Item 1. Business.

When used in this report, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “PepsiCo” and the “Company” mean PepsiCo, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, collectively. Certain terms used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are defined in the Glossary included in Item 7. of this report.

Company Overview

We were incorporated in Delaware in 1919 and reincorporated in North Carolina in 1986. We are a leading global food and beverage company with a complementary portfolio of enjoyable brands, including Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. Through our operations, authorized bottlers, contract manufacturers and other third parties, we make, market, distribute and sell a wide variety of convenient and enjoyable beverages, foods and snacks, serving customers and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories.

Our Operations

We are organized into six reportable segments (also referred to as divisions), as follows:

1)	Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), which includes our branded food and snack businesses in the United States and Canada;

2)	Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), which includes our cereal, rice, pasta and other branded food businesses in the United States and Canada;

3)	North America Beverages (NAB), which includes our beverage businesses in the United States and Canada;

4)	Latin America, which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Latin America;

5)	Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa; and

6)	Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA), which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Asia, Middle East and North Africa.

Our segment net revenue (in millions) and contributions to consolidated net revenue for each of the last three fiscal years were as follows:

	Net Revenue												% of Total Net Revenue
	2017				2016(a)				2015				2017			2016			2015
FLNA	$	15,798			$	15,549			$	14,782			25	%		25	%		23	%
QFNA	2,503				2,564				2,543				4			4			4
NAB	20,936				21,312				20,618				33			34			33
Latin America	7,208				6,820				8,228				11			11			13
ESSA	11,050				10,216				10,510				17			16			17
AMENA	6,030				6,338				6,375				10			10			10
	$	63,525			$	62,799			$	63,056			100	%		100	%		100	%

(a)	Our fiscal 2016 results included an extra week of results (53rd reporting week). The 53rd reporting week increased 2016 net revenue by $657 million, including $294 million in our FLNA segment, $43 million in our QFNA segment, $300 million in our NAB segment and $20 million in our ESSA segment.

See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for financial information about our divisions and geographic areas. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors” below for a discussion of certain risks associated with our operations, including outside the United States.

Frito-Lay North America

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, FLNA makes, markets, distributes and sells branded snack foods. These foods include branded dips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips, Lay’s potato chips, Ruffles potato chips, Santitas tortilla chips and Tostitos tortilla chips. FLNA’s branded products are sold to independent distributors and retailers. In addition, FLNA’s joint venture with Strauss Group makes, markets, distributes and sells Sabra refrigerated dips and spreads.

Quaker Foods North America

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, QFNA makes, markets, distributes and sells cereals, rice, pasta and other branded products. QFNA’s products include Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap’n Crunch cereal, Life cereal, Quaker Chewy granola bars, Quaker grits, Quaker oat squares, Quaker oatmeal, Quaker rice cakes, Quaker simply granola and Rice-A-Roni side dishes. These branded products are sold to independent distributors and retailers.

North America Beverages

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, NAB makes, markets and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including Aquafina, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, Mist Twst, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Propel and Tropicana. NAB also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea and coffee products through joint ventures with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name) and Starbucks, respectively. Further, NAB manufactures and distributes certain brands licensed from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPSG), including Crush, Dr Pepper and Schweppes, and certain juice brands licensed from Dole Food Company, Inc. (Dole) and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (Ocean Spray). NAB operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities and sells branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. NAB also sells concentrate and finished goods for our brands to authorized and independent bottlers, who in turn sell our branded finished goods to independent distributors and retailers in certain markets.

Latin America

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, Latin America makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of snack food brands including Cheetos, Doritos, Emperador, Lay’s, Marias Gamesa, Rosquinhas Mabel, Ruffles, Sabritas, Saladitas and Tostitos, as well as many Quaker-branded cereals and snacks. Latin America also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, H2oh!, Manzanita Sol, Mirinda, Pepsi and Toddy. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. Latin America also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name).

See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for information about the deconsolidation of our Venezuelan subsidiaries, which was effective as of the end of the third quarter of 2015.

Europe Sub-Saharan Africa

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, ESSA makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading snack food brands including Cheetos, Chipita, Doritos, Lay’s, Ruffles and Walkers, as well as many Quaker-branded cereals and snacks, through consolidated businesses as well as through noncontrolled affiliates. ESSA also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Diet Pepsi, Mirinda, Pepsi, Pepsi Max and Tropicana. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. In certain markets, however, ESSA operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities. ESSA also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name). In addition, ESSA makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading dairy products including Agusha, Chudo and Domik v Derevne.

