Consumer Defensive Sector
90 consumer defensive stocks ranked by market capitalization. Updated October 7, 2026.
The Consumer Defensive sector includes 90 US-listed stocks tracked by MetaCap with a combined market capitalization of $4.25T. As of October 7, 2026, the sector is up 0.19% on the day, based on the XLP sector ETF, outperforming the S&P 500 (-0.25%). The largest companies are Walmart (WMT) at $860.5B, Costco Wholesale (COST) at $417.3B and Coca-Cola (KO) at $369.7B, together 38.8% of the sector's value. Among the companies on this page, 24 of 50 are higher today; JBS N.V. (JBS) is the best performer (+2.45%) and Coca-Cola Consolidated (COKE) the weakest (-2.35%).
Summary generated from market data by MetaCap's automated system. Methodology
About the Consumer Defensive sector
Consumer Defensive covers food, beverages, household products, tobacco and grocery and discount retailers. Demand for essentials is relatively stable, so the sector is often considered defensive and many members pay steady dividends.
Largest consumer defensive stocks by market cap
| # | Symbol | Company | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WMT | Walmart Inc. | 108.14 | +0.87% | 10.36M | $860.55B |
| 2 | COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | 941.35 | +0.61% | 1.21M | $417.27B |
| 3 | KO | Coca-Cola Company (The) | 85.92 | -0.29% | 8.04M | $369.66B |
| 4 | PG | Procter & Gamble Company (The) | 148.42 | +0.01% | 5.43M | $344.73B |
| 5 | PM | Philip Morris International Inc | 192.43 | +1.07% | 2.26M | $299.92B |
| 6 | PEP | PepsiCo Inc. | 123.92 | -1.42% | 9.41M | $169.27B |
| 7 | BUD | Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA Sponsored ADR (Belgium) | 74.75 | -1.16% | 1.50M | $147.18B |
| 8 | UL | Unilever PLC ADR | 61.02 | +0.35% | 2.33M | $131.40B |
| 9 | BTI | British American Tobacco Industries p.l.c. | 53.99 | +1.84% | 2.88M | $116.13B |
| 10 | MO | Altria Group Inc. | 69.43 | +1.28% | 3.94M | $115.92B |
| 11 | MNST | Monster Beverage Corporation | 42.70 | -1.27% | 3.89M | $83.65B |
| 12 | MDLZ | Mondelez International Inc. Class A | 59.55 | -0.12% | 3.77M | $76.00B |
| 13 | CL | Colgate-Palmolive Company | 87.50 | +0.29% | 2.20M | $69.75B |
| 14 | TGT | Target Corporation | 152.64 | -1.10% | 2.02M | $69.34B |
| 15 | ABEV | Ambev S.A. ADR | 3.17 | -1.71% | 23.66M | $48.79B |
| 16 | DEO | Diageo plc | 84.92 | +0.17% | 1.61M | $47.23B |
| 17 | CCEP | Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc | 100.81 | -0.88% | 476.98K | $44.32B |
| 18 | KDP | Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | 30.61 | -1.69% | 3.46M | $41.65B |
| 19 | FMX | Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. | 117.03 | +0.04% | 283.40K | $39.87B |
| 20 | ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | 81.39 | -1.00% | 1.23M | $39.23B |
| 21 | SYY | Sysco Corporation | 76.89 | -0.72% | 864.86K | $37.82B |
| 22 | KR | Kroger Company (The) | 59.51 | +1.87% | 6.50M | $35.14B |
| 23 | EL | Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (The) | 94.76 | +1.50% | 1.27M | $34.33B |
| 24 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc. | 17.61 | +0.11% | 9.46M | $33.82B |
| 25 | HSY | The Hershey Company | 160.93 | +0.08% | 518.93K | $32.33B |
| 26 | KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | 96.91 | +0.14% | 2.14M | $32.23B |
| 27 | DG | Dollar General Corporation | 123.23 | -0.04% | 867.05K | $27.19B |
| 28 | KHC | The Kraft Heinz Company | 21.99 | -0.20% | 9.83M | $26.07B |
| 29 | CHD | Church & Dwight Company Inc. | 97.12 | +0.60% | 778.34K | $23.04B |
| 30 | DLTR | Dollar Tree Inc. | 116.08 | -0.09% | 788.18K | $21.78B |
| 31 | USFD | US Foods Holding Corp. | 96.25 | -0.29% | 561.78K | $20.82B |
| 32 | BG | Bunge Limited | 104.91 | -2.25% | 853.73K | $20.16B |
| 33 | STZ | Constellation Brands Inc. | 117.97 | +1.99% | 4.86M | $20.15B |
| 34 | TSN | Tyson Foods Inc. | 51.81 | -0.31% | 1.84M | $18.23B |
| 35 | GIS | General Mills Inc. | 31.88 | -0.95% | 5.93M | $17.04B |
| 36 | PFGC | Performance Food Group Company | 94.02 | +0.26% | 698.27K | $14.77B |
| 37 | JBS | JBS N.V. Class A | 12.32 | +2.45% | 5.57M | $13.19B |
| 38 | COKE | Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc. | 190.03 | -2.35% | 218.85K | $12.65B |
| 39 | SJM | The J.M. Smucker Company | 116.64 | -0.14% | 417.77K | $12.46B |
| 40 | MKC | McCormick & Company Incorporated | 45.48 | +0.18% | 2.46M | $12.24B |
| 41 | BJ | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. | 95.96 | +0.36% | 945.18K | $12.12B |
| 42 | BF.B | Brown Forman Corporation | 26.13 | -0.83% | 865.93K | $11.99B |
| 43 | HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | 19.61 | -1.38% | 3.81M | $10.79B |
| 44 | MICC | The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. | 16.99 | -1.11% | 575.81K | $10.26B |
| 45 | CLX | Clorox Company (The) | 82.74 | -0.93% | 1.42M | $10.01B |
| 46 | DAR | Darling Ingredients Inc. | 60.28 | -1.46% | 670.73K | $9.51B |
| 47 | EDU | New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. Sponsored ADR representing 10 | 57.25 | +0.25% | 103.59K | $8.88B |
| 48 | SFD | Smithfield Foods Inc. | 18.48 | -1.60% | 1.31M | $7.28B |
| 49 | TAL | TAL Education Group ADR | 12.72 | +0.91% | 864.59K | $7.05B |
| 50 | TAP | Molson Coors Beverage Company Class B | 36.93 | +0.04% | 2.17M | $6.88B |
Frequently asked questions
- How many consumer defensive stocks are there?
- MetaCap tracks 90 US-listed stocks in the Consumer Defensive sector, worth a combined $4.25T.
- What is the largest consumer defensive company?
- Walmart (WMT) is the largest consumer defensive stock by market capitalization, at about $860.55B.
- What ETF tracks the consumer defensive sector?
- XLP is the Select Sector SPDR fund for Consumer Defensive, and MetaCap uses it as the benchmark for the sector's daily performance. Other providers, such as Vanguard and iShares, offer similar sector funds.
- How is the consumer defensive sector doing today?
- As of October 7, 2026, the Consumer Defensive sector is up 0.19% based on XLP.
Prices as of Oct 7, 3:33 PM EDT. Market data is delayed at least 15 minutes and provided for informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Full disclaimer