Top Consumer Defensive Stocks by Dividends Paid
Top consumer defensive companies ranked by dividends paid, latest annual filings.
What Dividends Paid Means for Consumer Defensive Companies
Dividends paid is the cash a company handed to shareholders across the latest fiscal year, reported in the financing section of the cash flow statement. Consumer defensive firms are the classic payers: packaged food, beverages, household goods, and discount retail meet demand that barely moves with the economy, and many carry long records of small annual raises. Totals here are large next to earnings because reinvestment needs are modest.
Why It Matters in Consumer Defensive
In this sector the dividend is close to the whole equity story, and its steadiness comes from demand that holds up when budgets tighten. The flip side is arithmetic. A payout ratio that is already high leaves little room when growth is slow, private-label competition presses on price, or commodity input costs jump, and further raises then depend on cost reduction rather than volume. Coverage tells you more than the size of the total.
What to Read Alongside
Read it beside Net Income for the earnings the payment is set against, Free Cash Flow for the cash that funds it, and Share Buybacks for the smaller second channel.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PG | The Procter & Gamble Company | Consumer Defensive | $10.23B | $370.66B |
| 2 | KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Defensive | $8.78B | $398.85B |
| 3 | PM | Philip Morris International Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $8.62B | $314.64B |
| 4 | PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $7.64B | $184.60B |
| 5 | WMT | Walmart Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $7.51B | $954.35B |
| 6 | BTI | British American Tobacco p.l.c. | Consumer Defensive | $7.04B | $129.16B |
| 7 | MO | Altria Group, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $6.96B | $122.93B |
| 8 | UL | Unilever PLC | Consumer Defensive | $5.23B | $141.29B |
| 9 | BUD | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | Consumer Defensive | $4.54B | $161.43B |
| 10 | FMX | Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. | Consumer Defensive | $2.77B | $42.58B |
| 11 | MDLZ | Mondelez International, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.49B | $80.37B |
| 12 | COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $2.46B | $445.42B |
| 13 | TGT | Target Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $2.05B | $67.48B |
| 14 | PPC | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.99B | $6.51B |
| 15 | KHC | The Kraft Heinz Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.90B | $29.33B |
| 16 | DEO | Diageo plc | Consumer Defensive | $1.85B | $52.51B |
| 17 | CL | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.82B | $74.22B |
| 18 | KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.66B | $36.46B |
| 19 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.58B | $37.46B |
| 20 | JBS | JBS N.V. | Consumer Defensive | $1.57B | $40.76B |
| 21 | GIS | General Mills, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.32B | $18.02B |
| 22 | KDP | Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.25B | $47.62B |
| 23 | CCEP | Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC | Consumer Defensive | $1.09B | $49.32B |
| 24 | HSY | The Hershey Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.09B | $33.80B |
| 25 | SYY | Sysco Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.04B | $40.42B |
| 26 | ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | Consumer Defensive | $987.00M | $38.08B |
| 27 | KR | The Kroger Co. | Consumer Defensive | $885.00M | $39.43B |
| 28 | STZ | Constellation Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $715.70M | $22.95B |
| 29 | TSN | Tyson Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $697.00M | $19.84B |
| 30 | CAG | Conagra Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $669.70M | $6.96B |
| 31 | HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $633.19M | $11.53B |
| 32 | KOF | Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. | Consumer Defensive | $617.10M | $24.35B |
| 33 | DG | Dollar General Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $519.51M | $28.33B |
| 34 | EL | The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $508.00M | $39.43B |
| 35 | MKC | McCormick & Company, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $483.00M | $12.91B |
| 36 | CPB | The Campbell's Company | Consumer Defensive | $470.00M | $6.15B |
| 37 | SJM | The J. M. Smucker Company | Consumer Defensive | $464.70M | $13.74B |
| 38 | BG | Bunge Global SA | Consumer Defensive | $459.00M | $19.64B |
| 39 | BF | Brown-Forman Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $427.00M | $13.68B |
| 40 | SFD | Smithfield Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $396.00M | $7.21B |
| 41 | TAP | Molson Coors Beverage Company | Consumer Defensive | $376.30M | $7.46B |
