Back in the 1990s, Pepsi's (PEP) loyalty program "Drink Pepsi, get stuff" was all the rage. These days, it's more like "Buy Pepsi, get richer." Shares have popped in 2014 as the food and beverage giant has reported strong earnings fueled by growth in developing markets overseas.
Hedge fund titan Nelson Peltz is also helping generate buzz about the stock. The activist investor has been aggressively lobbying Pepsi to spin off its beverage unit. Though Peltz has been rebuffed by Pepsi so far, he claims he's met with around 100 of the company's major shareholders and has indicated that a proxy contest is possible.
