Which soda giant has the brighter future?
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are both immensely profitable, well-run businesses, that are deeply committed to providing generous cash returns to shareholders. That being said, there is a clear divergence forming between the two consumer goods giants. Pepsi is now a pure soda company in name only. It has broken away from sparkling beverages in a meaningful way, because it has seen the writing on the wall. Consumers have spoken, and soda companies are feeling the heat.
Pepsi has proven to be a more visionary company than Coca-Cola, in my estimation, since Coca-Cola has remained steadfast in its position as a pure-play soda company. As a result, because of its more diversified portfolio of products, I don't consider Pepsi to have the same level of risk as Coca-Cola. There appears to be a winner of the soda wars, at least for the time being: Pepsi.