Buy for strong brands and global reach

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Rising raw material costs are a growing challenge for these two beverage makers. However, their well-known brands give them strong customer loyalty. That makes it easier for them to raise prices without hurting sales volumes. Their growing overseas operations also enhance their long-term prospects. PEPSICO INC. $64 (New York symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $102.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest soft-drink maker after Coca-Cola. It also makes other products, such as Frito-Lay snack foods, Tropicana fruit juices and Quaker Oats. PepsiCo recently raised its selling prices in response to rising ingredient costs. That’s the main reason why its sales rose 13.3% in the quarter ended September 3, 2011, to $17.6 billion from $15.5 billion a year earlier. In June 2011, PepsiCo paid $3.8 billion for Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia’s largest dairy and juice company. This accounted for a third of the sales gain. Without unusual…