These 7 snacks powered PepsiCo's Q3 earnings

While there was a lot to be desired from PepsiCo's ( PEP ) core businesses of full-calorie soda and chips in the third quarter, healthier parts of the snacks business came alive as people focused on portion control and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

"Permissible options — which approximate $3 billion in annual net revenue — such as Baked, Simply, Sun Chips, Siete, Smartfood, PopCorners and Quaker Rice Cake offerings each delivered strong volume and net revenue growth in the quarter. Sun Chips, with retail sales of nearly $800 million, continued to rank as the #1 permissible salty snack brand based on retail sales," PepsiCo execs said in prepared remarks after delivering results on Thursday.

PepsiCo teased more on the healthier-for-you snacking front in the coming quarters.

"Looking ahead, we will focus on driving profitable growth by evolving our portfolio offerings to meet consumer needs. This includes: providing more choices that contain simpler ingredients, alternative oils and functional elements such as protein and fiber. Examples include, Doritos Protein, Quaker Protein Rice Crisps, PopCorners Protein, Sun Chips Fiber, Smartfood FiberPop, Doritos and Cheetos NKD, Baked made with olive oil and Miss Vickies made with avocado oil," execs added.

Despite the success here, the food and beverage giant had a mixed earnings day, at best, and some leaner days may be ahead for PepsiCo.

That could include a fair number of layoffs, executives hinted.

This comes as PepsiCo slashed its 2026 forecast for core earnings per share growth to 2.5%-3.5%, down from 5%-7%.

The company said net revenue will come in at the high end of its range, up approximately 6% amid momentum in zero-sugar drinks and healthier snacks.

PepsiCo stock rose 2% in premarket trading as sales and earnings came in ahead of estimates. The shares are down 13% year to date compared to a 23% advance for rival Coca-Cola ( KO ).

"To help support these investment priorities, structural cost reduction actions that reduce redundancies and curtail discretionary expenditures are being identified," the company said. "Examples include reductions in corporate costs and other initiatives not directly tied to growth. These incremental actions will complement our existing enterprise-wide productivity initiatives and begin to take effect in the coming months."

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the Sozzi Unleashed morning show and the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast, and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi , Instagram , and LinkedIn . Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.