| 42 | ACI | Albertsons Companies, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $322.70M | $6.78B |
| 43 | CHD | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $287.20M | $25.00B |
| 44 | CALM | Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $231.62M | $2.91B |
| 45 | INGR | Ingredion Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $211.00M | $6.02B |
| 46 | FLO | Flowers Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $209.31M | $1.30B |
| 47 | LW | Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $207.50M | $7.39B |
| 48 | PRMB | Primo Brands Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $151.30M | $7.12B |
| 49 | NWL | Newell Brands Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $120.00M | $2.30B |
| 50 | MZTI | The Marzetti Company | Consumer Defensive | $108.76M | $2.98B |
| 51 | NOMD | Nomad Foods Limited | Consumer Defensive | $107.15M | $1.66B |
| 52 | IPAR | Interparfums, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $102.72M | $3.69B |
| 53 | MICC | The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. | Consumer Defensive | $97.41M | $11.73B |
| 54 | EDU | New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $96.36M | $9.05B |
| 55 | COKE | Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $86.67M | $13.89B |
| 56 | UVV | Universal Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $81.30M | $970.08M |
| 57 | JJSF | J&J Snack Foods Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $60.75M | $1.55B |
| 58 | STRA | Strategic Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $57.54M | $1.80B |
| 59 | DMC | Del Monte Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $57.40M | $1.37B |
| 60 | SPB | Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $48.20M | $1.84B |
| 61 | JBSS | John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $46.76M | $787.79M |
| 62 | PSMT | PriceSmart, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $42.98M | $5.34B |
| 63 | WMK | Weis Markets, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $35.12M | $1.92B |
| 64 | AGRO | Adecoagro S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $35.00M | $1.44B |
| 65 | DOLE | Dole plc | Consumer Defensive | $32.38M | $1.26B |
| 66 | EPC | Edgewell Personal Care Company | Consumer Defensive | $29.30M | $1.29B |
| 67 | ANDE | The Andersons, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $26.85M | $2.19B |
| 68 | TR | Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $26.07M | $2.60B |
| 69 | UTZ | Utz Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $22.30M | $1.27B |
| 70 | VLGEA | Village Super Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $13.34M | $660.95M |
| 71 | COTY | Coty Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $13.20M | $2.84B |
| 72 | RLX | RLX Technology Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $13.08M | $2.02B |
| 73 | IMKTA | Ingles Markets, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $12.27M | $1.66B |
| 74 | NGVC | Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $11.01M | $713.51M |
| 75 | TPB | Turning Point Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $5.52M | $1.31B |
No companies match this search.
This list ranks the total dollars paid out over the latest fiscal year, so the largest companies lead it; a big payout says nothing about the yield a share buys today. A company whose balance sheet runs above 150 times its market cap is left out, because at that gap the accounts are not in US dollars.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by dividends paid 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.
- Size floor: A company qualifies at $500 million in market cap or above. Below that, one mis-stated figure outranks the companies the list is about.
- Currency check: A company whose annual revenue runs above 15 times its market cap is left out, because at that gap the two figures are not in the same currency.
- Currency check: A company whose balance sheet runs above 150 times its market cap is left out for the same reason.
- 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.
Frequently asked questions
Why are staples companies such consistent payers?
Demand for food, beverages, cleaning products, and basic household goods barely moves with the economy, so cash flow is predictable enough to support a payment that rises a little every year. Reinvestment needs are modest next to the cash generated, and the long record of raises becomes part of what holders own, which makes boards reluctant to break it even in a weak year.
Can a payout ratio be too high to keep raising?
It can become the binding constraint. When most of earnings already goes out the door, further raises depend on cost reduction, price increases that stick, or slow volume gains, none of which are certain. Private-label competition and input cost swings press on the same margin, so a high ratio narrows the room a board has before the payment competes with reinvestment and debt service.