OTLY vs PEP: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. OTLY and PEP share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined OTLY and PEP exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Oatly Group AB is a plant-based food and drink company best known for popularizing oat milk, alongside a broader range of oat-based products such as barista drinks, frozen treats, yogurt alternatives, spreads, and cooking products. It sells through retail grocery channels and foodservice partners, including coffee shops, and reports across three regions: Europe & International, North America, and Greater China. The company makes money by manufacturing oat base and finished goods and selling them to retailers and foodservice customers, so its results hinge on volume growth, pricing, the cost of oats and production, and how efficiently its factory network runs.

Full OTLY guide

PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, generating roughly $19.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026 across a portfolio that spans Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos and Quaker. Its Frito-Lay snack arm controls more than 60% of the U.S. salty-snacks market and carries operating margins north of 40%, making convenient foods the company's profit engine, while its beverage unit holds the No. 2 spot in U.S. carbonated soft drinks (behind Coca-Cola) and leads sports drinks with Gatorade. Roughly half of revenue comes from foods and the business is spread across North America and fast-growing international markets.

Full PEP guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• OTLY drivers: First full year of positive adjusted EBITDA; Gross margin recovery.
• PEP drivers: Frito-Lay snack moat; Volume recovery and value pricing.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The plant-based category has cooled from its pandemic-era peak as some consumers return to dairy, which pressures volumes across the segment. For PEP, pepsiCo faces several structural headwinds.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick OTLY if you believe its drivers more; PEP if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the OTLY and PEP guides.

OTLY. Reading a turnaround consumer brand like Oatly means watching the trajectory of profitability more than a simple P/E, since the company is not consistently net-profitable. The constructive signals are rising gross margin, the first full year of positive adjusted EBITDA, and slow but positive volume growth; the cautionary signals are the still-large net loss, a heavy debt load relative to a modest cash balance, and the gap between adjusted EBITDA and actual net results. Because the cash runway and financing terms matter to whether the turnaround completes, the balance sheet deserves as much attention as the income statement.

PEP. PepsiCo grew Q1 2026 revenue about 8.5% year over year to roughly $19.4 billion with core EPS near $1.61, beating estimates and expanding operating margin to about 17%. At around $143 (July 2026) the stock sits roughly 15% below its February high near $171 and trades at about 16x forward earnings, below the S&P 500 average, while yielding close to 4%. The valuation reflects a market pricing in slow growth in exchange for defensive stability and reliable income.

Headline figures (approximate, FY2025 results (year ended December 31, 2025) and Q4 2025): OTLY shows revenue (fy2025) ~$862.5M (+4.7% YoY), gross margin (q4 2025) ~34.5%, adjusted ebitda (fy2025) ~$6.8M (first full-year positive), net loss (fy2025) ~$152.8M (narrowed ~24%); PEP shows q1 2026 revenue ~$19.4B, q1 2026 core eps ~$1.61, market cap ~$195B, forward p/e ~16x.

OTLY and PEP are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined OTLY and PEP exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.