Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is the largest consumer staples company, with Costco (NASDAQ:COST) ranking second and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) coming in third. The top of this market sector also includes popular household brands and some of the biggest tobacco companies.

Smiling Walmart cashier signaling for next customer.
Image source: Walmart.

Largest by market cap

Largest companies by market cap in the consumer staples sector

(Editor's note: Rankings are as of July 4, 2025.)

Data as of Jul 13, 2025.
Name and ticker Market cap Current price Industry
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) $753 billion $94.36 Food and Staples Retailing
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) $430 billion $970.12 Food and Staples Retailing
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) $368 billion $156.88 Household Products
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) $301 billion $69.91 Beverages
Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) $280 billion $179.69 Tobacco
L'Oréal (OTC:LRLCY) $233 billion $87.31 Personal Products
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) $185 billion $135.33 Beverages
Unilever (NYSE:UL) $149 billion $60.76 Personal Products
Anheuser-Busch InBev/NV (NYSE:BUD) $118 billion $67.50 Beverages
British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) $112 billion $51.16 Tobacco

Companies 1-3

1. Walmart

  • Market cap: $778.97 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $685.1 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $170.5 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 21.40%
  • Year founded: 1962

Retail giant Walmart is the No. 1 company in the world in terms of revenue and the world's largest family-owned business. The Walton family has about 45% of the total shares. Founder Sam Walton also launched Sam's Club, a popular warehouse club owned by Walmart.

In total, across both brands, Walmart operates more than 10,750 retail locations in 19 countries and employs more than 2 million associates worldwide.

Walmart is known for offering low prices on a massive selection of products, including general merchandise, groceries, and health products, with the selection varying by store. The retailer has needed to hike its prices, though, due to the Trump administration's import tariffs.

2. Costco Wholesale

  • Market cap: $435.65 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $268.8 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $36.0 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 28.38%
  • Year founded: 1983

Costco is the most popular warehouse club in the U.S., boasting more than 130 million members. It has a unique business model, generating enough money from membership fees to cover most of its operating expenses. This allows it to offer lower prices on the products it carries.

The product selection at Costco warehouses and its website includes groceries, electronics, appliances, and clothing. Warehouses also have food courts, and Costco offers several other services, including a pharmacy and a travel booking service.

3. Procter & Gamble

  • Market cap: $377.94 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $83.9 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $43.0 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 8.56%
  • Year founded: 1837

Procter & Gamble is the company behind many of the most well-known household products. Its portfolio comprises dozens of popular brands, including Ariel laundry products, Pampers diapers, Bounty paper towels, Gillette razors, and various skincare products.

This company has established strong retail partnerships worldwide, and its products are available in more than 180 countries. It employs about 108,000 people.

Procter & Gamble has announced plans to cut about 7,000 jobs over the next two years. While it's part of a restructuring plan, economic uncertainty from tariffs has led to an acceleration of that plan.

Companies 4-6

4. Coca-Cola

  • Market cap: $305.22 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $46.9 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $28.6 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 12.95%
  • Year founded: 1892

Coca-Cola gets its name from its flagship product, the iconic Coca-Cola soft drink. Coca-Cola is now one of the beverage company's more than 500 brands, a list that also includes Minute Maid, Sprite, Dasani, and Powerade.

Coca-Cola products are sold in more than 200 countries. Worldwide, more than 2.2 billion servings of Coca-Cola beverage products are consumed every day.

5. Philip Morris International

  • Market cap: $273.81 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $38.3 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $25.0 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 26.31%
  • Year founded: 1847

Philip Morris International is the world's biggest tobacco company. Its leading brand is Marlboro, the best-selling international cigarette, and its portfolio includes L&M, Chesterfield, Philip Morris, and Parliament.

It's worth noting that this company doesn't operate in the U.S. In 2008, Philip Morris was split into two companies: Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA, the latter of which is now a completely separate entity as part of Altria Group (NYSE:MO).

