Had You Invested $1,000 in Coca-Cola or PepsiCo 10 Years Ago, Here’s What You’d Have Today

2 hours ago 3

Trey Thoelcke

Sat, March 7, 2026 astatine 7:45 AM CST 4 min read

Coca-Cola (KO) returned +140.27% implicit 10 years and +13.44% implicit 1 twelvemonth with Zero Sugar measurement up 14%. PepsiCo (PEP) returned +120.04% implicit 10 years and +9.98% implicit 1 twelvemonth with a $1.993B Rockstar write-down.
Coca-Cola’s asset-light franchise exemplary and Zero Sugar momentum drove outperformance, portion PepsiCo faced Rockstar write-downs and snack measurement unit from GLP-1 cause adoption affecting user appetite.
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On the surface, PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) mightiness look to connection much diversification. It sells beverages and snacks, with iconic brands similar Frito-Lay, Doritos, Gatorade, and Quaker sitting alongside its cola lineup. More diversification should mean much resilience. Over the past decade, though, that logic has not held up astatine the banal level. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has softly outperformed its rival crossed each meaningful clip horizon.

Coca-Cola's communicative implicit the past 10 years is 1 of disciplined simplification. CEO James Quincey pushed the institution toward an asset-light franchise model, refranchising bottling operations and focusing superior connected marque and marketing. Zero Sugar became a genuine maturation engine, with portion lawsuit measurement up 14% for afloat twelvemonth 2025. Pricing powerfulness held steadfast adjacent arsenic volumes wobbled successful prime markets. PepsiCo, meanwhile, absorbed write-downs connected Rockstar ($1.993 cardinal successful intangible plus impairments) and faced measurement unit successful its North America snack business, partially from increasing GLP-1 obesity cause adoption weighing connected user appetite for salty snacks. A anemic Q1 2025 forced PepsiCo to slash its full-year EPS guidance from mid-single-digit maturation to astir flat.

Here is what a $1,000 concern successful each banal would look similar crossed 3 clip horizons, utilizing adjusted terms information arsenic of March 5, 2026:

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1-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000
KO Current Value: $1,134 (+13.44%)
PEP Current Value: $1,100 (+9.98%)
S&P 500 (same period): $1,169 (+16.85%)

5-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000
KO Current Value: $1,767 (+76.71%)
PEP Current Value: $1,416 (+41.55%)
S&P 500 (same period): $1,776 (+77.6%)

10-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000
KO Current Value: $2,403 (+140.27%)
PEP Current Value: $2,200 (+120.04%)
S&P 500 (same period): $3,397 (+239.65%)

Neither banal matched the S&P 500 implicit 10 years, which is worthy acknowledging plainly. But for income-focused, lower-volatility investors, the dividend streams substance enormously here. Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for 63 consecutive years, portion PepsiCo has delivered 54 consecutive yearly increases. Both are Dividend Kings. Warren Buffett's decades-long clasp of Coca-Cola remains 1 of the astir cited examples of diligent dividend compounding successful investing history.

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