Top Consumer Defensive Cash-Rich Stocks
Top consumer defensive companies ranked by cash & equivalents, latest annual filings.
What Cash Reserves Mean for Consumer Defensive Companies
Cash and equivalents captures the liquid resources a firm holds against operating needs and strategic moves. In consumer defensive, demand for staples, household products, and beverages moves slowly through economic cycles, so cash flow is steady and less cash hoarding is needed as a shock absorber. Instead of building oversized reserves, mature firms in this sector typically route the surplus back to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
Why Cash Matters Less in Consumer Defensive
Staples firms rarely need to stockpile cash as a downturn buffer because household demand is structurally resilient, and predictable operating cash flow doubles as its own liquidity reserve. The corollary is that an unusually large cash balance in a consumer defensive name often signals a pending acquisition, recent divestiture proceeds, or the tail end of a capital-return slowdown, and deserves to be read against the firm's historical capital-return cadence rather than in isolation.
What to Read Alongside
Pair cash reserves with [Long-term Debt](/financials/most-indebted-stocks/consumer-defensive/) to derive the net cash position, [Free Cash Flow](/financials/top-free-cash-flow-stocks/consumer-defensive/) to see the underlying cash generation engine, and [Share Buybacks](/financials/top-share-buyback-stocks/consumer-defensive/) to track the capital-return rhythm that normally keeps reserves modest.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $14.16B | $417.86B |
| 2 | BUD | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | Consumer Defensive | $11.64B | $162.59B |
| 3 | WMT | Walmart Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $10.73B | $921.39B |
| 4 | KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Defensive | $10.27B | $346.01B |
| 5 | PG | The Procter & Gamble Company | Consumer Defensive | $9.56B | $345.80B |
| 6 | PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $9.16B | $190.69B |
| 7 | FMX | Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. | Consumer Defensive | $6.00B | $42.71B |
| 8 | PM | Philip Morris International Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $4.87B | $278.87B |
| 9 | JBS | JBS N.V. | Consumer Defensive | $4.57B | $39.57B |
| 10 | MO | Altria Group, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $4.47B | $122.25B |
| 11 | TGT | Target Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $3.53B | $63.39B |
| 12 | KR | The Kroger Co. | Consumer Defensive | $3.33B | $35.41B |
| 13 | EL | The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.92B | $29.49B |
| 14 | KHC | The Kraft Heinz Company | Consumer Defensive | $2.62B | $27.83B |
| 15 | DEO | Diageo plc | Consumer Defensive | $2.20B | $45.92B |
| 16 | MDLZ | Mondelez International, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.19B | $78.56B |
| 17 | MNST | Monster Beverage Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $2.09B | $93.72B |
| 18 | EDU | New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.61B | $7.07B |
| 19 | SFD | Smithfield Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.54B | $9.60B |
| 20 | TAL | TAL Education Group | Consumer Defensive | $1.52B | $4.96B |
| 21 | DG | Dollar General Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.35B | $25.93B |
| 22 | CL | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.29B | $72.87B |
| 23 | TSN | Tyson Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.23B | $20.35B |
| 24 | BG | Bunge Global SA | Consumer Defensive | $1.14B | $21.64B |
| 25 | SYY | Sysco Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.07B | $38.66B |
| 26 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.06B | $36.40B |
| 27 | INGR | Ingredion Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $1.03B | $6.11B |
| 28 | KDP | Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.03B | $44.25B |
| 29 | ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.01B | $36.89B |
| 30 | DLTR | Dollar Tree, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.01B | $22.72B |
| 31 | TAP | Molson Coors Beverage Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.95B | $7.60B |
| 32 | HSY | The Hershey Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.93B | $35.84B |
| 33 | CENTA | Central Garden & Pet Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.88B | $2.44B |
| 34 | HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.87B | $14.32B |
| 35 | COUR | Coursera, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.79B | $1.65B |
| 36 | LRN | Stride, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.78B | $3.66B |
| 37 | RLX | RLX Technology Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.77B | $2.19B |
| 38 | K | Kellanova | Consumer Defensive | $0.69B | $29.03B |
| 39 | KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.69B | $35.88B |
| 40 | PPC | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.64B | $6.37B |
| 41 | CALM | Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.50B | $3.71B |
| 42 | CHD | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.41B | $23.26B |
| 43 | ODD | Oddity Tech Ltd. | Consumer Defensive | $0.40B | $0.61B |
| 44 | CELH | Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.40B | $7.21B |
