PepsiCo, one of the world's most valuable brands, has gotten endorsements from A-listers like Steve Carell, Cardi B, Beyoncé and Madonna. It's also sponsoring the Super Bowl halftime show for this year's big game on February 3.
And if you invested $1,000 in the company 10 years ago, you'd probably be smiling now, if not singing and dancing: According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment in PepsiCo in 2009 would be worth more than $2,600 as of Feb. 1, 2019.
Although the company's stock price has been largely steady over the years, any individual stock can over- or underperform, and past returns do not predict future results.
Ivan Feinseth of financial firm Tigress Financial Partners sees a big problem facing Pepsi and the traditional soda market overall: "The biggest problem that Pepsi" and similar companies face, he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box," "is that there is no growth in carbonated soda."
The company will need to get creative, he said, and "continue to develop or acquire other alternatives: sparking water, flavored seltzers, flavored teas, sports drinks, recovery drinks. That's where the growth is, in the niche beverage markets."
PepsiCo does offer products other than sodas, though, and has recently made new acquisitions to diversify its portfolio of products, like for at-home carbonated-drink maker SodaStream. The company also owns popular snack brands Cheetos, Doritos and Lays, as well as beverage brands like Gatorade and Lipton.
CNBC: PepsiCo stock as of Feb. 2, 2019
Other investors suggest that worries about tougher years ahead could make the company a good buy. "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer said in early January that investors should opt for stocks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co that could do well even during a potential recession or in case of a stock market crash.
"You buy the stocks of companies that do well in a recession — even though I don't think we're going into one — that are also bolstered by lower raw costs," Cramer said. He specifically highlighted both CocaCola and PepsiCo: "They're the safety stocks. That's what's worth owning."
If you're looking to get into investing for the first time, expert investors like Buffett and Mark Cuban suggest you start with index funds, which hold every stock in an index, offer low turnover rates, attendant fees and tax bills. They also fluctuate with the market to eliminate the risk of picking individual stocks.
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