solid

Just across Long Island Sound from Long Island itself sits Purchase, NY, home of consumer-packaged goods giant PepsiCo (PEP 0.80%). The business began with a single beverage — Pepsi-Cola — in the small coastal town of New Bern, NC. But a bankruptcy saw the brand change hands, ultimately landing it with a business in New York, the state it’s still headquartered in today.

Since relocating to its current headquarters in Purchase, NY in 1970, PepsiCo has undergone a radical transformation. It’s an international powerhouse in the consumer-packaged goods space with dozens of beverage brands as well as food brands. And recent financial results underscore why this is still a solid stock to buy for the long term.

Image source: PepsiCo.

Pepsi’s rock-solid business

Pepsi stock is down about 23% from the all-time high it reached two years ago. Investors have soured on this stock because sales volume is under pressure. Investors consequently speculate that perhaps consumers are trading down to cheaper brands, that consumers are choosing healthier options, or that weight-loss drugs are suppressing appetites.

However, Pepsi is more resilient than investors give it credit for. On Oct. 9, the company reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter of 2025. Sales volume did decline by 1% for both beverages and convenient foods. And the decline was even more pronounced in North America. But the headline numbers didn’t tell the whole story.

Pepsi is actively reshaping its portfolio of beverage brands. One example is selling Rockstar Energy to Celsius. But another example is transitioning its case pack water business to a third-party partner. Changes such as these impact quarterly sales volume.

By simply adjusting results for the change to the water business, Pepsi’s beverage volumes in North America grew in Q3 — that’s a big deal. It suggest that the company is getting some positive traction in a core market with core products.

Sales in North America have been challenged for a while now. But Pepsi’s business was never in dire straights. This is because sales volume for food and beverages has continued rising in both Latin America and Asia.

This is the benefit of being a large, diversified business. Even if one part of Pepsi’s business is facing headwinds, chances are that other parts of the business are able to pick up the slack.

Is Pepsi stock a good long-term buy?

I believe that Pepsi stock is a good long-term buy, but I should clarify what I mean by that. I don’t believe that this will be among the top-10 stocks over the next decade or anywhere close to that. Those stocks will probably be up-and-coming businesses experiencing a lot of growth. And with over $90 billion in trailing-12-month revenue, it’s unrealistic to expect Pepsi’s business to be high growth.

But I believe Pepsi stock will make investors money over the long term with relatively little risk. Even if consumer tastes and preferences are shifting, the company operates a portfolio that it can adjust. As one example, Pepsi acquired prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion, and it can use this new business to build more products that are aligned with trending preferences.

Moreover, Pepsi is a Dividend King, having paid and increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years now. This is a streak that it’s not going to give up on easily. And thanks to the pullback in the stock price, dividend investors can lock in at nearly an all-time high dividend yield, boosting returns from here.

PEP Dividend Yield data by YCharts.

Yes, Pepsi may be headquartered in New York. But this company is much more than the Pepsi brand, and it’s much bigger than the Empire State. It’s a profitable global business with a diversified portfolio that can adapt to changes in the consumer landscape.

Therefore, Pepsi stock is a solid long-term buy in my view and a good addition to a diversified portfolio of stocks.

Match of the Day’s Wayne Rooney says new Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens “did a lot of good things” in his debut for the club during their 2-0 win over Sunderland in the Premier League.

WATCH MORE: Man Utd beat Sunderland to ease pressure on Amorim

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Clarke is not the only one looking ahead, with the Tartan Army now dreaming of returning to football’s biggest show next summer.

After a difficult time in the spring and summer, the draw in Copenhagen set Scotland up nicely, and though the performance in beating Belarus was far from flashy, it was professional and delivered a critical result.

Che Adams’ goal just before half-time calmed the nerves, and his lovely pass helped force an own goal which saw Scotland over the line in a game played in Hungary behind closed doors.

Although Belarus did not offer a great deal, goalkeeper Angus Gunn only made one meaningful save, a third clean sheet in a row was welcomed by Clarke.

It is a sign of Scotland returning to the more form which helped them qualify for two European Championships.

