PepsiCo is scheduled to give its Q4 earnings review via live webcast on Thursday February 8, 2007. The PepsiCo website states that "the live webcast will be accessible through PepsiCo's website at http://www.pepsico.com, and will be archived for replay at the same website for a period of 14 days."

Based on estimates which PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) reaffirmed on October 20, 2006 in this press announcement, PepsiCo is expecting EPS of at least $3.31 prior to the effects of a completed tax settlement and a fourth quarter restructuring of manufacturing flow. PepsiCo states that core EPS should be at least $2.98. I'm expecting a penny or two more. The general consensus on investment blogs and message boards is that PepsiCo is doing well and will continue to do so. There's even some dialog about a stock split if PepsiCo reaches and holds $70 a share.

For third quarter 2006 PepsiCo had an impressive gain of 73% in EPS over the previous year but that was due in part to tax effects involved in the repatriation of cash in the year 2005. PepsiCo stated; "Excluding the impact of the prior year tax charge, EPS increased 12%.

An item of very significant interest is the fact that PepsiCo now offers a direct stock purchase plan via The Bank of New York. For as little as $260 you may now open an investment account and purchase PepsiCo shares. After your initial investment you may then add funds in increments as small as $50, and you may even set up your account for automatic monthly deposits. The fees associated with the Pepsico direct share purchase plan are almost non-existent. Review the purchase plan booklet I've linked to. I think you'll be pleased. They, with the assistance of Bank of New York, have made it very easy and inexpensive for you to become a share holder of the company. It's a situation which I myself plan to become involved with.

Playing into my declaration that water is a word for investors to watch for this year, PepsiCo will be pushing a new variation on its Aquafina brand. Aquafina Alive is a vitamin and flavor enhanced water which will be available in three flavor combinations.

Gary E. Sattler intends to take a position in Pepsico this year.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

My problem with MySpace (other than your garden-variety identity theft) has always been its lack of monetization. Sure, I've said, the site is ridiculously popular. But where's the revenue? Today's BusinessWeek may have the answer.

MySpace, it appears, has unveiled a plan to partner with Shawn Fanning's latest foray into music sharing, Snocap. They'll be bringing music from indie musicians directly to fans and, you'd imagine, taking a cut in the process. It's at once brilliant and obvious: no one has taken advantage of (dare I say: "exploited") the fanboy/fangirl nature of the MySpace audience so well as bands, from the up-and-coming to also-rans. My youngest sister and my babysitter are active both in the indie music scene and in MySpace, and their iPods are always stuffed full of whatever new undiscovered tune found on the site.

Jupiter senior analyst David Card is quoted as saying he's skeptical, and our digital music expert at Download Squad agrees, "I don't see MySpace unseating the iTunes Music Store from its throne with this new offering." No, and yet that's not where this is going (Joe from Techdirt agrees): it's about monetizing the one thing MySpace has done really, really well: connect teensy bands with their groups of rabid fans. And those connections aren't going away.