PepsiCo, Inc. PEP reported second-quarter 2018 results, wherein earnings topped estimates while sales lagged. Notably, this marked the ninth consecutive quarter of positive earnings surprise. The improvement was mainly attributable to strong performances in its international divisions, propelled by higher revenue growth in developing and emerging markets.PepsiCo’s shares have risen nearly 4% in the pre-trading session, following the earnings release. Overall, the company’s shares have lost 10.1% in the last three months, wider than the industry’s 5% decline.EarningsPepsiCo’s second-quarter core earnings per share (EPS) of $1.61 beat the consensus mark of $1.51 per share by 6.6% and increased 8% year over year. In constant-currency terms, adjusted earnings improved 7% from the year-ago period.Pepsico, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Pepsico, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Pepsico, Inc. QuoteCore earnings exclude restructuring and impairment charges, and commodity mark-to-market net impact. The company reported earnings of $1.28 per share, reflecting a decline of 13% year over year. The foreign exchange translation had a positive impact of 1 percentage point on reported EPS.SalesNet revenues of $16,090 million increased 2.4% from the year-ago level. Foreign exchange (Fx) had 1 percentage point positive impact on revenue growth. However, reported revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16,125 million.Excluding the impact of Fx, revenues increased 2.6% on an organic basis, primarily driven by strength in the majority of the company’s businesses, particularly international divisions that gained from persistent growth in emerging and developing markets. Among these, Latin America; Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA); Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA); and Frito-Lay North America (FLNA) segments reported organic revenue growth in the second quarter.Total volume grew 1% in the reported quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter. While organic snacks/food volume increased 1% (a declined from 3% growth witnessed in the first quarter), beverage volume rose 0.5% (versus 1% decline in the first quarter).Segment DetailsRevenues decreased 1% at the North America Beverages (NAB) segment, 2% in AMENA and 5% in QFNA. Meanwhile, the company’s revenues improved 11% in ESSA, 1% in Latin America and 4% in FLNA segments.Operating profits (on a reported basis) decreased 16% for NAB and 11% for ESSA segments. However, the same grew 18% for Latin America, 5% for FLNA and 61% for AMENA segments. Meanwhile, operating profit remained unchanged at the QFNA division.MarginsCore gross margin contracted 35 basis points (bps) while core operating margin expanded 5 bps.FinancialsThe company ended second-quarter 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $13,858 million, long-term debt of $30,638 million and shareholders’ equity of $10,221 million.Net cash used for operating activities was $1,087 million in the second quarter, compared with $2,251 million in the year-ago quarter.Reaffirms 2018 GuidancePepsiCo expects full-year organic revenue growth (excluding headwinds from currency and structural changes) to be approximately 2.3%, in line with the 2017 level. Currency is projected to have a neutral effect on top and bottom lines.PepsiCo expects core EPS of $5.70, reflecting 9% growth from earnings of $5.23 per share in 2017.Further, management plans to return $7 billion to shareholders through dividends worth $5 billion and share repurchases worth $2 billion. Free cash flow is estimated at around $6 billion. Operating cash flow is expected to be nearly $9 billion, with net capital spending of $3.6 billion.The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Upcoming Peer ReleasesThe Coca-Cola Company KO is scheduled to report quarterly results on Jul 25.Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. DPS is expected to report quarterly results on Jul 26.Monster Beverage Corp. MNST is expected to report quarterly results on Aug 14.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Coca-Cola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc (DPS): Free Stock Analysis Report Pepsico, Inc. (PEP): Free Stock Analysis Report Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.