Last week was rough for most investors, but there were some pockets of strength. Oil and gas companies raced higher as fuel costs soared. Defense contractors were enlisted in bullish action amid geopolitical tensions. Several companies in those industries hit fresh 52-week highs this past week.
However, even in the economically sensitive and vulnerable consumer discretionary sector, a few names rose to the challenge. Coca-Cola Consolidated (COKE +0.27%), McDonald's (MCD 0.40%), and Restaurant Brands International (QSR +0.09%) -- three stocks that need folks feeling good enough about their finances to keep buying their products -- managed to notch fresh highs last week. Let's take a closer look.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Coca-Cola Consolidated
It's important to point out that this is not Coca-Cola (KO 0.10%) itself. The global beverage giant didn't hit a new high last week, but Coca-Cola stock is trading just 6% below its all-time high set on the final trading day of last month.
Coca-Cola Consolidated is Coca-Cola's largest stateside bottler, helping distribute sugary sodas and other beverages in the pop star's wide product portfolio across 14 states, serving 60 million consumers. It's not the high-margin juggernaut it's repping, but pull up the stock chart. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
NASDAQ: COKE
Key Data Points
Coca-Cola Consolidated is beating the market with a 51% surge over the past year. You're lucky if you've held longer, as Coca-Cola Consolidated has more than tripled over the past three years. It's nearly a seven-bagger over the past five years.
This isn't a story of torrid growth, but the business is steady. It has delivered 16 consecutive years of positive revenue growth, but to be fair, those top-line increases haven't topped 12% in any of the past eight years.
Coca-Cola Consolidated has been doing this for a long time. The CEO is the great-grandson of the company's founder, who started it all 123 years ago. It's not a household name as the middleman for the higher-margin Coca-Cola, but this is a low-beta stock with a track record of big gains over the past few years. You have to like its odds to be more sparkling than flat.
NYSE: MCD
Key Data Points
2. McDonald's
The country's largest restaurant operator by market value had an interesting week. On the positive side, on Tuesday it introduced the Big Arch on Tuesday, the fast-food behemoth's limited-time offering in the "better burger" category. On the negative front, its CEO went viral for the wrong reason. A video of Chris Kempczinski performing a taste test of the new burger last month began to gain traction for its awkwardness.
CEOs of other eateries began posting their own videos, mocking if not celebrating the taste-test delivery. McDonald's will be fine, even if the Big Arch fared about as well as the failed Arch Deluxe. And momentum is on its side. In a year in which many restaurant concepts struggled, McDonald's closed out 2025 with strong quarterly comps.
It has more than 45,000 locations worldwide, and with franchisees operating roughly 95% of those restaurants, McDonald's collects high-margin revenue. It generated a record net margin of 27% in 2025. When Mickey D's boosts its dividend later this year, and it should, it will stretch its streak of annual increases to 50 years. When it does, McDonald's will join a rare group of companies investors call Dividend Kings.
Its CEO's taste-test may have given viewers a chuckle, but these days it's McDonald's itself that's laughing all the way to the bank.
NYSE: MCD
Key Data Points
3. Restaurant Brands International
One of the videos lampooning McDonald's Kempczinski was posted by the president of Burger King for the U.S. and Canada, Tom Curtis. Burger King is one of the chains owned by Restaurant Brands International, along with Tim Hortons, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs.
Restaurant Brands' $26 billion market cap is no match for McDonald's at $223 billion. It also generates a third of Mickey D's revenue and a third of its net profit margin. But its 3.5% dividend yield is the highest among the three stocks on this list that hit fresh highs last week, and its 12% revenue growth in 2025 also takes the crown.
You can thrive in today's investing climate if you're selling gasoline, munitions, or burgers with something to wash them down with, apparently. Don't assume that this is a bad time for all consumer-facing businesses.
