1. What is PepsiCo’s corporate strategy? Briefly identify the business strategies that PepsiCo is using in each of its consumer business segments in 2015.
2. What is your assessment of the long-term attractiveness of the industries represented in PepsiCo’s business portfolio?
3. What is your assessment of the competitive strength of PepsiCo’s different business units?
4. What does a 9-cell industry attractiveness/business strength matrix displaying PepsiCo’s business units look like?
5. Does PepsiCo’s portfolio exhibit good strategic fit? What value-chain match-ups do you see? What do opportunities for skills transfer, cost sharing, or brand sharing you see?
6. Does PepsiCo’s portfolio exhibit good resource fit? What are the cash flow characteristics of each of PepsiCo’s six segments? Which businesses are the strongest contributors to PepsiCo’s free cash flows?
7. Based on the preceding analysis, what is your overall evaluation of PepsiCo’s business portfolio in 2015? Does the portfolio provide the company’s shareholders with an opportunity for above-average market returns?
8. What strategic actions should Indra Nooyi take to sustain the corporation’s impressive financial and market performance? Should its free cash flows be used to fund additional share repurchase plans, pay higher dividends, make acquisitions, expand internationally, or for other purposes? What other strategic actions should be pursued by corporate level management?