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Top Consumer Defensive Stocks by Return on Equity

Top consumer defensive companies ranked by return on equity, latest annual filings.

What Return on Equity Means for Consumer Defensive Companies

Return on Equity divides net income by shareholder equity. In consumer defensive, staples firms typically post elevated ratios because well-established brands generate steady earnings while decades of retained earnings and aggressive buyback programs have kept the equity base modest. The combination produces Return on Equity figures that look flattering but owe as much to capital-return history as to operating strength in any single year.

Why It Matters Less in Consumer Defensive

Staples Return on Equity reflects brand power and pricing durability through cycles, which deserves credit. At the same time, sustained buybacks shrink the equity denominator and inflate the ratio even in years of flat earnings, which is a particular pattern in this sector because mature staples firms have generated surplus cash for many years. DuPont decomposition and multi-year earnings trajectory reveal whether a strong reading reflects genuine operating excellence or accumulated capital-return effects.

What to Read Alongside

Pair Return on Equity with Net Income to see the absolute profit trend, Long-term Debt to check leverage, and Share Buybacks to see how capital return shapes the equity base.

Data as of FY 2025 85 companies Rhea AI
# Symbol Company Sector
1 CLX Clorox Company Consumer Defensive 252.34% $12.77B
2 KMB Kimberly-Clark Corporation Consumer Defensive 134.55% $36.14B
3 SYY Sysco Corporation Consumer Defensive 99.89% $40.37B
4 KO Coca-Cola Company Consumer Defensive 40.74% $373.68B
5 PEP PepsiCo, Inc. Consumer Defensive 40.38% $188.96B
6 SFM Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Consumer Defensive 37.32% $8.13B
7 K Kellanova Consumer Defensive 35.58% $29.03B
8 DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. Consumer Defensive 34.16% $24.92B
9 PG Procter & Gamble Company Consumer Defensive 29.54% $341.62B
10 PPC Pilgrim's Pride Corporation Consumer Defensive 29.41% $6.56B
11 FIZZ National Beverage Corp. Consumer Defensive 28.89% $2.99B
12 COST Costco Wholesale Corporation Consumer Defensive 27.77% $420.93B
13 BJ BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 26.30% $12.41B
14 KLG WK Kellogg Co Consumer Defensive 24.70% $1.99B
15 LAUR Laureate Education, Inc. Consumer Defensive 23.71% $5.14B
16 IPAR Interparfums, Inc. Consumer Defensive 23.62% $3.81B
17 JBS JBS N.V. Consumer Defensive 23.42% $45.03B
18 MNST Monster Beverage Corporation Consumer Defensive 23.08% $92.09B
19 TGT Target Corporation Consumer Defensive 22.92% $66.80B
20 DDL Dingdong (Cayman) Limited Consumer Defensive 22.26% $0.49B
21 WMT Walmart Inc. Consumer Defensive 21.98% $891.86B
22 NGVC Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. Consumer Defensive 21.87% $0.75B
23 STZ Constellation Brands, Inc. Consumer Defensive 20.87% $22.63B
24 LRN Stride, Inc. Consumer Defensive 20.72% $3.32B
25 NUS NuSkin Enterprises, Inc. Consumer Defensive 19.90% $0.25B
26 DEO Diageo plc Consumer Defensive 19.26% $51.59B
27 HSY The Hershey Company Consumer Defensive 19.05% $36.77B
28 CHD Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Consumer Defensive 18.41% $24.52B
29 DG Dollar General Corporation Consumer Defensive 17.77% $28.11B
30 CVSA Covista Inc. Consumer Defensive 17.40% $4.23B
31 KR The Kroger Co. Consumer Defensive 17.14% $35.12B
32 INGR Ingredion Incorporated Consumer Defensive 17.06% $6.49B
33 MZTI The Marzetti Company Consumer Defensive 16.76% $3.02B
34 ATGE Adtalem Global Education Inc Consumer Defensive 16.54% $3.40B
35 JBSS John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. Consumer Defensive 16.34% $0.98B
36 LW Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 15.89% $7.16B
