As investors conduct their quarterly or yearly portfolio reviews, they may notice their holdings have gotten a little tech-heavy. That's not a surprise, as tech sector companies not only tend to be the most interesting and exciting, but also offer the potential for the biggest gains.
There's also nothing wrong with owning tech stocks. But investing too heavily in them can come at the expense of building a well-balanced portfolio that can better withstand surprises, economic downturns, and prolonged turbulence.
One way to add some balance to a portfolio is by picking up shares of some companies in the consumer goods space, and in that realm, I see Walmart (WMT 0.93%), Coca-Cola (KO 0.01%), and Procter & Gamble (PG 0.38%) serving as pillars of consistency and reliability. With $500, you can start a foundational stake in all three, or dedicate that whole sum to your highest-conviction pick.
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Low prices meet more convenience
Walmart's appeal for most shoppers is that they know its prices are low and that they can pretty much find its stores all over. With over 10,000 retail units across the world, Walmart has plenty of locations to run into and get what you need.
Over the years, however, Walmart has been pairing its low prices with the ultimate consumer-pleaser feature: greater convenience. Subscribers to its Walmart+ loyalty program receive free deliveries, free shipping, and free returns from home, subject to some restrictions. It's now even rolling out drone delivery in some locations.
Walmart is well positioned to keep generating hundreds of billions of dollars in sales each year, which results in tens of billions in net income. It passes a healthy fraction of that money along to its shareholders via dividend payouts. Over the past 53 years, the retail giant has boosted its payouts for 53 straight years. Its yield of 0.7% at the current share price may not be the most generous in the retail space, but its 50-plus-year-long streak of hikes -- which earns it a spot in the exclusive club of Dividend Kings -- is a credit to the sustainability of the business. And it has paired those payout boosts with impressive stock price appreciation over the last five years.
The stock looks richly priced based on traditional valuation metrics -- its price-to-earnings ratio is above 47 -- so value investors may want to wait for shares to pull back before starting a position. That said, this may also be a company to consider paying a premium for because of its stability and recession-resistant nature.
NASDAQ: WMT
Key Data Points
A legacy company with a massive beverage portfolio
Known for its namesake drink, beverage maker Coca-Cola has lately been dealing with investor concerns that it has become overly reliant on raising prices to drive revenue growth. At some point, investors worried that consumers would push back and dent its sales.
Coca-Cola recently eased those concerns, posting strong results for its first quarter. The company has focused more on offering different beverage sizes and quantities, meeting a wider swath of customers at price points they are comfortable with. For example, North American mini-can volume increased after convenience stores started selling its single-serve mini-cans.
It's also meeting changing consumer tastes, with increased volumes in sports drinks, water, and tea. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar also saw a 13% jump in volume. It was a good quarter overall, and the company expects organic sales growth in the range of 4% to 5%, indicating it believes it can sustainably increase sales.
Coca-Cola, too, is a consistent dividend booster, having increased its payouts for 64 consecutive years. At the current share price, it yields 2.7%, notably higher than Walmart's yield. That reflects its less impressive stock price appreciation: Coca-Cola stock is up over the last few years, but has underperformed the S&P 500.
NYSE: KO
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Products always on shopping lists
If you're shopping for household necessities, it's difficult not to run into a product made by Procter & Gamble. Its extensive portfolio includes such Pampers diapers, Gain and Tide laundry detergents, Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels, Gillette razors, and Crest toothpaste.
Like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble also recently posted strong quarterly results. For its fiscal Q3 2026, which ended March 31, organic sales in its beauty segment grew by 7% compared to analyst expectations of 2.5%. The company also posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share and net sales. Like a lot of other companies, P&G is still dealing with the impacts of tariffs and higher commodity costs, so it will be important to watch how it navigates those challenges. If it doesn't do so effectively, those higher costs could eat into its margins.
NYSE: PG
Key Data Points
In terms of its dividend-hiking streak, Procter & Gamble is the winner of the three, having boosted its payout for 69 consecutive years. As with Coca-Cola, its stock price appreciation potential may be limited, but the dividend yields an attractive 2.9%
