Last Updated on 10/12/2021 by GS Staff
Is Lay’s Publicly Traded?
Lay’s is not publicly traded as a standalone company. You cannot purchase shares of this potato chip brand through a broker. Furthermore, it does not have a share price or stock symbol. You can, however, invest in the parent company of Lay’s as we will explain later.
Who Owns Lay’s?
Lay’s is a brand of Frito-Lay. Frito-Lay was formed when H.W. Lay & Company merged with the Frito Company in 1961. The two businesses had manufacturing and distributing agreements since 1945 so they were no strangers to each other prior to the merger. The combined Frito-Lay Inc. brought in roughly $127 million in revenues at the time of the merger that came mostly from its primary brands consisting of Fritos, Lay’s, Ruffles, and Cheetos.
In 1965, Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay merged to establish PepsiCo. Today, Frito-Lay remains a subsidiary of Pepsi and is the largest snack food company in the world. Frito-Lay had $12.2 billion in sales as of July 27, 2020. Lay’s alone is bringing in approximately $2 billion in revenues for the subsidiary.
How to Invest in Lay’s?
You cannot solely invest in Lay’s since it is owned by PepsiCo. However, you can invest in PepsiCo. PepsiCo trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol PEP. Shares are readily available through most online brokers in the United States.
Be aware that PepsiCo is much larger than just Lay’s and Pepsi. Don’t invest in PepsiCo simply because you love these two brands. Complete your own proper due diligence before investing and/or seek professional financial advice when needed.
PepsiCo Brands
While the below list does not include every PepsiCo brand, it will give you a decent idea of what the company owns. We divided the brands into the three primary divisions of PepsiCo: Frito-Lay, Quaker Foods, and PepsiCo Beverages.
Frito-Lay
- Doritos
- Cheetos
- Fritos
- Lay’s
- Ruffles
- Tostitos
- Rold Gold
- Sun Chips
- Munchies
- Cracker Jack
- Smartfood
- Stacy’s
- Matador Meat Snacks
Quaker Foods
- Aunt Jemina (Now Pearl Milling Company)
- Life cereal
- Cap ‘n Crunch
- Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
- Quaker Oatmeal
- Rice-A-Roni
- Quaker Rice Cakes
- Quaker Muesli
- Quisp
PepsiCo Beverages
- Pepsi
- Mountain Dew
- Sierra Mist
- Mug Root Beer
- Gatorade
- Aquafina
- Rockstar Energy Drink
- AMP Energy Drink
- Propel
- Tropicana
In addition to the above divisions, the company also operates Latin America, Europe, AMESA (Africa, Middle East, South Asia) divisions. Visit Pepsico.com to view all brand information.
Will There Ever Be a Lay’s stock?
It is doubtful that there will be a Lay’s stock in the future since Lay’s is one of PepsiCo’s prized brands. They likely desire to keep the brand as an important piece of the Frito-Lay snack food portfolio to help boost the bottom line.
A more likely scenario would be for PepsiCo to spin off Frito-Lay into its own company and subsequently create a new stock for the snack food company. However, we have no indication that this event will ever happen. Again, you should expect Lay’s to remain a part of PepsiCo for the foreseeable future.
Final Thoughts
Lay’s is one of the most popular and iconic snacks in America. It makes sense that individuals would desire to invest in this brand. Unfortunately, there is no way to directly invest in Lay’s. You can invest in PepsiCo, which owns Lay’s, however, the company is complex with numerous brands, and divisions, including extensive international operations. Be sure to completely understand the business before investing in PepsiCo.
Sources:
1. Frito-Lay. CompaniesHistory.com – The largest companies and brands in the world. (2020, November 20). Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.companieshistory.com/frito-lay/.
2. Forbes Magazine. (n.d.). Frito-Lay. Forbes. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/companies/frito-lay/?sh=199492d130bf.anieshistory.com/frito-lay/.
3. Image Credit – Damian Gadal/flickr
