PepsiCo Holds Top Spot as Food & Beverage Earnings Slide 32.5% on 2026 IW U.S. 500

The latest IndustryWeek U.S. 500 rankings paint a split picture for the food and beverage sector: modest top-line growth paired with a steep drop in profitability.

"34 food & beverage companies made the 2026 IndustryWeek U.S. 500 list of the largest U.S. public manufacturers."

"Total revenue for the sector was up 3.14% year over year, but earnings dropped sharply, down 32.5%."

That divergence — revenue up, earnings down hard — is the defining story of this year's sector data.

PepsiCo Leads, But Profits Shrink

"The top performer in the food & beverage category is PepsiCo, unchanged from last year."

"The company saw a 2.25% revenue increase to $93.93 billion and a -13.97% net income decrease to $8.24 billion."

PepsiCo sits at No. 11 on the overall list. Behind it: Tyson Foods, Inc. at No. 25, The Coca-Cola Company at No. 29, and Mondelez International, Inc. at No. 38.

The pressure on earnings is visible across the top tier. The Kraft Heinz Company (No. 62) posted a net income swing of -313.05%, while The Hershey Company (No. 117) recorded a -60.24% net income change despite a 4.38% revenue increase. There were bright spots — Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (No. 89) grew revenue 8.16% with net income up 44.27%, and Conagra Brands, Inc. (No. 119) posted a 231.91% net income change — but they were the exception.

A Familiar Top 10, With One New Face

Stability defined the upper ranks:

"Nine of the top 10 food & beverage companies also made the top 10 in 2025."

The single change came via consolidation:

"Hormel Foods moved into the top 10 following Kellanova’s acquisition by Mars and subsequent delisting from the NYSE."

New Entrants at the Tail of the List

"Several companies made it onto this year’s 500 list after not making the cut last year, including Freshpet, Inc. (No. 460), John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (No. 458) and Westrock Coffee Company (No. 447)."

Freshpet, Inc. arrived with momentum: revenue up 13.01% and net income up 196.51%. Westrock Coffee Company posted a 39.76% revenue increase, though with a net income change of -12.64%. Elsewhere in the list, Celsius Holdings, Inc. (No. 332) recorded the sector's strongest revenue growth at 85.54%, and Primo Brands Corporation (No. 182) grew revenue 29.34% with net income up 466.46%.

Fewer Companies, Tougher Economics

The sector's footprint on the 500 is shrinking:

"Just 34 food & beverage companies made this year’s list, down from 40 in 2025."

"Seven of the 34 companies recorded revenue decreases."

"22 of the 34 companies recorded net income decreases."

For manufacturing professionals watching the sector, the message is clear — demand is holding, but converting that demand into profit has become markedly harder.