37 USFD US Foods Holding Corp. Consumer Defensive 15.70% $23.56B
38 CPB The Campbell's Company Consumer Defensive 15.43% $6.73B
39 SFD Smithfield Foods, Inc. Consumer Defensive 14.51% $9.87B
40 TAL TAL Education Group Consumer Defensive 14.06% $6.91B
41 MKC McCormick & Company, Incorporated Consumer Defensive 13.76% $14.06B
42 KVUE Kenvue Inc. Consumer Defensive 13.66% $36.83B
43 SAM The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Consumer Defensive 12.93% $1.88B
44 OLLI Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 12.74% $4.71B
45 CALM Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. Consumer Defensive 12.03% $3.98B
46 CHEF The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. Consumer Defensive 11.97% $4.45B
47 PSMT PriceSmart, Inc. Consumer Defensive 11.86% $5.50B
48 ACI Albertsons Companies, Inc. Consumer Defensive 11.84% $5.86B
49 FRPT Freshpet, Inc. Consumer Defensive 11.51% $3.21B
50 VLGEA Village Super Market, Inc. Consumer Defensive 11.46% $0.64B
51 MH McGraw Hill, Inc. Consumer Defensive 10.83% $2.21B
52 CENT Central Garden & Pet Company Consumer Defensive 10.29% $2.91B
53 EDU New Oriental Education and Technology Group, Inc. American Consumer Defensive 10.15% $9.04B
54 FMX Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. Consumer Defensive 10.04% $41.62B
55 MDLZ Mondelez International, Inc. Consumer Defensive 9.49% $80.09B
56 CELH Celsius Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 9.14% $6.08B
57 POST Post Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 8.94% $4.09B
58 BUD Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Consumer Defensive 8.67% $165.35B
59 KDP Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Consumer Defensive 8.15% $41.33B
60 ANDE The Andersons, Inc. Consumer Defensive 7.69% $2.31B
61 STRA Strategic Education, Inc. Consumer Defensive 7.69% $1.86B
62 PFGC Performance Food Group Company Consumer Defensive 7.61% $18.00B
63 WMK Weis Markets, Inc. Consumer Defensive 6.93% $1.89B
64 JJSF J&J Snack Foods Corp. Consumer Defensive 6.79% $1.71B
65 FLO Flowers Foods, Inc. Consumer Defensive 6.43% $1.53B
66 AVO Mission Produce, Inc. Consumer Defensive 6.42% $1.11B
67 HRL Hormel Foods Corporation Consumer Defensive 6.05% $13.81B
68 SMPL The Simply Good Foods Company Consumer Defensive 5.73% $0.99B
69 CHSCL CHS Inc. Consumer Defensive 5.40% –
70 SPB Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. Consumer Defensive 5.23% $2.03B
71 IMKTA Ingles Markets, Incorporated Consumer Defensive 5.17% $1.65B
72 BG Bunge Global SA Consumer Defensive 5.13% $20.94B
73 ADM Archer Daniels Midland Company Consumer Defensive 4.74% $37.36B
74 DMC Del Monte Corporation Consumer Defensive 4.64% $1.41B
75 DOLE Dole plc Consumer Defensive 3.76% $1.31B
76 TSN Tyson Foods, Inc. Consumer Defensive 2.62% $20.59B
77 ELF e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. Consumer Defensive 2.33% $5.44B
78 PRMB Primo Brands Corporation Consumer Defensive 2.01% $8.66B
79 THS Treehouse Foods Inc Consumer Defensive 1.74% $1.23B
80 EPC Edgewell Personal Care Company Consumer Defensive 1.64% $1.30B
81 DAR DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. Consumer Defensive 1.33% $9.62B
82 DIT AMCON Distributing Co. Consumer Defensive 0.50% $0.07B
83 UTZ Utz Brands, Inc. Consumer Defensive 0.11% $1.25B
84 SPTN SpartanNash Company Consumer Defensive 0.04% $0.91B
85 LOPE Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Consumer Defensive 0.03% $3.88B

Companies with return on equity above 500%, or shareholder equity below 1% of total assets, are excluded: when equity is near zero the ratio becomes unstable and unrepresentative. Ratio rankings also require at least $1B in annual revenue.

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by return on equity 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.