Top Consumer Defensive Stocks by Share Buybacks
Top consumer defensive companies ranked by share buybacks, latest annual filings.
What Share Buybacks Mean for Consumer Defensive Companies
Share buybacks in consumer defensive sit alongside a substantial dividend as the standard capital-return package. Staples firms generate predictable cash flow through the full economic cycle, and once brand investment and modest capacity needs are funded, surplus capital tends to flow back to shareholders through both channels simultaneously. Programmatic buybacks, executed on a steady schedule rather than opportunistically in response to valuation windows, are the sector norm.
Why It Matters in Consumer Defensive
Steady buyback programs reflect reliable cash conversion from mature brand portfolios. Because growth investment needs are modest, repurchases become a natural complement to the dividend. The caveat is limited valuation flexibility: staples tend to trade in a narrow multiple range, so buybacks rarely capture deep value and their per-share impact is driven more by consistency than by opportunistic timing. The story is one of steady compounding rather than tactical windows.
What to Read Alongside
Pair buybacks with [Free Cash Flow](/financials/top-free-cash-flow-stocks/consumer-defensive/) to confirm funding capacity through input-cost cycles, [Net Income](/financials/top-net-income-stocks/consumer-defensive/) for earnings context, and [Gross Margin](/financials/top-gross-margin-stocks/consumer-defensive/) to see whether pricing power is supporting the capital return.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WMT | Walmart Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $8.09B | $930.22B |
| 2 | PG | The Procter & Gamble Company | Consumer Defensive | $6.50B | $326.45B |
| 3 | KR | The Kroger Co. | Consumer Defensive | $2.70B | $37.75B |
| 4 | COKE | Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.61B | $11.80B |
| 5 | BUD | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | Consumer Defensive | $2.60B | $152.97B |
| 6 | MDLZ | Mondelez International, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $2.38B | $78.70B |
| 7 | DLTR | Dollar Tree, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.55B | $21.62B |
| 8 | ACI | Albertsons Companies, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.48B | $7.77B |
| 9 | SYY | Sysco Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $1.25B | $35.98B |
| 10 | CL | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Consumer Defensive | $1.21B | $67.91B |
| 11 | GIS | General Mills, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.20B | $17.17B |
| 12 | MO | Altria Group, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.00B | $117.39B |
| 13 | PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $1.00B | $194.82B |
| 14 | USFD | US Foods Holding Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.93B | $18.31B |
| 15 | STZ | Constellation Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.92B | $23.32B |
| 16 | COST | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.90B | $426.59B |
| 17 | CHD | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.90B | $22.01B |
| 18 | KO | The Coca-Cola Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.75B | $338.86B |
| 19 | POST | Post Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.71B | $4.12B |
| 20 | TAP | Molson Coors Beverage Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.65B | $7.24B |
| 21 | BG | Bunge Global SA | Consumer Defensive | $0.55B | $25.50B |
| 22 | BRBR | BellRing Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.47B | $1.03B |
| 23 | SFM | Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.47B | $7.43B |
| 24 | EDU | New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.45B | $7.41B |
| 25 | KHC | The Kraft Heinz Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.44B | $26.99B |
| 26 | PRMB | Primo Brands Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.42B | $8.78B |
| 27 | TGT | Target Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.41B | $56.68B |
| 28 | CLX | The Clorox Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.33B | $10.71B |
| 29 | SPB | Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.33B | $1.85B |
| 30 | BJ | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.29B | $11.39B |
| 31 | LOPE | Grand Canyon Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.26B | $3.94B |
| 32 | LAUR | Laureate Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.22B | $4.68B |
| 33 | ATGE | Adtalem Global Education Inc | Consumer Defensive | $0.21B | $3.40B |
| 34 | CVSA | Covista Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.21B | $4.19B |
| 35 | SAM | The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $1.71B |
| 36 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.20B | $32.31B |
| 37 | CENT | Central Garden & Pet Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.16B | $2.36B |
| 38 | THS | Treehouse Foods Inc | Consumer Defensive | $0.15B | $1.23B |
| 39 | KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.14B | $31.45B |
| 40 | WMK | Weis Markets, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.14B | $1.83B |
| 41 | STRA | Strategic Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.14B | $1.79B |
| 42 | PRDO | Perdoceo Education Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.12B | $2.07B |
| 43 | MNST | Monster Beverage Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.10B | $87.08B |
| 44 | EPC | Edgewell Personal Care Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.09B | $0.85B |
| 45 | OLLI | Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.07B | $4.84B |
| 46 | CAG | Conagra Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $6.02B |
| 47 | CPB | The Campbell's Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $6.26B |
| 48 | PFGC | Performance Food Group Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.06B | $15.17B |
| 49 | UDMY | Udemy, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.05B | $0.68B |
| 50 | SMPL | The Simply Good Foods Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.05B | $1.03B |
| 51 | ELF | e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.05B | $3.09B |
| 52 | EL | The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.04B | $29.69B |
| 53 | MKC | McCormick & Company, Incorporated | Consumer Defensive | $0.03B | $12.44B |
| 54 | DAR | Darling Ingredients Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.03B | $9.78B |
| 55 | FDP | Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.03B | $1.40B |
| 56 | RLX | RLX Technology Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.03B | $2.48B |
| 57 | AGRO | Adecoagro S.A. | Consumer Defensive | $0.02B | $1.76B |
| 58 | ANDE | The Andersons, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.02B | $2.48B |
| 59 | CHEF | The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.02B | $3.17B |
| 60 | SPTN | SpartanNash Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $0.91B |
| 61 | IPAR | Interparfums, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $2.83B |
| 62 | TAL | TAL Education Group | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $5.92B |
| 63 | SENEB | Seneca Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $0.99B |
| 64 | COCO | The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $4.29B |
| 65 | KDP | Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $41.57B |
| 66 | HLF | Herbalife Ltd. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $1.18B |
| 67 | JJSF | J&J Snack Foods Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $1.42B |
| 68 | MZTI | The Marzetti Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $2.93B |
| 69 | PSMT | PriceSmart, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $5.29B |
| 70 | TR | Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $2.83B |
| 71 | AVO | Mission Produce, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $0.98B |
| 72 | CELH | Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $7.67B |
| 73 | FLO | Flowers Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.01B | $1.54B |
| 74 | UVV | Universal Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $1.32B |
| 75 | APEI | American Public Education, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.96B |
| 76 | GHC | Graham Holdings Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $4.74B |
| 77 | SJM | The J. M. Smucker Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $10.80B |
| 78 | HELE | Helen of Troy Limited | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.59B |
| 79 | DNUT | Krispy Kreme, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.57B |
| 80 | STKL | SunOpta Inc | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.77B |
| 81 | TPB | Turning Point Brands, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $1.67B |
| 82 | HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $12.73B |
| 83 | VLGEA | Village Super Market, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.58B |
| 84 | K | Kellanova | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $29.03B |
| 85 | GO | Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.82B |
| 86 | COUR | Coursera, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $1.53B |
| 87 | HSY | The Hershey Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $37.16B |
| 88 | ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $40.54B |
| 89 | NGVC | Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $0.66B |
| 90 | UNFI | United Natural Foods, Inc. | Consumer Defensive | $0.00B | $3.16B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by share buybacks 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.