Asia, Middle East and North Africa

Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, AMENA makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading snack food brands including Cheetos, Chipsy, Crunchy, Doritos, Kurkure and Lay’s, as well as many Quaker branded cereals and snacks, through consolidated businesses, as well as through noncontrolled affiliates. AMENA also makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Tropicana. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. In certain markets, however, AMENA operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities. AMENA also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name). Further, we license the Tropicana brand for use in China on co-branded juice products in connection with a strategic alliance with Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. (Tingyi).

Our Distribution Network

Our products are primarily brought to market through direct-store-delivery (DSD), customer warehouse and distributor networks. The distribution system used depends on customer needs, product characteristics and local trade practices.

Direct-Store-Delivery

We, our independent bottlers and our distributors operate DSD systems that deliver beverages, foods and snacks directly to retail stores where the products are merchandised by our employees or our independent bottlers. DSD enables us to merchandise with maximum visibility and appeal. DSD is especially well-suited

to products that are restocked often and respond to in-store promotion and merchandising.

Customer Warehouse

Some of our products are delivered from our manufacturing plants and warehouses to customer warehouses. These less costly systems generally work best for products that are less fragile and perishable, and have lower turnover.

Distributor Networks

We distribute many of our products through third-party distributors. Third-party distributors are particularly effective when greater distribution reach can be achieved by including a wide range of products on the delivery vehicles. For example, our foodservice and vending business distributes beverages, foods and snacks to restaurants, businesses, schools and stadiums through third-party foodservice and vending distributors and operators.

Our products are also available on a growing number of e-commerce websites and mobile commerce applications as consumer consumption patterns continue to change and retail increasingly expands online.

Ingredients and Other Supplies

The principal ingredients we use in our beverage, food and snack products are apple, orange and pineapple juice and other juice concentrates, aspartame, corn, corn sweeteners, flavorings, flour, grapefruit, oranges and other fruits, oats, potatoes, raw milk, rice, seasonings, sucralose, sugar, vegetable and essential oils, and wheat. We also use water in the manufacturing of our products. Our key packaging materials include plastic resins, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene resins used for plastic beverage bottles and film packaging used for snack foods, aluminum used for cans, glass bottles, closures, cardboard and paperboard cartons. Fuel, electricity and natural gas are also important commodities for our businesses due to their use in our and our business partners’ facilities and the vehicles delivering our products. We employ specialists to secure adequate supplies of many of these items and have not experienced any significant continuous shortages that would prevent us from meeting our requirements. Many of these ingredients, raw materials and commodities are purchased in the open market. The prices we pay for such items are subject to fluctuation, and we manage this risk through the use of fixed-price contracts and purchase orders, pricing agreements and derivative instruments, including swaps and futures. In addition, risk to our supply of certain raw materials is mitigated through purchases from multiple geographies and suppliers. When prices increase, we may or may not pass on such increases to our customers. In addition, we continue to make investments to improve the sustainability and resources of our agricultural supply chain, including the development of our initiative to advance sustainable farming practices by our suppliers and expanding it globally. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on how we manage our exposure to commodity costs.

Our Brands and Intellectual Property Rights

We own numerous valuable trademarks which are essential to our worldwide businesses, including Agusha, Amp Energy, Aquafina, Aquafina Flavorsplash, Aunt Jemima, Cap’n Crunch, Cheetos, Chester’s, Chipsy, Chokis, Chudo, Cracker Jack, Crunchy, Diet Mist Twst, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Mug, Diet Pepsi, Diet 7UP (outside the United States), Domik v Derevne, Doritos, Duyvis, Elma Chips, Emperador, Frito-Lay, Fritos, Fruktovy Sad, G2, Gamesa, Gatorade, Grandma’s, H2oh!, Imunele, Izze, J-7 Tonus, Kas, KeVita, Kurkure, Lay’s, Life, Lifewtr, Lifewater, Lubimy, Manzanita Sol, Marias Gamesa, Matutano, Mirinda, Miss Vickie’s, Mist Twst, Mother’s, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew Kickstart, Mug, Munchies, Naked, Near East, O.N.E., Paso de los Toros, Pasta Roni, Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Next, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Propel, Quaker, Quaker Chewy, Rice-A-Roni, Rold Gold, Rosquinhas Mabel, Ruffles, Sabritas, Sakata, Saladitas, Sandora, Santitas, 7UP (outside the United States), 7UP Free (outside the United States), Simba, Smartfood, Smith’s, Snack a Jacks, SoBe, SoBe Lifewater, Sonric’s, Stacy’s, Sting, SunChips, Toddy,