“Clean sheets are what we have to build our campaign on,” the Scotland head coach said.

“If we can keep the ball out the net we’ve always got enough to score one or two goals.”

Scotland have rarely put any team to the sword under Clarke’s tenure, but overall they have been effective in building on a solid base and being clinical in key moments.

“It’s going to give the whole team a lot of confidence,” former Scotland captain Scott Brown said on Sportscene.

“There were four changes as well, which shows you he can manipulate the squad well too.

“That’s credit to Steve. He’s not going to 4-3-3, full throttle, he’s always been about making sure his defensive unit is there, having structure in midfield, and when they do get opportunities take them.”

The United States economy has added 147,000 jobs in June, beating analyst expectations, as the labour market remains stable despite economic uncertainty driven by President Donald Trump’s policies.

The Department of Labor released the numbers on Thursday. The data, which was released a day early because the Independence Day holiday falls on Friday, showed the unemployment rate ticked down from May by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1 percent. The average workweek was shorter last month, suggesting businesses were probably reducing hours amid rising economic headwinds.

Government jobs at the state and local levels led the gains, adding 73,000 positions in June. State governments added 47,000 jobs, led by 40,000 in education. Local government jobs grew by 23,000. A downward turn continues at the federal level with a loss of 7,000 jobs, which accounts for 69,000 jobs lost since January.

Gains in government jobs were followed by the healthcare sector, which added 39,000 jobs. Social assistance employment increased by 19,000 jobs.

“On net, it was a good report,’’ Sarah House, senior economist with Wells Fargo, told The Associated Press news agency.

“But when you dig underneath the surface, it was another jobs report that didn’t look quite as good as first meets the eye.’’

Looming uncertainty driven by Trump’s tariffs and immigration policies led to little change across much of the private sector in terms of hiring, including in construction, mining, oil and gas extraction, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, financial services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality.

Trump’s constant changes in tariffs policy, announcing and suspending import taxes and then coming up with new ones, has left businesses bewildered and hesitant to make decisions about hiring and investment.

Layoffs have started, but they are still relatively low. The Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report, which also came out on Thursday said claims fell by 4,000 to 233,000. The ADP private payroll report out on Wednesday showed a net loss of 33,000 jobs.

“Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.

Thursday’s jobs report also showed average hourly wages came in cooler than forecasters expected, rising 0.2 percent from May and 3.7 percent from a year earlier.

The year-over-year number is inching closer to the 3.5 percent year-over-year number considered consistent with the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent inflation target.

“For the FOURTH month in a row, jobs numbers have beat market expectations with nearly 150,000 good jobs created in June,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

“The economy is booming again and it will only get better when the One, Big, Beautiful Bill is passed and implemented,” she said, referring to Republican legislation to cut taxes, food assistance and the Medicaid health insurance programme for low-income Americans.

Growth slowdown

Despite the White House’s characterisation, the US job market has cooled significantly in the past year. This year, employers have added an average of 130,000 jobs per month, down from an average of 186,000 in 2024. From 2021 to 2023, the US economy added an average of 400,000 jobs per month as it made up for jobs shed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other data show the US economy contracting. Last week, a report from the Department of Commerce found the US economy shrank by 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

The US labour force – the count of those working and looking for work – fell by 130,000 last month after a drop of 625,000 in May. Economists expected Trump’s immigration deportations – and the fear of them – to push foreign workers out of the labour force.

The Labor Department said the number of workers who believe no jobs are available for them rose by 256,000 last month to 637,000.

Wells Fargo expected monthly job growth to fall below 100,000 in the second half of the year. “We’re bracing for a much lower pace of job growth,” House said. ”There’s still a lot of policy uncertainty.”

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Israel’s attacks on his country could not have materialised without the agreement and support of the United States.

“We have well-documented and solid evidence of the support provided by American forces in the region and their bases for the military attacks of the Zionist regime,” Iran’s top diplomat told reporters during a news conference in the capital, Tehran, on Sunday.

He said, more importantly, US President Donald Trump has publicly and explicitly confirmed he knew about the attacks, that they could not have happened without US weapons and equipment, and that more attacks are coming.

