Statistics · 2026 · Stocks
Consumer Staples Stock Statistics (2026)
Consumer staples is the seventh-largest of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500, at 4.3% of the index by weight, as of October 1, 2026. Its 33 companies hold $3.3 trillion in market value. Walmart (WMT) is the largest, at $827.0B. The median company earns a 6.4% net margin and pays a 3.01% median dividend yield.
Key takeaways
- Consumer staples carries 4.3% of the S&P 500’s index weight and 4.7% of total market value across 497 companies.
- The sector produces 11.9% of the index’s revenue but 5.0% of its net income.
- The median staples company has a 6.4% net margin, against 12.9% for the index and 9.9% for consumer discretionary.
- The median dividend yield is 3.01% for staples and 1.37% for discretionary.
How big is the consumer staples sector in the S&P 500?
Consumer staples is the seventh-largest of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500, with a 4.3% weight in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF holdings file on October 1, 2026. Its 33 companies are worth $3.30 trillion in total market value, 4.7% of the 497 companies with fundamentals in WealthyBud’s data.
1. Consumer staples is 4.3% of the S&P 500 by index weight
Weights and sector labels come from State Street’s SPY holdings file for October 1, 2026 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
2. Consumer staples holds $3.3 trillion, 4.7% of total market value
The 33 companies add up to $3.30 trillion out of $70.0 trillion for 497 companies. This share differs from the 4.3% index weight because index weights follow S&P’s methodology, cover all 501 constituents (not 497) and date from October 1, 2026, not October 2, 2026 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
3. Staples earns 5.0% of net income on 11.9% of revenue
The sector reported $2.14 trillion in revenue and $0.11 trillion in net income in each company’s latest fiscal year. Shares use the 492 index companies whose SEC revenue tag is at least net income; 5 others are excluded (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
Which consumer staples companies are the largest?
Walmart is the largest consumer staples company, worth $827.0B, followed by Costco Wholesale at $406.5B and Coca-Cola at $368.2B. The ten largest hold 82.6% of the sector’s market value. The table below shows each company’s revenue, net margin and P/E ratio.
4. The top three are 48.5% of sector market value
Walmart (WMT), Costco Wholesale (COST) and Coca-Cola (KO) carry 1.8% of the S&P 500’s index weight and hold 48.5% of consumer staples market cap (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
| Company | Market cap | Revenue | Net margin | P/E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart (WMT) | $827.0B | $713.2B | 3.1% | 37.8 |
| Costco Wholesale (COST) | $406.5B | $275.2B | 2.9% | 50.2 |
| Coca-Cola (KO) | $368.2B | $47.9B | 27.3% | 28.1 |
| Procter & Gamble (PG) | $335.9B | $87.0B | 18.4% | 20.9 |
| Philip Morris International (PM) | $292.0B | $40.6B | 27.9% | 25.7 |
| PepsiCo (PEP) | $171.4B | $93.9B | 8.8% | 20.8 |
| Altria Group (MO) | $112.4B | $23.3B | 29.8% | 16.2 |
| Mondelez International (MDLZ) | $74.6B | $38.5B | 6.4% | 30.4 |
| Target (TGT) | $70.6B | $104.8B | 3.5% | 19.0 |
| Colgate-Palmolive (CL) | $67.3B | $20.4B | 10.5% | 31.6 |
5. Retailers are 61.6% of staples revenue but 42.7% of market value
Using SEC industry codes 5200 to 5999 (retail trade), 7 sector companies are retailers: CASY, COST, DG, DLTR, KR, TGT, and WMT. Their median net margin is 3.5% against 9.8% for the other 26 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
See fundamentals and Investor Scores for 103 large caps
How profitable are consumer staples companies?
The median consumer staples company keeps 6.4% of revenue as net income, below the 12.9% median for the S&P 500. 3 of 33 staples companies lost money in their latest fiscal year. Retailers have a median margin of 3.5% and the other staples companies 9.8%.
6. Median net margin: 6.4% for staples, 12.9% for the index
Net margin is GAAP net income divided by revenue for each company’s latest fiscal year, so it includes non-operating gains and losses. The staples median covers 33 companies and the index median covers 492 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
7. 3 of 33 staples companies reported a net loss
GIS, KHC, and SJM had negative net income in the latest fiscal year. GIS earned $885.8M in operating income but reported a $87.6M net loss. KHC lost $4.7B at the operating line and $5.8B after all items. SJM earned $360.2M in operating income but reported a $138.7M net loss. The other 30 were profitable (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
Among the 26 staples companies with at least $10 billion in revenue, these five had the highest GAAP net margins, which include non-operating gains and losses:
- Altria Group (MO) had a net margin of 29.8% on $23.3B of revenue.
- Philip Morris International (PM) had a net margin of 27.9% on $40.6B of revenue.
- Coca-Cola (KO) had a net margin of 27.3% on $47.9B of revenue.
- Procter & Gamble (PG) had a net margin of 18.4% on $87.0B of revenue.
- Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) had a net margin of 12.5% on $16.6B of revenue.
Each of the five reports less net income than operating income, so non-operating gains do not drive these rankings.