Toddynho, Tostitos, Trop 50, Tropicana, Tropicana Farmstand, Tropicana Pure Premium, Tropicana Twister, V Water, Vesely Molochnik, Walkers and Ya. We also hold long-term licenses to use valuable trademarks in connection with our products in certain markets, including Dole and Ocean Spray. We also distribute Rockstar Energy drinks, Muscle Milk protein shakes and various DPSG brands, including Dr Pepper in certain markets, Crush and Schweppes. Joint ventures in which we have an ownership interest either own or have the right to use certain trademarks, such as Lipton, Sabra and Starbucks. Trademarks remain valid so long as they are used properly for identification purposes, and we emphasize correct use of our trademarks. We have authorized, through licensing arrangements, the use of many of our trademarks in such contexts as snack food joint ventures and beverage bottling appointments. In addition, we license the use of our trademarks on merchandise that is sold at retail, which enhances brand awareness.

We either own or have licenses to use a number of patents which relate to certain of our products, their packaging, the processes for their production and the design and operation of various equipment used in our businesses. Some of these patents are licensed to others.

Seasonality

Our businesses are affected by seasonal variations. For instance, our beverage sales are higher during the warmer months and certain food and dairy sales are higher in the cooler months. Weekly beverage and snack sales are generally highest in the third quarter due to seasonal and holiday-related patterns, and generally lowest in the first quarter. However, taken as a whole, seasonality has not had a material impact on our consolidated financial results.

Our Customers

Our customers include wholesale and other distributors, foodservice customers, grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores, discount/dollar stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, hard discounters, e-commerce retailers and authorized independent bottlers, among others. We normally grant our independent bottlers exclusive contracts to sell and manufacture certain beverage products bearing our trademarks within a specific geographic area. These arrangements provide us with the right to charge our independent bottlers for concentrate, finished goods and Aquafina royalties and specify the manufacturing process required for product quality. We also grant distribution rights to our independent bottlers for certain beverage products bearing our trademarks for specified geographic areas.

We rely on and provide financial incentives to our customers to assist in the distribution and promotion of our products to the consumer. For our independent distributors and retailers, these incentives include volume-based rebates, product placement fees, promotions and displays. For our independent bottlers, these incentives are referred to as bottler funding and are negotiated annually with each bottler to support a variety of trade and consumer programs, such as consumer incentives, advertising support, new product support, and vending and cooler equipment placement. Consumer incentives include coupons, pricing discounts and promotions, and other promotional offers. Advertising support is directed at advertising programs and supporting independent bottler media. New product support includes targeted consumer and retailer incentives and direct marketplace support, such as point-of-purchase materials, product placement fees, media and advertising. Vending and cooler equipment placement programs support the acquisition and placement of vending machines and cooler equipment. The nature and type of programs vary annually.

Changes to the retail landscape, including increased consolidation of retail ownership, the rapid growth of sales through e-commerce websites and mobile commerce applications, the integration of physical and digital operations among retailers, as well as the growth in hard discounters, and the current economic environment continue to increase the importance of major customers. In 2017, sales to Walmart Inc. (Walmart), including Sam’s Club (Sam’s), represented approximately 13% of our consolidated net revenue. Our top five retail customers represented approximately 33% of our 2017 net revenue in North America, with Walmart (including

Sam’s) representing approximately 19%. These percentages include concentrate sales to our independent bottlers, which were used in finished goods sold by them to these retailers.

See “Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements” in “Our Financial Results – Our Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for more information on our independent bottlers.

Our Competition

Our beverage, food and snack products are in highly competitive categories and markets and compete against products of international beverage, food and snack companies that, like us, operate in multiple geographies, as well as regional, local and private label manufacturers, economy brands and other competitors. In many countries in which our products are sold, including the United States, The Coca-Cola Company is our primary beverage competitor. Other beverage, food and snack competitors include, but are not limited to, DPSG, Kellogg Company, The Kraft Heinz Company, Mondelēz International, Inc., Monster Beverage Corporation, Nestlé S.A., Red Bull GmbH and Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.

Many of our food and snack products hold significant leadership positions in the food and snack industry in the United States and worldwide. In 2017, we and The Coca-Cola Company represented approximately 23% and 20%, respectively, of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage category by estimated retail sales in measured channels, according to Information Resources, Inc. However, The Coca-Cola Company has significant carbonated soft drink (CSD) share advantage in many markets outside the United States.