“Therefore, the US, in our opinion, is a partner in these attacks and must accept its responsibility.”

Araghchi said Tehran has received messages from Washington through various intermediaries that it was not involved with Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Isfahan’s Natanz, but it “does not believe this claim” due to evidence to the contrary.

“It is necessary for the US government to clearly state its position and explicitly condemn the attack on nuclear facilities,” he said. “This act is condemned under international law, and our expectation is that the US government, in order to prove its good faith regarding nuclear weapons, will condemn the attack on a peaceful nuclear facility and distance itself from this conflict.”

Pointing out that the Israeli attacks came as Iran and the US were slated to hold a sixth round of nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman on Sunday, Araghchi emphasised that Israel “will do anything” to stop the talks and diplomacy, as it has done in the past.

‘Major strategic mistake’

Iranian authorities said the Israeli attacks, which have targeted residential and military areas in Tehran as well as many cities across the country since Friday, have killed at least 80 people, including civilians.

Multiple top-ranking commanders of the Iranian armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were also assassinated, as were a number of nuclear scientists and university professors.

Iran has so far launched two nights of retaliatory attacks on Israel’s Tel Aviv and Haifa, using hundreds of missiles and drones, which have led to at least 10 deaths and dozens of injuries.

Araghchi told reporters that Iran’s attacks overnight into Sunday started targeting Israel’s energy infrastructure after the Israeli army hit refineries, power stations and oil reserves across Iran.

As sounds of explosions and air defences rang across Tehran in the early hours of Sunday, Israel hit a fuel reserve in western Tehran’s Shahran neighbourhood that caused a massive fire. Authorities said the fire was contained after several hours and that most of the fuel in the reserve was taken out before the air raids.

On Saturday, the Israeli military hit Asaluyeh on Iran’s southern shores in the province of Bushehr, hitting Phase 14 of South Pars, the largest gasfield in the world.

Araghchi said the attack was a “major strategic mistake” that was likely carried out deliberately with the intention of dragging other nations into the war.

“The Persian Gulf region is extremely sensitive and complex, and any military development there could involve the entire region, and even the whole world,” he said, using the name of the Gulf, which is also commonly known as the Arabian Gulf.

Iran and Israel have said their attacks will continue for now, and the Israeli military on Sunday issued a threat to Iranians to stay away from what it called “military weapons production factories and their support institutions”, or risk being killed.

But Araghchi said Tehran is willing to stop if Israel halts its attacks, and urged the international community to intervene and condemn Israel.

‘National battle’

Iranian newspapers on Sunday dedicated their front pages to the war, with more hardline outlets manoeuvring on Iran’s attacks while others focusing on a sense of national unity.

Keyhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published the headline: “We will finish the war and Israel together”, and wrote about “unprecedented damages in occupied territories” caused by the Iranian missiles.

“National battle”, read a headline from the reformist Ham-Mihan, with Etemad newspaper writing about “Israel’s gamble on a minefield” and Sazandegi highlighting “Slap for Tel Aviv” in its headline story.

For the first time in nearly four decades, Iranian state television on Saturday broadcast a victory march. It was last heard in the 1980s during Iran’s eight-year invasion by neighbouring Iraq, which was backed and armed by major powers.

Mehdi Chamran, chairman of the City Council of Tehran, said the capital will soon be forced to use the same shelters used during that war, as well as metro stations and some car parks, as no new dedicated shelters have been built.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Sunday that all flights are cancelled until further notice and tried to assure people that measures are under way to ensure the state can provide basic necessities, including fuel, in case of a prolonged conflict.

The Tehran Chamber of Guilds announced that all business associations, grand bazaars and malls were open in the capital, but government workers were told to work remotely until at least Wednesday, in an indication that Tehran is expected to be hit again.

The Tehran Stock Exchange was also closed on Sunday, with its director saying the decision to keep it closed or open it for Monday will be taken on the day, considering Sunday night’s developments.

Iran’s currency, the rial, has taken another nosedive since the start of the latest conflict, having depreciated from about 840,000 against the US dollar before the Israeli attacks to about 955,000 on Sunday.