Shares of PepsiCo have lost -8.8% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Soft Beverages industry's decline of -15.2%, due to its robust surprise trend. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Bank of America (BAC), PepsiCo (PEP) and Union Pacific (UNP). However, PepsiCo is witnessing strained margins for quite some time due to operating and commodity cost inflation, including higher transportation costs and stepped-up advertising expense.