Our beverage, food and snack products compete primarily on the basis of brand recognition and loyalty, taste, price, value, quality, product variety, innovation, distribution, advertising, marketing and promotional activity, packaging, convenience, service and the ability to anticipate and effectively respond to consumer preferences and trends, including increased consumer focus on health and wellness and the continued acceleration of e-commerce and other methods of distributing and purchasing products. Success in this competitive environment is dependent on effective promotion of existing products, effective introduction of new products and reformulations of existing products, the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns, marketing programs, product packaging, pricing, increased efficiency in production techniques, new vending and dispensing equipment and brand and trademark development and protection. We believe that the strength of our brands, innovation and marketing, coupled with the quality of our products and flexibility of our distribution network, allows us to compete effectively.

Research and Development

We engage in a variety of research and development activities and invest in innovation globally with the goal of meeting changing consumer demands and preferences and accelerating sustainable growth. These activities principally involve: development of new ingredients, flavors and products; reformulation and improvement in the quality and appeal of existing products; improvement and modernization of manufacturing processes, including cost reduction; improvements in product quality, safety and integrity; development of, and improvements in, dispensing equipment, packaging technology, package design and portion sizes; efforts focused on identifying opportunities to transform, grow and broaden our product portfolio, including by developing products with improved nutrition profiles that reduce added sugars, sodium or saturated fat, including through the use of sweetener alternatives and flavor modifiers and innovation in existing sweeteners, and by offering more products with positive nutrition including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy, protein and hydration; investments in building our capabilities to support our global e-commerce business; and improvements in energy efficiency and efforts focused on reducing our impact on the environment. Our research centers are located around the world, including in Brazil, China, India, Ireland, Mexico, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, and leverage nutrition science, food

science, engineering and consumer insights to meet our strategy to continue to develop nutritious and convenient beverages, foods and snacks.

In 2017, we continued to refine our beverage, food and snack portfolio to meet changing consumer demands by reducing added sugars in many of our beverages and sodium and saturated fat in many of our foods and snacks, and by developing a broader portfolio of product choices, including: continuing to expand our beverage options that contain no high-fructose corn syrup and that are made with natural flavors; expanding our state-of-the-art food and beverage healthy vending initiative to increase the availability of convenient, affordable and enjoyable nutrition; further expanding our portfolio of nutritious products by building on our important nutrition platforms and brands — Quaker (grains), Tropicana (juices, lemonades, fruit and vegetable drinks), Gatorade (sports nutrition for athletes), Naked Juice (cold-pressed juices and smoothies) and KeVita (probiotics, tonics and fermented teas); further expanding our whole grain products globally; and further expanding our portfolio of nutritious products in growing categories, such as dairy, hummus and other refrigerated dips, and baked grain snacks. In addition, we continued to make investments to reduce our impact on the environment, including: efforts to conserve raw materials and energy, such as by working to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across our global businesses, by helping to protect and conserve global water supply especially in high-water-risk locations (including replenishing watersheds that source our operations in high-water-risk locations and promoting the efficient use of water use in our agricultural supply chain), and by incorporating into our operations, improvements in the sustainability and resources of our agricultural supply chain; efforts to reduce waste generated by our operations and disposed of in landfills; efforts to support increased packaging recovery and recycling rates; efforts to increase energy efficiency, including the increased use of renewable energy and resources; efforts to support sustainable agriculture by expanding best practices with our growers and suppliers; and efforts to optimize packaging technology and design to make our packaging increasingly recoverable or recyclable with lower environmental impact, including continuing to invest in developing compostable and biodegradable packaging.

Research and development costs were $737 million, $760 million and $754 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and are reported within selling, general and administrative expenses. Consumer research is excluded from such research and development costs and included in other marketing costs.

Regulatory Matters

The conduct of our businesses, including the production, storage, distribution, sale, display, advertising, marketing, labeling, content, quality, safety, transportation, disposal, recycling and use of our products, as well as our occupational health and safety practices and protection of personal information, are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state and local governmental agencies in the United States, as well as to laws and regulations administered by government entities and agencies in the more than 200 other countries and territories in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold. It is our policy to abide by the laws and regulations around the world that apply to our businesses.

