Top Consumer Defensive Stocks by Net Income
Top consumer defensive companies ranked by net income, latest annual filings.
What Net Income Means for Consumer Defensive Companies
Net income in consumer defensive tends to grow in modest, steady steps because the staples categories these firms serve, from packaged food to household products, see demand barely flinch when the broader economy weakens. That stability makes reported profit unusually meaningful as a quality signal in the sector, though it also means headline growth rates rarely accelerate in the way investors expect from more cyclical corners of the market.
Why It Matters in Consumer Defensive
The sector rewards firms that translate pricing into resilient profit through inflationary stretches, offsetting commodity input volatility with disciplined brand investment. Still, private-label competition and retailer consolidation can compress margins over time even when volume holds, and a firm whose profit grew because of past pricing power may not find the same lever available indefinitely. Multi-year profit trends reveal brand durability better than any single annual figure.
What to Read Alongside
Read net income alongside Free Cash Flow to confirm reported profit converts into the cash that supports dividends, Gross Margin for pricing power against commodity input costs, and Return on Equity for how efficiently capital earns.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WMT | Walmart Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $21.89B | $961.97B |
| 2 | PG | The Procter & Gamble Company | Consumer Defensive | $16.05B | $372.21B |
| 3 | KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Defensive | $13.11B | $399.30B |
| 4 | PM | Philip Morris International Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $11.35B | $324.97B |
| 5 | UL | Unilever PLC | Consumer Defensive | $11.11B | $138.21B |
| 6 | BTI | British American Tobacco p.l.c. | Consumer Defensive | $10.44B | $131.25B |
| 7 | COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $9.23B | $441.39B |
| 8 | PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $8.24B | $182.33B |
| 9 | MO | Altria Group, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $6.95B | $128.15B |
| 10 | BUD | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | Consumer Defensive | $6.84B | $156.59B |
| 11 | TGT | Target Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $3.71B | $68.97B |
| 12 | ABEV | Ambev S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $2.83B | $41.16B |
| 13 | MDLZ | Mondelez International, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.45B | $79.81B |
| 14 | CCEP | Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC | Consumer Defensive | $2.28B | $48.71B |
| 15 | CL | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Consumer Defensive | $2.13B | $74.26B |
| 16 | KDP | Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.08B | $48.04B |
| 17 | JBS | JBS N.V. | Consumer Defensive | $2.02B | $40.01B |
| 18 | KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $2.02B | $36.59B |
| 19 | DEO | Diageo plc | Consumer Defensive | $1.96B | $50.79B |
| 20 | MNST | Monster Beverage Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.91B | $90.80B |
| 21 | FMX | Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. | Consumer Defensive | $1.84B | $42.34B |
| 22 | SYY | Sysco Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.76B | $40.59B |
| 23 | STZ | Constellation Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.69B | $22.06B |
| 24 | DG | Dollar General Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.51B | $28.70B |
| 25 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.47B | $37.57B |
| 26 | DLTR | Dollar Tree, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.28B | $24.77B |
| 27 | KOF | Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. | Consumer Defensive | $1.14B | $24.26B |
| 28 | PPC | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.08B | $6.57B |
| 29 | ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.08B | $36.73B |
| 30 | KR | The Kroger Co. | Consumer Defensive | $1.02B | $38.94B |
| 31 | SFD | Smithfield Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $987.00M | $7.31B |
| 32 | HSY | The Hershey Company | Consumer Defensive | $883.26M | $32.20B |
| 33 | BG | Bunge Global SA | Consumer Defensive | $816.00M | $18.45B |
| 34 | MKC | McCormick & Company, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $789.40M | $12.59B |
| 35 | CHD | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $736.80M | $25.15B |
| 36 | INGR | Ingredion Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $729.00M | $6.03B |
| 37 | BF | Brown-Forman Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $715.00M | $13.19B |
| 38 | USFD | US Foods Holding Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $676.00M | $22.24B |
| 39 | CLX | The Clorox Company | Consumer Defensive | $601.00M | $10.72B |
| 40 | BJ | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $578.38M | $13.31B |
| 41 | COKE | Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $570.58M | $13.94B |
| 42 | TAL | TAL Education Group | Consumer Defensive | $530.75M | $5.62B |
| 43 | SFM | Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $523.67M | $4.48B |
| 44 | HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $478.20M | $11.50B |
| 45 | EDU | New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $475.17M | $7.61B |
| 46 | TSN | Tyson Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $474.00M | $19.79B |
| 47 | CPB | The Campbell's Company | Consumer Defensive | $403.00M | $6.26B |
| 48 | PFGC | Performance Food Group Company | Consumer Defensive | $359.30M | $15.32B |
| 49 | MICC | The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. | Consumer Defensive | $343.86M | $11.40B |
| 50 | LRN | Stride, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $338.19M | $3.39B |
| 51 | POST | Post Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $335.70M | $3.59B |
| 52 | CALM | Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $316.68M | $2.90B |
| 53 | AKO-A | Embotelladora Andina S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $294.89M | $3.82B |
| 54 | LW | Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $290.00M | $7.34B |