8. Annual net margins moved a median 5.8 points from best to worst year in staples
For each company, WealthyBud subtracts its lowest annual net margin from its highest across its SEC fiscal-year history (four to five years). The staples median is 5.8 percentage points across 33 companies, against 6.6 points across 47 discretionary companies. The gap is 0.8 points (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
How expensive are consumer staples stocks, and what do they yield?
The median consumer staples stock trades at 22.9 times earnings, below the 25.2 median for the S&P 500. The median dividend yield among the 27 companies with a known yield is 3.01%, above the index’s 1.88%. Yield is the latest annual dividend per share divided by price.
9. Median P/E: 22.9 for staples, 25.2 for the index
P/E here is market cap divided by latest-fiscal-year net income, for profitable companies only. The staples median covers 30 companies; GIS, KHC, and SJM are left out as loss-makers. The index median covers 461 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
10. Median dividend yield: 3.01% for staples, 1.88% for the index
The staples median covers 27 of 33 companies and the index median covers 362 (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026). CASY, HSY, STZ, and TSN pay dividends according to their cash-flow statements, but the SEC data has no per-share dividend, so they are left out. WealthyBud’s data has no dividend per share for DLTR and MNST.
11. The three highest yields: GIS at 7.63%, KHC at 7.23%, and MO at 6.18%
These are the highest of the 27 staples companies with a known yield. Compare them with the dividend stock statistics and dividend growth ETF statistics (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
How fast is consumer staples revenue growing?
The median consumer staples company grew revenue 2.1% in its latest fiscal year, below the 6.9% index median. 8 of 33 staples companies reported lower revenue. Over three years the median compound rate was 2.0% a year. Two government price and sales series give context.
12. Median revenue growth: 2.1% for staples, 6.9% for the index
Growth compares latest fiscal-year revenue with the year before. The latest year is 2025 and 2026 depending on the company. (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
13. Food at home prices rose 2.2% over the 12 months to August 2026
The Bureau of Labor Statistics wrote in its September 11, 2026 release: “The food at home index rose 2.2 percent over the 12 months ending in August.” The 12-month change is not seasonally adjusted, and WealthyBud confirmed it from the unadjusted series CUUR0000SAF11. See the BLS CPI release. This page does not test how food prices relate to the stock figures above.
14. U.S. retail and food services sales were $773.9 billion in August 2026 (advance)
The Census Bureau’s advance estimate, in its September 16, 2026 release, is for total retail and food services sales “adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes”. It was up 6.0% (±0.5%) from August 2025 and up 1.2% from the previous month. See the Census Monthly Retail Trade page. This page does not link retail sales to stock results.
How does consumer discretionary compare?
Consumer discretionary is the fifth-largest sector at 8.6% of the index, against 4.3% for staples. Its median net margin is 9.9% against 6.4%, and its median dividend yield is 1.37% against 3.01%. Amazon and Tesla hold 63.7% of its market value.
| Measure | Consumer Staples | Consumer Discretionary |
|---|---|---|
| Companies in the sector | 33 | 47 |
| S&P 500 index weight | 4.3% | 8.6% |
| Total market cap | $3.30 trillion | $6.55 trillion |
| Share of total market value | 4.7% | 9.4% |
| Median company market cap | $33.0B | $38.0B |
| Two largest as share of sector market cap | 37.4% | 63.7% |
| Median net margin | 6.4% | 9.9% |
| Median P/E (companies with a P/E) | 22.9 (n 30) | 22.9 (n 43) |
| Median dividend yield (known yields) | 3.01% | 1.37% |
| Companies with a net loss | 3 | 2 |
| Median revenue growth | 2.1% | 5.0% |
15. Discretionary has 47 companies and $6.5 trillion, 2.0 times staples by market value
Both sectors use the same pool rules; the table marks medians and sums (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
16. Amazon and Tesla hold 63.7% of discretionary market value
Amazon (AMZN) and Tesla (TSLA) are the two largest, against 37.4% for WMT and COST in staples. The median discretionary company is worth $38.0B; this page uses sums for totals and medians for typical companies (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
17. Median net margin: 9.9% for discretionary, 6.4% for staples
The discretionary median covers 47 companies. F and HAS reported a net loss, and APTV and LEN have a withheld P/E after a spin-off, so the P/E median covers 43. The annual margin range is 6.6 points against 5.8 for staples (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
18. 29 of 47 discretionary companies have a known dividend yield, against 27 of 33 in staples
The median yield is 1.37%. 16 have no dividend per share in the data and 2 have a cash dividend but no per-share figure, so they are left out (WealthyBud data · October 2, 2026).
What this means for investors
Income differs across the two sectors. Staples pays a 3.01% median yield against 1.37% for discretionary. The dividend stock statistics cover the whole index.
Retail changes the margin picture. 7 of the 33 companies are retailers, and they hold 61.6% of sector revenue. Compare margins by business type, not by sector label.
Check valuation against the index. A 22.9 median P/E sits below the index’s 25.2. See the healthcare stock statistics for another sector.
Look at each company. Our stocks hub shows fundamentals company by company, and XLP holds the sector as a fund.
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