by Food Trade News Team
When it comes to the top 10 grocery & CPG stocks, the market is starting to draw a sharper line between the companies still commanding confidence and the ones facing more scrutiny. Recent earnings and investor presentations have reinforced a familiar pattern: operators with scale, traffic resilience, and cleaner execution continue to attract support; names still wrestling with volume softness, promotional pressure or margin uncertainty are having a harder time gaining momentum.
Some of the separation is coming from hard results. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $69.6 billion, up 9.1%, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) rising to $4.58 and comparable sales up 7.4%. Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), meanwhile, posted fourth-quarter identical sales without fuel growth of 2.4%, with adjusted EPS up 12% and e-commerce sales up 20%. Those numbers help explain why both names continue to sit near the top of the sector conversation.
Elsewhere, investors are still watching the packaged-goods names for clearer signs of recovery. Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance ahead of its April 1 earnings report, while General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS) is due to report fiscal third-quarter results on March 18. Mondelez Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) continues to emphasize confidence in reaccelerating profitable growth, and PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has reiterated its 2026 outlook while promising improved North America performance.
The broader message is becoming clearer: in a grocery economy still shaped by value-seeking consumers, the market is rewarding consistency and punishing ambiguity. The biggest winners remain the companies that can pair scale with traffic durability, while the laggards are the ones still trying to prove they can protect margins without giving up volume.
This Week’s Top 10 Grocery & CPG Stocks
| Company | Ticker | Weekly Performance | What’s Driving It | FTT Take |
| Walmart Inc. | WMT | down | Grocery traffic scale, omnichannel reach and defensive size remain central to the story, even with the stock lower intraday. | Still the sector’s anchor. In uncertain consumer environments, Walmart keeps looking like the name investors trust to win the traffic war. |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | COST | down | Strong fiscal Q2 results: revenue up 9.1%, EPS up to $4.58, comp sales up 7.4% and digital sales up 22.6%. | Costco keeps showing why the membership model travels well in a value-driven market. It is still one of the cleanest stories in food retail. |
| Kroger Co. | KR | down | Q4 identical sales without fuel rose 2.4%, adjusted EPS rose 12% and e-commerce sales grew 20% as Greg Foran begins to shape the next chapter. | The stock remains a key grocery bellwether. Investors are betting Kroger can stay price-competitive without letting margins unravel. |
| PepsiCo Inc. | PEP | flat | PepsiCo has reiterated its 2026 guidance and highlighted productivity savings plus plans to improve North America performance. | PEP still reads as a defensive staple, but investors want proof that the turnaround in North America can translate into cleaner volume trends. |
| Colgate-Palmolive Co. | CL | up | Colgate has been leaning into its long-term growth and innovation strategy while acknowledging a price-sensitive U.S. consumer backdrop. | Not a pure grocery name, but still a useful staples tell. Reliable cash flow and household-product defensiveness keep it relevant. |
| Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. | FDP | up | Fresh Del Monte reported full-year 2025 net income of $90.7 million and remains tied to steady produce demand. | FDP is the smaller, more tactical name on the list, but fresh-category momentum still gives it some appeal. |
| Conagra Brands Inc. | CAG | down | Conagra reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance and will report fiscal Q3 results on April 1, leaving investors waiting for a firmer read on margin recovery. | The setup is straightforward: this remains a center-store recovery story until the company proves pricing, promotions and volume can coexist more comfortably. |
| Mondelez International Inc. | MDLZ | up | Mondelez has emphasized confidence in reaccelerating profitable growth, with supply chain and productivity improvements supporting the outlook. | MDLZ continues to look like one of the stronger packaged-food names. Global snacking remains a better story than much of center store. |
| General Mills Inc. | GIS | down | General Mills is set to report fiscal Q3 results on March 18, with investors watching for updates after softer sales guidance earlier this year. | GIS still has defensive-staples credibility, but the market is clearly waiting for a cleaner volume story before getting more enthusiastic. |
| Village Super Market Inc. | VLGEA | flat | Village reported Q2 sales of $641.0 million, up from $599.7 million, with same-store sales up 3.7% year to date. | Smaller operator, but still a useful reminder that disciplined regional grocers can produce steady numbers even in a choppy environment. |