| 55 | LAUR | Laureate Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $281.63M | $4.96B |
| 56 | CVSA | Covista Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $251.57M | $4.36B |
| 57 | OLLI | Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $240.60M | $5.49B |
| 58 | HLF | Herbalife Ltd. | Consumer Defensive | $228.30M | $1.36B |
| 59 | ACI | Albertsons Companies, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $217.40M | $6.21B |
| 60 | BRBR | BellRing Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $216.20M | $1.05B |
| 61 | LOPE | Grand Canyon Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $216.17M | $4.02B |
| 62 | MZTI | The Marzetti Company | Consumer Defensive | $191.61M | $2.98B |
| 63 | FIZZ | National Beverage Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $183.65M | $3.28B |
| 64 | EL | The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $182.00M | $39.42B |
| 65 | CCU | Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $177.95M | $1.93B |
| 66 | IPAR | Interparfums, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $168.39M | $3.70B |
| 67 | PSMT | PriceSmart, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $166.59M | $5.11B |
| 68 | CENT | Central Garden & Pet Company | Consumer Defensive | $162.84M | $2.82B |
| 69 | NOMD | Nomad Foods Limited | Consumer Defensive | $160.43M | $1.66B |
| 70 | PRDO | Perdoceo Education Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $159.91M | $1.96B |
| 71 | FRPT | Freshpet, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $139.14M | $3.18B |
| 72 | AFYA | Afya Limited | Consumer Defensive | $137.39M | $899.82M |
| 73 | RLX | RLX Technology Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $131.83M | $1.94B |
| 74 | STRA | Strategic Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $126.61M | $1.73B |
| 75 | SENEA | Seneca Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $114.67M | $1.08B |
| 76 | ODD | Oddity Tech Ltd. | Consumer Defensive | $110.75M | $1.00B |
| 77 | SAM | The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $108.47M | $2.01B |
| 78 | CELH | Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $108.00M | $7.13B |
| 79 | TR | Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $100.05M | $2.75B |
| 80 | SPB | Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $99.90M | $1.87B |
| 81 | ANDE | The Andersons, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $95.71M | $2.12B |
| 82 | WMK | Weis Markets, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $93.69M | $1.85B |
| 83 | DMC | Del Monte Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $90.70M | $1.31B |
| 84 | UNFI | United Natural Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $84.00M | $2.78B |
| 85 | FLO | Flowers Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $83.83M | $1.31B |
| 86 | IMKTA | Ingles Markets, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $83.59M | $1.58B |
| 87 | CHEF | The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $72.36M | $4.41B |
| 88 | COCO | The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $71.32M | $3.21B |
| 89 | JJSF | J&J Snack Foods Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $65.59M | $1.57B |
| 90 | UTI | Universal Technical Institute, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $63.02M | $1.30B |
| 91 | DAR | Darling Ingredients Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $62.80M | $8.70B |
| 92 | JBSS | John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $61.93M | $660.33M |
| 93 | PRMB | Primo Brands Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $60.10M | $7.05B |
| 94 | TPB | Turning Point Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $58.16M | $1.38B |
| 95 | VLGEA | Village Super Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $52.45M | $630.75M |
| 96 | DOLE | Dole plc | Consumer Defensive | $51.32M | $1.24B |
| 97 | NGVC | Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $46.44M | $656.35M |
| 98 | AVO | Mission Produce, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $37.70M | $1.02B |
| 99 | MH | McGraw Hill, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $35.32M | $2.66B |
| 100 | UVV | Universal Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $32.64M | $1.02B |
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How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by net income 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 is consumer defensive net income typically more stable than other sectors?
The products these firms offer, such as groceries, cleaning supplies, beverages, and tobacco, are purchased on routine schedules rather than in response to economic conditions. Demand volume therefore stays broadly stable even when household budgets tighten, which cushions revenue and operating profit through downturns. Dividend investors often favor the sector for this reason, reading consistent net income across cycles as evidence of the kind of predictable earning power that supports reliable distributions.
How do commodity input costs affect consumer defensive profit?
Many products in the sector depend on agricultural commodities, packaging materials, and energy, whose prices swing with weather, crop yields, and global markets. When input costs spike, firms face a choice between absorbing margin pressure or passing prices to consumers and risking volume loss to private-label alternatives. Firms with strong brands tend to recover pricing more fully over time, but the lag between cost inflation and price response can compress reported profit for several quarters before equilibrium returns.
Can a consumer defensive firm grow profit faster than underlying volume?
Yes, typically through some combination of disciplined pricing, operational efficiency, portfolio premiumization, and international expansion into markets where category penetration is still growing. Cost programs that consolidate manufacturing, modernize distribution, or simplify product ranges can release profit even on flat volume. That said, there are limits: pricing pulled too far ahead of volume growth eventually invites private-label trading down and tends to reverse on the next cycle, so sustainable profit growth usually balances these levers rather than leaning on any one.