCo's sweet-and-salty business mix seemed too tasty to pass up:

[S]afe dividend stock with the dividend well covered and averages annual dividend increase of 12-15%. … Also, I'm a Diet Mountain Dew addict. Having the additional snack food and cereal business (Lay's and Frito-Lay and Quaker) makes them more diversified than Coca-Cola, and they own Tropicana too.

In a pitch from last week, mistercube expands on the refreshing opportunity:

While its current price to earnings (~19) and free cash flow make it appear a slower grower than average in a "normal" market, Pepsi, like its rival Coca-Cola, remains a well-diversified, high-margin business with broad international reach....

Exchange rates on a strong dollar may eat into margins from the international trade; however, strong positions relative to debt and interest coverage make Pepsi well prepared to weather a few-years downturn better than most. A payout ratio of ~50% suggests the dividend at this level is not in danger and could even be raised further.

What do you think about PepsiCo, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!