The U.S. laws and regulations that we are subject to include: the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and various state laws governing food safety; the Food Safety Modernization Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; various federal, state and local environmental protection laws, as discussed below; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; the Lanham Act; various federal and state laws and regulations governing competition and trade practices; various federal and state laws and regulations governing our employment practices, including those related to equal employment opportunity, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the National Labor Relations Act and those related to overtime compensation, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act; customs and foreign trade laws and regulations; laws regulating the sale of certain of our products in schools; and laws relating to the payment of taxes. We are also required to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act. We are also subject to various state and local statutes and regulations, including state consumer protection laws such as Proposition 65 in California, which requires that a specific warning appear

on any product that contains a substance listed by the State of California as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects, unless the amount of such substance in the product is below a safe harbor level.

We are also subject to numerous similar and other laws and regulations outside the United States, including but not limited to laws and regulations governing food safety, occupational health and safety, competition, anti-corruption and data privacy. In many jurisdictions, compliance with competition laws is of special importance to us due to our competitive position in those jurisdictions, as is compliance with anti-corruption laws, including the U.K. Bribery Act. We rely on legal and operational compliance programs, as well as in-house and outside counsel and other experts, to guide our businesses in complying with the laws and regulations around the world that apply to our businesses.

In addition, certain jurisdictions have either imposed, or are considering imposing, new or increased taxes on the manufacture, distribution or sale of our products, ingredients or substances contained in, or attributes of, our products or commodities used in the production of our products. These taxes vary in scope and form: some apply to all beverages, including non-caloric beverages, while others apply only to beverages with a caloric sweetener (e.g., sugar). Similarly, some measures apply a single tax rate per liquid ounce while others apply a graduated tax rate depending upon the amount of added sugar in the beverage and some apply a flat tax rate on beverages containing a particular substance or ingredient.

In addition, certain jurisdictions have either imposed, or are considering imposing, product labeling or warning requirements or other limitations on the marketing or sale of certain of our products as a result of ingredients or substances contained in such products or the audience to whom products are marketed. These types of provisions have required that we provide a label that highlights perceived concerns about a product or warns consumers to avoid consumption of certain ingredients or substances present in our products. It is possible that similar or more restrictive requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future. Regulators may also restrict consumers’ ability to use benefit programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the United States, to purchase certain beverages and foods. In addition, legislation has been enacted in certain U.S. states and in certain other countries where our products are sold that requires collection and recycling of containers or that prohibits the sale of our beverages in certain non-refillable containers, unless a deposit, ecotax or other fee is charged. It is possible that similar or more restrictive requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future.

We are also subject to national and local environmental laws in the United States and in foreign countries in which we do business, including laws related to water consumption and treatment, wastewater discharge and air emissions. In the United States, our facilities must comply with the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other federal and state laws regarding handling, storage, release and disposal of wastes generated on-site and sent to third-party owned and operated off-site licensed facilities and our facilities outside the United States must comply with similar laws and regulations. In addition, continuing concern over climate change may result in new or increased legal and regulatory requirements (in or outside of the United States) to reduce or mitigate the potential effects of greenhouse gases, or to limit or impose additional costs on commercial water use due to local water scarcity concerns. Our policy is to abide by all applicable environmental laws and regulations, and we have internal programs in place with respect to our global environmental compliance. We have made, and plan to continue making, necessary expenditures for compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. While these expenditures have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations to date, changes in environmental compliance requirements, and any expenditures necessary to comply with such requirements, could adversely affect our financial performance. In addition, we and our subsidiaries are subject to environmental remediation obligations arising in the normal course of business, as well as remediation and related indemnification obligations in connection with certain historical activities and contractual obligations, including those of businesses acquired by us or our subsidiaries. While these environmental remediation and indemnification

obligations cannot be predicted with certainty, such obligations have not had, and are not expected to have, a material impact on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position.

In addition to the discussion in this section, see also “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Employees

As of December 30, 2017, we and our consolidated subsidiaries employed approximately 263,000 people worldwide, including approximately 113,000 people within the United States. In certain countries, our employment levels are subject to seasonal variations. We or our subsidiaries are party to numerous collective bargaining agreements. We expect that we will be able to renegotiate these collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms when they expire. We believe that relations with our employees are generally good.

Available Information

We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The public may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those documents filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), are also available free of charge on our Internet site at http://www.pepsico.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.

Investors should note that we currently announce material information to our investors and others using filings with the SEC, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts or our corporate website (www.pepsico.com), including news and announcements regarding our financial performance, key personnel, our brands and our business strategy. Information that we post on our corporate website could be deemed material to investors. We encourage investors, the media, our customers, consumers, business partners and others interested in us to review the information we post on these channels. We may from time to time update the list of channels we will use to communicate information that could be deemed material and will post information about any such change on www.pepsico.com. The information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part hereof or incorporated into this or any of our other filings with the SEC.