PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP)

PepsiCo is not only drinks: roughly half the business is Frito-Lay snacks, and they supply most of the profit.

Unlike Coca-Cola, the company owns both manufacturing and a large part of bottling and distribution. That makes it capital-intensive but gives control of the shelf: its own representatives stock stores directly, an advantage in impulse categories.

The snack business — Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos and others — grows more steadily than beverages and carries higher margins. Drinks include Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, water and partner brands. That combination leaves the company less dependent on a single category than a pure beverage maker.

The main drivers are price and volume: in recent years revenue grew largely on price, and whether volume holds has become the key question. A separate storyline is weight-loss medication and its possible effect on snack consumption — an effect still debated rather than measured. PepsiCo is a dividend aristocrat with a long record of increases.