A PYMNTS Company

FTC Drops Antitrust Case Accusing Pepsi of Squeezing Small Retailers

By  |  May 22, 2025

The Federal Trade Commission has officially dismissed a lawsuit against PepsiCo that had been filed during the final days of Chair Lina Khan’s leadership under the Biden administration. The case, which invoked a rarely used antitrust statute, accused the beverage giant of engaging in discriminatory pricing practices that disadvantaged small retailers, according to Sherwood.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The legal action had centered on allegations that PepsiCo gave preferential pricing to large national chains while offering less favorable terms to smaller, independent stores. The suit was filed under the Robinson-Patman Act, a law dating back to the 1930s designed to prevent large-scale buyers from receiving unfair pricing advantages over smaller competitors. This law has seen little use in recent decades, with the FTC last employing it in 2000, per Sherwood.

    The commission’s current chair, Andrew Ferguson, criticized the previous administration’s decision to pursue the case, labeling it a misuse of agency resources. “The Biden-Harris FTC rushed to authorize this case just three days before President Trump’s inauguration in a nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law,” Ferguson said in a statement.

    Read more: PepsiCo Sued Over Alleged Price Discrimination Involving Walmart

    PepsiCo’s stock remained largely unaffected by the decision, closing virtually flat on the day the dismissal was announced.

    The FTC’s move to drop the case reflects a broader shift in enforcement priorities under new leadership and highlights the agency’s ongoing debate over how aggressively to pursue legacy antitrust statutes. According to Sherwood, this case marked an unusual attempt to revive Robinson-Patman enforcement, signaling what some critics saw as a politically charged initiative rather than a legally grounded effort.

    Source: Sherwood