PEP Capital Return Hits $73 Bil in 10 Years

In the last decade, PepsiCo (PEP) has returned a notable $73 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.

As it turns out, PEP has returned the 32nd highest amount to shareholders in history.

Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more companies like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.

Single stock can be risky, but there is a huge value to a broader diversified approach. If you seek an upside with less volatility than holding an individual stock, consider the High Quality Portfolio (HQ) – HQ has outperformed its benchmark – a combination of S&P 500, Russell, and S&P midcap index, and achieved returns exceeding 91% since its inception. Risk management is key – consider, what could long-term portfolio performance be if you blended 10% commodities, 10% gold, and 2% crypto with HQ’s performance metrics.

Top 10 Companies By Total Shareholder Return

For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking

What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Companies like META and MSFT are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.

That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for PEP. (see Buy or Sell PEP Stock for more details)

PEP Fundamentals

• Revenue Growth: -0.3% LTM and 4.0% last 3-year average.
• Cash Generation: Nearly 7.7% free cash flow margin and 13.5% operating margin LTM.
• Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for PEP was -0.3%.
• Valuation: PEP trades at a P/E multiple of 25.4
• Opportunity vs S&P: Compared to S&P, you get higher valuation, lower revenue growth, and lower margins

*LTM: Last Twelve Months

That’s a good overview, but evaluating a stock from an investment perspective involves much more. That is exactly what Trefis High Quality Portfolio does. It is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure.

PEP Historical Risk

PepsiCo isn’t immune to downturns either. It dipped about 26% in the Dot-Com Bubble and took a 40% hit during the Global Financial Crisis. The smaller shocks weren’t painless either — 20%+ declines in 2018 and nearly 29% during the Covid sell-off. Even the recent inflation shock saw an 18% drop. Solid businesses help, but when fear hits, big names like PEP still feel the pain.

The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.