Consumer Defensive Sector Report
Market Cap: $5.7T
Stocks: 230
Median P/E: 19.0x
Median ROIC: 9.3%
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Report refreshed weekly.
The Consumer Defensive (Staples) sector comprises producers of essential goods: food, beverages, household products, and personal care items. The sector is prized for its earnings stability and dividend consistency, with demand remaining resilient across economic environments. Competitive advantages derive from brand loyalty, distribution scale, and pricing power in inflationary periods.
Performance Dashboard
| Period | Sector (MCW) | Sector (Median) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | -0.6% | -0.2% |
| 1 Week | -2.1% | -0.1% |
| 1 Month | — | — |
| 3 Months | — | — |
| 6 Months | — | — |
| YTD | -1.2% | 0.0% |
| 1 Year | +21.1% | -2.1% |
| 3 Years | +75.4% | -2.7% |
| 5 Years | +110.2% | -13.1% |
Today's Breadth: 67 advancing · 99 declining · 21 flat
Valuation Summary
| Metric | Median | P25 | P75 | vs 5Y Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 19.0x | 9.6x | 27.0x | -2% |
| P/B | 1.7x | 0.8x | 3.9x | -18% |
| P/S | 0.7x | 0.2x | 2.2x | — |
| P/FCF | 16.0x | 7.8x | 24.4x | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.3x | 7.0x | 15.6x | — |
| EV/EBIT | 15.4x | 10.3x | 21.8x | — |
Earnings Yield
4.9%
FCF Yield
4.5%
Below Fair Value
46% of stocks
Profitability Profile
Margins
| Metric | Median | 5Y Avg | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 33.0% | 31.5% | 18.4% | 45.2% |
| Operating Margin | 4.9% | — | 1.5% | 11.7% |
| Net Margin | 3.1% | 3.8% | 0.2% | 9.1% |
| FCF Margin | 4.6% | — | 0.9% | 10.8% |
Returns on Capital
| Metric | Median | 5Y Avg | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 9.5% | — | -1.4% | 19.4% |
| ROA | 4.3% | — | -1.3% | 8.3% |
| ROIC | 9.3% | 9.2% | 3.2% | 17.0% |
Growth Metrics
| Metric | 1Y | 3Y CAGR | 5Y CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +2.3% | +3.9% | +5.2% |
| EPS | +9.5% | +4.0% | +7.0% |
| Free Cash Flow | +2.4% | +4.9% | +3.0% |
All values represent sector median growth rates.
Balance Sheet Health
Debt / Equity
0.5x
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.4x
Interest Coverage
3.8x
Current Ratio
1.5x
Altman Z-Score
Safe (>3): 100 (49%)
Gray (1.8–3): 47 (23%)
Distress (<1.8): 56 (28%)
Piotroski F-Score
Strong (7–9): 49 (21%)
Moderate (4–6): 139 (60%)
Weak (0–3): 42 (18%)
Top Companies
| Symbol | #▲ | Mkt Cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | ROIC | Net Mgn | Rev Gr. | Div Yld | YTD | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | 1 | $999.0B | 42.7x | 22.1x | 18.0% | 3.1% | +4.7% | 0.8% | -5.3% | 3/9 |
| COST | 2 | $436.2B | 51.8x | 32.0x | 38.5% | 2.9% | +8.2% | 0.5% | -0.7% | 4/9 |
| PG | 3 | $352.3B | 24.1x | 18.0x | 19.4% | 18.9% | +0.3% | 2.6% | +0.7% | 4/9 |
| KO | 4 | $329.4B | 23.0x | 22.5x | 18.8% | 27.3% | +1.9% | 2.9% | -0.0% | 5/9 |
| PM | 5 | $254.4B | 22.2x | 17.2x | 43.8% | 27.9% | +7.3% | 3.5% | +0.5% | 5/9 |
| PEP | 6 | $214.1B | 24.0x | 16.3x | 14.7% | 8.8% | +2.3% | 3.9% | -1.5% | 3/9 |
