Sector Report4 min read
Consumer Staples: Eight A-Grades, Four Total Failures
Tobacco and beverages print cash. Big retail burns it. The sector splits cleanly between generators and destroyers.
Jul 13, 2026
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Food, beverage, household products, and retail staples
Sector classifications follow the GICS industry standard.
Companies ranked by free cash flow margin
Health grades across the sector
Tobacco and beverages print cash. Big retail burns it. The sector splits cleanly between generators and destroyers.
Half the sector earns A-grades on FCF margins above 14%, but Walmart, Costco, and Estée Lauder tell a different story about retail cash generation.
Tobacco and beverages dominate the top. Retailers and Tyson scrape the bottom at 2% margins.