SA Quant ratings: Best and worst-rated consumer staples stocks ahead of Q4 earnings

[An Unrecognizable Woman Shopping At The Supermarket]
FreshSplash/E+ via Getty Images

With the fourth quarter earnings season approaching, Seeking Alpha generated a list of the highest- and lowest-rated mid- to mega-cap consumer staples stocks as per its Quant model.

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLP]) was the third-worst performing sector in Q4, seeing a marginal loss of 0.73%, compared to the broader market SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPY]) (SP500 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SP500]) gain of 2%.

Staples saw a defensive lag and are said to be less susceptible to economic cycles, frequently lagging in a risk-on market. The XLP Fund (XLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLP]) holds a ~5.8% weightage in the S&P 500 index (SP500 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SP500]). Among the 11 sector-based ETFs, Seeking Alpha's quant ratings give the S&P consumer staples fund (XLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLP]) the second-lowest score of 2.28 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLP], only above the real estate ETF (XLRE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLRE]).

QUANT RATINGS

Turning to individual stocks, Seeking Alpha's quant rating system gives the following companies top ratings:

* Ambev (ABEV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABEV]) - Strong Buy with a quant rating of 4.86 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABEV/ratings/quant-ratings]
* United Natural Foods (UNFI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UNFI]) - Strong Buy rating of 4.73 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UNFI/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Danone (DANOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DANOY]) - Buy rating of 4.38 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DANOY/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Jerónimo Martins (JRONY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JRONY]) - Buy rating 4.26 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JRONY/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Heineken (HEINY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HEINY]) - Buy rating 4.18 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HEINY/ratings/quant-ratings]

Among the lowest SA quant-rated companies, all having a Strong Sell ratings are:

* BellRing Brands (BRBR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BRBR]) - Strong sell with quant rating of 1.10 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BRBR/ratings/quant-ratings]
* e.l.f. Beauty (ELF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ELF]) - 1.22 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ELF/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFM]) - 1.25 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFM/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Primo Brands (PRMB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PRMB]) - 1.28 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PRMB/ratings/quant-ratings]
* National Beverage (FIZZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FIZZ]) - 1.35 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FIZZ/ratings/quant-ratings]

ANALYST COMMENTS

Forecasting 2026, "Favor attractive & profitable categories amid a challenged Staples backdrop - Buy nicotine, energy drink, candy and beauty stocks" _Goldman Sachs Research_ wrote in a recent note. The research house cited top ideas for 2026, including

* Market share gainers and strong topline performers: (PM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PM]) and (MNST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MNST])
* Where bearishness appears over-done: (PEP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PEP]), (ELF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ELF]), (CELH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CELH]), (HSY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HSY]) and (SFM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFM])
* Beer recovery: (STZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/STZ]) and (TAP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TAP])
* Growth-advantaged emerging market exposure: (PM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PM]), (MDLZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MDLZ]) and (CL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CL])
* Easing cost pressure: (HSY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HSY])
* GLP-1/better-for-you positioning: (SFM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFM])

"Although the consumer staples sector shares some similarities and is even more resilient when it comes to macroeconomic impacts, I am more bearish on this industry in the short term, and I believe that the current situation is much more complex than it appears to be." said [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4856282-consumer-staples-face-structural-headwinds-cautious-with-xlp-and-kxi] SA contributor Kenio Fontes.

Other funds for a diversified approach to consumer staples include: Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VDC]); iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IYK]); First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (FXG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXG]); Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PBJ]); First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FTXG]); iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (KXI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KXI]).

MORE ON CONSUMER STAPLES

* Consumer Staples Face Structural Headwinds: I'm Cautious With XLP And KXI [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4856282-consumer-staples-face-structural-headwinds-cautious-with-xlp-and-kxi]
* Where To Find Outperformance In 2026 [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4856217-where-to-find-outperformance-in-2026]
* My S&P 500 Prediction On Sector Outperformers And Laggards In 2026 [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4854947-my-s-and-p-500-prediction-on-sector-out-performers-and-laggards-in-2026]
* Best and worst sectors and industries for short selling in '25 [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4538214-best-and-worst-sectors-and-industries-for-short-selling-in-25]
* These consumer stocks are falling after the Supreme Court does not issue a tariff ruling [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4538092-these-consumer-stocks-are-falling-after-the-supreme-court-does-not-issue-a-tariff-ruling]