Ramon LaGuarta, PepsiCo CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the business optimism around a new Trump administration, where deregulation will help Pepsi's business and much more.

Washington

Donald Trump is preparing to take office after defeating Kamala Harris in the U.S. Presidential election.

U.S. Presidential Elect

PepsiCo CEO Ramon LaGuarta has expressed optimism about the impact of a new administration led by Donald Trump on consumer confidence and business operations. He believes the administration's pro-growth policies, particularly deregulation, will benefit companies like PepsiCo. LaGuarta anticipates that the reduction of taxes and regulatory bottlenecks will enhance operational efficiency in the United States, a significant market for PepsiCo.

LaGuarta has noted a bifurcated consumer landscape globally and in the U.S., with some sectors thriving while others face difficulties. He attributes this division to varying degrees of economic success among the consumer base. Despite these challenges, he remains optimistic about overall consumer spending, citing factors such as low unemployment, wage growth, and decelerating inflation.

LaGuarta also discussed the current state of food inflation, observing that inflation levels have moderated, allowing the company to manage prices more effectively. He emphasized the importance of offering value through portion sizes, entry-point pricing, and innovative products to meet diverse consumer needs. LaGuarta remains confident in PepsiCo's ability to adapt its portfolio and marketing practices to fulfill these demands.



PepsiCo CEO says Trump administration will help consumer confidence

And joining me now is PepsiCo CEO Ramon LaGuardia. Nice to see you again. See you Sarah. I was talking about the optimism that I think is palpable here on the ground around a new Trump administration for you. Do you expect it to yield higher consumer confidence and spending. I think I think the Trump administration is going to be pro growth. It's going to you know help consumers feel better. I think consumer confidence is a factor. And also for us as companies deregulation will help us. Hopefully you know there's a reduction of taxes and as well that would help us operate more efficiently in the U.S. and you know the U.S. is a critical market for us. And everything that happens in the U.S. impacts PepsiCo at a grand scale. Where do you think deregulation will help. I think deregulation in general is good for business where we're having we're having too many bottlenecks for expanding our business in some particular areas from permitting to others. I think reporting is also an opportunity as we simplify our company. So we believe that deregulation will help us be a more efficient company and with that we can reinvest that money into other parts of the business. How is the consumer doing. You mentioned that you're you're hopeful that we'll see a boost in confidence. Growth has been pretty solid. How do you characterize the state of the consumer right now. We were optimistic by the consumer in general around the world. We're seeing inflation decelerating in most of the market. So OK it's two to 3 percent. That's that's much lower than it was in the past. We've seen wages continue to grow. Unemployment very low across the board. So that makes us feel confident about the consumer. However we're seeing in the U.S. particular and some other markets globally bifurcation. We're seeing part of the consumer base that is doing very well. And they're obviously you know spending in services spending in entertainment spending in experiences. But we're seeing other parts of the consumer that is not doing so well. I mean and this may be in the U.S. 30 40 percent of the families that are struggling to get to the end of the month. So clearly for companies in the consumer space like us we have to have multiple strategies. We have to continue to give value to consumers in terms of portion sizes or entry points or value packs. At the same time we need to continue to innovate because the consumer is ready to pay for more. When you offer functionality when you offer convenience when you are for health and wellness opportunities. So we're playing on both. And you know that we're optimistic. We think that as a company we've always been good at evolving our portfolio evolving our marketing practices and that that will do well for you. Mention that food inflation is down. So we back to normal levels because you and all your competitors were at this place where prices were rising double digits. Packages were shrinking. Is that over. I think it's over. It's over. Actually 24 was we had much lower inflation. Our raw materials still labor was a little bit higher. I would say we're in a place where we can manage this as we were doing in the past food productivity. We can we can reduce inflation in our in our cost structures and therefore we don't need to increase prices in this in those unaffordable ways. And I think that will help consumers. Obviously consumers will get used. They're getting used to new price levels and we can see in some segments that consumption is picking up as well.

Analysts say the discussions could be pivotal in clarifying U.S. intentions, easing tensions and reinforcing commitments to Greenland’s sovereignty in the face of strategic interests from Washington.

Denmark and Greenland ministers to meet Rubio and Vance at White House

Former Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni, who also served as the president of soccer club AC Ajaccio, was shot dead in Corsica on January 11 during his mother’s funeral. He was 71. Alain Orsoni was one of the leaders of the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in the 1980s. He later founded and led the Movement for Self-Determination (MPA).

Vero

Ex-Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni killed at mother's funeral

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who needs to have a graft conviction overturned to seize her best chance at the French presidency, risks seeing her life's work upended if she loses her appeal. It comes after a French court last year barred her from running for office for five years over a European Parliament fake-jobs scam involving her and other officials from her National Rally party.

