How are defensive stocks doing?
Consumer staples and steady dividend payers that tend to hold up when the market falls. Here is how they have done as a group against the S&P 500, and which of them are leading and lagging.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Lagging
Defensive stocks are down 7% over the past year as an equal-weighted group, against +16% for the S&P 500. 5 of 35 beat the index. Iridium Communications (IRDM) leads at +140% and Flowers Foods (FLO) trails at −54%. Over the past month the group is −4%, against +3% for the S&P.
The past year
The group against the S&P 500, each set to $100 a year ago. Select a stock in the table to chart it against the group.
All 35 defensive stocks
Sorted by the past year’s return. Select a row to chart the stock against the group, or its ticker to open its page. Select a column to sort.
| Stock | P3 | 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRDM Iridium Communications | 79Strong | +0.9% | −2% | +173% | +140% | Distribution Top |
| KO Coca-Cola | 62Middling | +0.3% | +5% | +26% | +33% | Hot Hand |
| PM Philip Morris International | 44Middling | +6.0% | +12% | +25% | +30% | Hot Hand |
| MNST Monster Beverage | 75Strong | +1.3% | −10% | +14% | +27% | Distribution Top |
| KDP Keurig Dr Pepper | 62Middling | +1.0% | +2% | +13% | +24% | Hot Hand |
| SEB Seaboard | 54Middling | −7.5% | −16% | −11% | +14% | Rolling Over |
| SJM J.M. Smucker | 23Weak | −1.0% | +8% | +23% | +13% | Speculative Pop |
| CL Colgate-Palmolive | 31Weak | +0.4% | −5% | +12% | +13% | Exhausted Rally |
| MO Altria | 28Weak | +4.2% | 0% | +24% | +10% | Hot Hand |
| CHD Church & Dwight | 50Middling | +4.4% | +1% | +17% | +10% | Churning Winner |
| TSN Tyson Foods | 21Weak | +1.8% | −8% | −9% | +2% | Broken Year |
| VZ Verizon | 31Weak | −16.6% | −2% | +2% | +1% | Speculative Pop |
| PG Procter & Gamble | 40Middling | +5.8% | +2% | +6% | 0% | Bottom Fished |
| MDLZ Mondelez International | 23Weak | −3.3% | +1% | +12% | −2% | Falling Knife |
| REYN Reynolds Consumer Products | 34Middling | +2.0% | −16% | −4% | −9% | Sleepy Staple |
| PEP PepsiCo | 30Weak | −7.8% | −9% | −12% | −9% | Show-Me Grower |
| KHC Kraft Heinz | 14Weak | −8.7% | −12% | −8% | −11% | Falling Knife |
| STZ Constellation Brands | 15Weak | −0.9% | −9% | −11% | −14% | Broken Year |
| T AT&T | 27Weak | −13.2% | +3% | −11% | −16% | Falling Knife |
| HSY Hershey | 36Middling | −6.7% | −7% | −11% | −17% | Turning Up |
| KMB Kimberly-Clark | 21Weak | −0.9% | −11% | −3% | −18% | Sleepy Staple |
| TAP Molson Coors Beverage | 15Weak | −3.2% | −7% | −20% | −18% | Broken Year |
| HRL Hormel Foods | 5Weak | −7.9% | −22% | −19% | −20% | Broken Year |
| INGR Ingredion | 22Weak | −6.0% | −4% | −14% | −22% | Sleepy Staple |
| SAM Boston Beer | 28Weak | +0.6% | −1% | −13% | −23% | Falling Knife |
| LW Lamb Weston | 19Weak | +1.2% | +2% | +14% | −25% | Turning Up |
| PPC Pilgrim's Pride | 15Weak | −4.3% | 0% | −27% | −25% | Falling Knife |
| CAG Conagra Brands | 14Weak | −8.2% | −6% | −22% | −28% | Broken Year |
| CLX Clorox | 16Weak | −5.6% | −12% | −17% | −30% | Broken Year |
| POST Post | 24Weak | −6.8% | −14% | −24% | −30% | Show-Me Grower |
| MKC McCormick & | 31Weak | −12.3% | −17% | −34% | −32% | Show-Me Grower |
| TMUS T-Mobile US | 26Weak | −16.1% | −21% | −27% | −34% | Show-Me Grower |
| GIS General Mills | 15Weak | −10.2% | −12% | −31% | −35% | Falling Knife |
| CPB Campbell's | 15Weak | −8.3% | −13% | −31% | −37% | Falling Knife |
| FLO Flowers Foods | 11Weak | −4.9% | −30% | −47% | −54% | Sleepy Staple |
How to read this page
How it’s measured. A group of large US stocks whose prices have moved together over the past five years once the market’s own moves are taken out: the same groups as Stox’s co-movement clusters. The group is equal-weighted, so each company counts the same whatever its size, and returns are share-price changes from daily closes.
Sources. Daily prices from Financial Modeling Prep; scores and co-movement groups from Stox.
An equal-weighted group can read quite differently from a sector fund, which gives the biggest companies the most weight.
P3 is Stox’s combined score of market beat, staying power and business growth, from 0 to 100. Type is the stock’s Stox Atlas type. Both describe the past year, not what comes next.
Groups are built from how stocks trade rather than from industry labels, so a company can sit with stocks from another sector that move like it.
This page is information, not investment advice. About our data and methods ›