Pepsi Results Beat Street, Soda Sales Down in U.S.

PepsiCo sold more snacks and drinks in the second quarter than people thought. Profit came in at $1.29 a share, that's a cent better than a year ago and beat estimates. Revenue grew 0.5% to $16.9 billion, which was better than expectations. Fewer sodas were sold in the closely watched North America region, but globally, when you take into account all beverages and snacks, volume was up 1%. That's a modest gain, but Pepsi wants to boost the bottom line with an internal cost cutting plan, and it expects to save $1 billion this year. CEO Indra Nooyi said because of the strong results and cost cutting effort, the company said it was raising fiscal 2014 core earnings growth estimates from 7% to 8%. Pepsi expects to benefit greatly from Lay's "Do Us a Flavor" contest. CFO Hugh Johnston said the special flavors are more profitable because they put "an ounce or two less" into the bags. TheStreet's Julia Sun reports from New York.