Paris

Marine Le Pen's appeal in EU fund embezzlement case opens in Paris

British regulators are investigating X for lewd AI images generated by Grok, the AI arm of Elon Musk's social platform. Michael Goodyear, an associate professor at New York Law School, joins CBS News with more.

London

UK investigating Musk's X over Grok's AI-generated images

As U.S. President Donald Trump weighs a response to Iran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, Iranian leaders say they are still keeping communications open with the Americans. But on January 12, large pro-government rallies took place across Iran, and the U.S. was clearly framed as the enemy and instigator of the protests.

Tehran

Iranian leaders mobilise supporters as U.S. weighs intervention

Last week an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent shot and killed Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother who was observing a law enforcement action carried out by the agency.

Minnesota

Minnesota sues federal government to prevent further ICE deployment

The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years. Protests spurred by the Iranian currency collapse have morphed into a larger test of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule.

Trump weighs military action against Iran over protest crackdown

President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to safeguard Mexican sovereignty while cooperating with the US on key issues.

Mexico City

Mexico’s Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s threat of strikes on drug cartels

President Donald Trump said that any country which does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

Trump says nations trading with Iran will face 25% U.S. tariffs

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country is ready for war but also for dialogue, after US President Donald Trump said the US is considering ‘very strong options’ in response to Iran’s crackdown on antigovernment protests.

Iran FM Araghchi warns ready for war if U.S. wants to ‘test’ it

Britain will bring into effect a law criminalizing the creation of non-consensual intimate images this week, technology minister Liz Kendall told parliament after regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X.

UK investigates Musk's X over Grok sexual deepfakes

Iran's internet was cut off late last Thursday, apparently in an attempt by government authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and uploading videos for the outside world to see.

Iran enforcing nationwide internet blackout amid protests

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, amid concerns that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a two-day visit. Merz is traveling with a large business delegation as Germany seeks to deepen economic and security ties.

New Delhi

Germany's Merz makes first official visit to India

At the first major awards show of the season, "One Battle After Another" and "Adolescence" both won four awards. In a surprise win, "Hamnet" upset "Sinners" for best motion picture for a drama.

Los Angeles

"One Battle After Another," "Adolescence" win big at Golden Globes

Fallout from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement officer in Minneapolis continues with government officials standing by the action and ordering more ICE officers into the city.

Minneapolis

Hundreds more ICE agents headed to Minneapolis after fatal shooting

Powell said the investigation, linked to a testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Fed buildings, was an attempt to limit central bank independence.

U.S. opens criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Protests continue in Iran amid a violent government crackdown. Activists say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. President Trump says Iran now wants to negotiate to prevent a U.S. military response.

Trump says Iran 'wants to negotiate' as protests intensify

President Trump says Iranian leaders have reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, as massive protests continue and more deaths are reported by activists.

Trump weighs military option in Iran amid rising death toll

President Trump has been briefed on new military options for a strike against Iran amid widespread protests and a government crackdown on communications for Iranians, a senior U.S. official tells CBS News. "We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts," he said at the White House.

Trump briefed on new military options for Iran strikes amid protests

Demonstrations in Iran are now entering their third week and the death toll is surging with hundreds killed, according to a human rights group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the Islamic regime will "not back down" in the face of the growing social unrest and calls for regime change.

Protests in Iran intensifying despite threat of death for dissidents

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Victoria

'Gut-wrenching': Australian bushfires expected to burn for weeks

Anti-government protests in Iran show no sign of stopping. Human rights groups are putting the death toll at 116 with 2600 detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed U.S. support for the protesters.

Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

Iran's army is threatening to join the crackdown on protesters as demonstrations against the regime grow and the death toll mounts. Huge crowds have taken to the streets across the Islamic Republic. Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls them "terrorists." Haley Ott has more details.

Iran's army threatens to join crackdown against protesters

President Trump said, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," earlier this week. But Greenland, a territory of Denmark and a NATO ally, is rejecting the threats.

Nuuk

Greenland rejects Trump's threats

Trump, who often cites national security interests as the reason for taking Greenland, said that if the US does not do something, 'Russia or China will take over Greenland'.

Trump says U.S will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

Protests across the U.S., including in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Miami, are taking place following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Police declared the demonstrations in downtown Minneapolis an 'unlawful assembly'.

Philadelphia

Protests spread across the U.S. over ICE shooting of woman

Internet and phone lines in Iran have been cut off as anti-government protests enter their second week. Reports say at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 others detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of a possible U.S. response to the government crackdown.

Internet blackout in Iran enters second day as protests intensify

Rescue workers are trying to find dozens of people trapped under a collapsed landfill in the Philippines. At least four people have been confirmed dead. The incident took place on Thursday, with more than 100 workers on site at the time.

See The Full Story

U.S. Presidential Elect