Tobacco companies have faced criticism as the dangers of smoking have become widely recognized. In 2014, Philip Morris started offering smoke-free products, and it now sells nicotine pouches, heated tobacco devices, and e-vapor products.

6. L'Oréal

  • Market cap: $235.55 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $97.8 billion*
  • Gross profit (TTM): $71.6 billion*
  • Five-year annualized return: 7.62%
  • Year founded: 1909

*Converted from euros.

French beauty company L'Oréal began as a manufacturer and seller of hair dye formulas. It's now the largest cosmetics company in the world, with 37 brands and operations in more than 150 countries. It has four divisions: L'Oréal Luxe, Consumer Products, Dermatological Beauty, and Professional Products.

In January 2025, L'Oréal and IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced a collaboration to advance the development of sustainable cosmetics. The two companies will use IBM's generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyze cosmetic formulation data and improve sustainability.

Companies 7-10

7. PepsiCo

  • Market cap: $187.12 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $91.5 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $50.1 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 3.58%
  • Year founded: 1898 (Pepsi-Cola Company), 1965 (PepsiCo)

A leading food and beverage company, PepsiCo began with the soft drink Pepsi, which is still its flagship product. It merged with Frito-Lay in 1965 and has acquired quite a few brands since then, resulting in a large portfolio of products.

PepsiCo has a market presence in more than 200 countries and has more than 20 brands that generate over $1 billion in annual revenue. Some of its major brands include Doritos, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, and Rockstar.

8. Unilever

  • Market cap: $150.63 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $164.4 billion*
  • Gross profit (TTM): $117.3 billion*
  • Five-year annualized return: 5.62%
  • Year founded: 1929

*Converted from British pounds.

Unilever is a British consumer goods company with beauty and wellness, personal care, home care, and food products. Its brands include Dove, Axe, and Vaseline. Unilever also has ice cream brands, most notably Ben & Jerry's, but it plans to spin off that segment by the end of 2025.

In 2024, Unilever announced plans to restructure and cut 7,500 jobs. It has already cut about 6,000 by the first quarter of 2025.

9. Anheuser-Busch InBev

  • Market cap: $121.58 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $58.8 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $32.7 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 8.06%
  • Year founded: 1852 (Anheuser-Busch), 2008 (acquired by AB InBev)

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world's largest brewing company, with more than 500 brands sold in 150 countries. Its brands include Budweiser, Corona, and Michelob Ultra.

The Anheuser-Busch brewing company traces its roots to 1852, when it was known as the Bavarian Brewery. It eventually became the largest brewer in the U.S. In 2008, beverage and brewing company AB InBev acquired Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion. To mitigate the impact of import tariffs, Anheuser-Busch is investing $300 million in U.S. manufacturing facilities.

10. British American Tobacco

  • Market cap: $103.67 billion (as of July 4)
  • Revenue (TTM): $72.5 billion
  • Gross profit (TTM): $59.8 billion
  • Five-year annualized return: 13.11%
  • Year founded: 1902

British American Tobacco owns the Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Camel, and Newport brands of cigarettes, among others. It also owns the Grizzly brand of dipping tobacco.

With the declining popularity of tobacco, and the regulatory issues surrounding it, British American Tobacco has invested in what it calls "reduced-risk" alternatives. The tobacco company launched its first vaping product in 2013 with the Vuse line of electronic cigarettes. Vuse is now the top global vaping brand.

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Key takeaways

Consumer staples sector takeaways for investors

The largest consumer staples companies are all widely recognized brands or have well-known brands in their portfolios. Overall, this is one of the safer and more resilient market sectors. Top consumer staples companies are profitable businesses that see continued demand for their products, even during economic downturns. Many of them also pay high dividends.

Not all of those companies are safe picks, though. This sector also includes tobacco companies, and while they're often great for dividends, the tobacco business is a risky one. But there are many other types of businesses in this market sector, giving investors plenty of options.

Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale, International Business Machines, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c., Philip Morris International, and Unilever and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $40 calls on British American Tobacco and short January 2026 $40 puts on British American Tobacco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.