Consumer defensive covers food, beverages, household products, personal care, and discount retail. The sector includes names like Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Costco. Demand for these goods stays steady in almost any environment, giving the sector a defensive profile and stable earnings and dividends that attract investors during uncertainty. On this page we rank the best US consumer-defensive stocks by the EL7 Score and compare them across value, growth, quality, safety, and capital-return factors.
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P/E 18.2 vs period average 18.7 Near its historical average
Ranked among 92 stocks with a market cap above $2B. Smaller companies are excluded from the ranking.
Rank | Company | Price | P/E | Value | Growth | Quality | EL7 Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/92 |  | $11.81 | 2.5 | 94 | 99 | 72 | 100 |
| 2/92 |  | $118.17 | 14.4 | 71 | 87 | 84 | 96 |
| 3/92 |  | $33.02 | 12.0 | 81 | 65 | 88 | 96 |
| 4/92 |  | $43.40 | 39.8 | 20 | 83 | 78 | 95 |
| 5/92 |  | $3.02 | 14.6 | 69 | 59 | 89 | 94 |
| 6/92 |  | $55.82 | 18.6 | 64 | 94 | 76 | 94 |
| 7/92 |  | $112.01 | 21.4 | 34 | 61 | 90 | 94 |
| 8/92 |  | $155.83 | 16.1 | 73 | 56 | 69 | 93 |
| 9/92 |  | $125.09 | 17.6 | 61 | 86 | 87 | 93 |
| 10/92 |  | $26.22 | 16.9 | 47 | 35 | 85 | 92 |
Score = market-cap-weighted percentile rank of the sector stocks vs the whole market (0-100). Higher = stronger.
Score = market-cap-weighted percentile rank of the sector stocks vs the whole market (0-100). Higher = stronger.
Insider purchases in the sector's stocks
Funds that track the sector and each fund's exposure to it.
Fund | Exposure | Assets | Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| XLPState Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF | 100.0% | $14B | 0.08% |
| VDCVanguard Consumer Staples ETF | 97.9% | $9B | 0.09% |
The percentage is the sector's share of the fund's assets, per the latest available data.
The white line marks the average score (66.3) · the number beside the score is the stock count
Upgrades and downgrades on the sector's stocks
The consumer staples sector ranks 8th out of 11 sectors with a score of 60.63, as its stability rests on high operational quality and strong safety levels, despite clear challenges regarding growth and capital return. The sector currently trades at a median P/E ratio of 18.21, reflecting moderate valuations supported by relatively stable market momentum and sentiment. Stocks such as TAL and SENEB stand out as the top performers in the sector, driven by their leading positions in value and quality rankings.