| OR-PA | 7 | $191.8B | 27.8x | 21.8x | 18.4% | 14.7% | +5.1% | 2.0% | — | 6/9 |
| DEO | 8 | $190.3B | 92.6x | — | 7.8% | 9.1% | +0.3% | 1.0% | +0.1% | 3/9 |
| BRIM-IC | 9 | $149.0B | — | — | 7.1% | 14.7% | +10.2% | 1.9% | — | 2/9 |
| BTAFF | 10 | $127.4B | — | — | 9.8% | 30.3% | +2.2% | — | -0.3% | 2/9 |
| UL | 11 | $127.3B | 19.9x | — | 43.3% | 10.5% | +1.4% | 3.4% | -0.3% | 5/9 |
| BTI | 12 | $127.2B | 11.9x | 7.3x | 9.8% | 30.3% | +2.2% | 5.6% | +1.1% | 3/9 |
| MO | 13 | $112.7B | 14.0x | 11.4x | 44.7% | 29.8% | -3.1% | 7.2% | -1.1% | 6/9 |
| MCK | 14 | $110.8B | 25.9x | 17.3x | 5.0% | 0.9% | +16.2% | 0.4% | -0.3% | 4/9 |
| BATS-L | 15 | $96.2B | 12.4x | 10.1x | 9.3% | 30.3% | +2.2% | 5.6% | — | 4/9 |
| ULVR-L | 16 | $93.9B | 11.8x | 12.8x | 16.4% | 18.8% | +0.8% | 3.6% | — | 4/9 |
| ECL | 17 | $78.5B | 36.5x | 24.5x | 13.8% | 12.9% | +2.2% | 1.0% | -1.2% | 4/9 |
| MDLZ | 18 | $74.8B | 28.6x | 17.8x | 6.2% | 6.4% | +5.8% | 3.6% | +6.6% | 2/9 |
| MNST | 19 | $73.8B | 39.9x | 29.0x | 34.8% | 23.0% | +10.7% | — | +0.8% | 5/9 |
| SALM-OL | 20 | $73.0B | 22.8x | 12.1x | 12.1% | 11.3% | -7.6% | 6.8% | — | 5/9 |
Industry Composition
| Industry | Stocks | Market Cap | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail-Variety Stores | 10 | $1.6T | 27.5% | |
| Beverages | 21 | $922.0B | 16.1% | |
| Cigarettes | 5 | $621.6B | 10.8% | |
| Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics | 5 | $582.4B | 10.2% | |
| Household & Personal Products | 8 | $325.3B | 5.7% | |
| Agricultural Farm Products | 7 | $247.5B | 4.3% | |
| Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries | 8 | $226.9B | 4.0% | |
| Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters | 8 | $145.6B | 2.5% | |
| Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations | 13 | $140.4B | 2.4% | |
| Tobacco | 1 | $96.2B | 1.7% | |
| Food And Kindred Products | 12 | $93.8B | 1.6% | |
| Retail-Grocery Stores | 8 | $71.9B | 1.3% | |
| Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products | 6 | $69.7B | 1.2% | |
| Fats & Oils | 4 | $64.4B | 1.1% | |
| Agricultural Production-Crops | 9 | $62.7B | 1.1% |
Showing top 15 of 48 industries.
Quality Distribution
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Quality Score (0-9)
High Quality (7+)
2%
Median Piotroski F
5/9
Profitable Years
7 of 10
Dividends & Shareholder Returns
Paying Dividends
54%
Median Div Yield
2.8%
Median Buyback Yield
0.5%
Shareholder Yield
2.8%
Payout Ratio
55.5%
Div Growth (3Y)
5.4%
Div Growth (5Y)
5.5%
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
No notable strengths identified.
Weaknesses
- −[Financial Health]27.6% of companies fall in the Altman Z-Score distress zone (<1.8), indicating elevated bankruptcy risk within the sector.
- −[Leverage]Tight interest coverage at 3.8x, leaving limited cushion for debt servicing if earnings decline.
- −[Quality]Only 1.7% of companies score 7+ on the quality checklist, reflecting structural challenges in achieving consistent returns across the sector.