| 45 | AGRO | Adecoagro S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $0.38B | $1.34B |
| 46 | PRMB | Primo Brands Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.38B | $9.06B |
| 47 | IMKTA | Ingles Markets, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $0.37B | $1.68B |
| 48 | GIS | General Mills, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.36B | $18.89B |
| 49 | HLF | Herbalife Ltd. | Consumer Defensive | $0.35B | $1.24B |
| 50 | ELF | e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.29B | $3.87B |
| 51 | THS | Treehouse Foods Inc | Consumer Defensive | $0.29B | $1.23B |
| 52 | COKE | Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.28B | $11.93B |
| 53 | FRPT | Freshpet, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.28B | $2.62B |
| 54 | DOLE | Dole plc | Consumer Defensive | $0.27B | $1.31B |
| 55 | SFM | Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.26B | $7.72B |
| 56 | COTY | Coty Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.26B | $1.66B |
| 57 | MH | McGraw Hill, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.25B | $1.75B |
| 58 | FIZZ | National Beverage Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.25B | $3.11B |
| 59 | PSMT | PriceSmart, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.24B | $6.05B |
| 60 | UDMY | Udemy, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.23B | $0.68B |
| 61 | EPC | Edgewell Personal Care Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.23B | $1.17B |
| 62 | SAM | The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.22B | $1.88B |
| 63 | TPB | Turning Point Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.22B | $1.62B |
| 64 | NWL | Newell Brands Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $2.50B |
| 65 | ATGE | Adtalem Global Education Inc | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $3.40B |
| 66 | CVSA | Covista Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $4.23B |
| 67 | ACI | Albertsons Companies, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $6.74B |
| 68 | OLLI | Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $4.32B |
| 69 | COCO | The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $4.71B |
| 70 | GHC | Graham Holdings Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.19B | $4.90B |
| 71 | POST | Post Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.18B | $4.05B |
| 72 | APEI | American Public Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.17B | $0.98B |
| 73 | CPB | The Campbell's Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.17B | $6.66B |
| 74 | CLX | The Clorox Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.17B | $11.52B |
| 75 | MZTI | The Marzetti Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.16B | $3.08B |
| 76 | LAUR | Laureate Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.15B | $5.11B |
| 77 | STRA | Strategic Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.14B | $1.73B |
| 78 | UTI | Universal Technical Institute, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.13B | $2.20B |
| 79 | TR | Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.13B | $2.77B |
| 80 | SPB | Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $1.99B |
| 81 | CHEF | The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $3.85B |
| 82 | UTZ | Utz Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $0.64B |
| 83 | VLGEA | Village Super Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $0.62B |
| 84 | WMK | Weis Markets, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $1.93B |
| 85 | DAR | Darling Ingredients Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $8.44B |
| 86 | LOPE | Grand Canyon Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.11B | $3.79B |
| 87 | PRDO | Perdoceo Education Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.11B | $2.07B |
| 88 | JJSF | J&J Snack Foods Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.11B | $1.37B |
| 89 | STZ | Constellation Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.10B | $24.77B |
| 90 | SMPL | The Simply Good Foods Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.10B | $1.11B |
| 91 | ANDE | The Andersons, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.10B | $2.42B |
| 92 | MKC | McCormick & Company, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $0.10B | $13.00B |
| 93 | PFGC | Performance Food Group Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.08B | $16.85B |
| 94 | BRBR | BellRing Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.07B | $1.32B |
| 95 | LW | Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.07B | $6.17B |
| 96 | CAG | Conagra Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.07B | $6.59B |
| 97 | DAO | Youdao, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $1.33B |
| 98 | UVV | Universal Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $1.33B |
| 99 | GO | Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $0.94B |
| 100 | SJM | The J. M. Smucker Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $12.00B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by cash & equivalents as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.
- Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
- Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
- Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
- Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).
Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.