Inflation is easing a little and Social Security’s projected 2027 cost of living adjustment now points to slightly smaller benefit increases, which could reshape how steady everyday spending looks over the next few years. That mix of softer price pressures and tighter retiree budgets creates both opportunity and risk for consumer staples investors. This article walks through 3 U.S. Consumer Staples Stocks from our screener that appear positively exposed to this news backdrop.

The 3 stocks covered below are just a sample from this idea. The full screen surfaced 16 more U.S. consumer staples companies with similarly interesting income and defensiveness stories that are not detailed here. To see the wider opportunity set, head straight into the U.S. Consumer Staples Stocks screener to identify, compare, and analyze candidates that best fit your own criteria.

Church & Dwight (CHD)

Church & Dwight is a consumer products company behind familiar staples like ARM & HAMMER baking soda, OXICLEAN cleaners, BATISTE dry shampoo, WATERPIK water flossers, and TROJAN condoms, along with a growing set of health and wellness brands. Most revenue comes from its Consumer Domestic segment at about US$4.8b, with Consumer International adding roughly US$1.2b and the Specialty Products Division contributing around US$300m. The stock’s market cap is about US$24b, putting it firmly in large cap territory.

Church & Dwight sits at the crossroads of everyday essentials and health focused brands. This can matter when Social Security benefits and real wages are under pressure. Many of its products are repeat purchases that consumers tend to keep buying even when budgets tighten. Categories like THERABREATH and HERO tap into higher margin wellness demand and strong online sales. At the same time, the company is wrestling with high debt, elevated input costs and an underperforming vitamins business, and the stock trades on a rich P/E multiple. For investors, a key question is whether brand momentum, e-commerce growth and margin improvement can keep justifying that premium as retiree and lower income spending gradually adjusts to softer COLA increases.

Church & Dwight’s repeat purchase brands and wellness push make the rich P/E look like only half the story. Get the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign investors often overlook when COLA trends shift.

Build your own staples and wellness shortlist

Church & Dwight and the other two stocks in this list all came from a single Simply Wall St screener, but the real edge comes when you shape the filters yourself. Use our customisable Screener to mix valuation, quality, income and risk filters for your own watchlist, or jump straight into our curated Investing Ideas.

PepsiCo (PEP)

PepsiCo is a global consumer staples company that sells branded beverages and convenient foods, from Pepsi, Gatorade and SodaStream to Lay’s, Doritos and Quaker. Its largest revenue contributors are PepsiCo Beverages North America at about US$29.2b and PepsiCo Foods North America at roughly US$27.5b. These are followed by EMEA at about US$18.9b and Latin America Foods at around US$11.2b, with Asia Pacific Foods and International Beverages Franchise adding about US$4.9b and US$5.2b respectively. The stock’s market cap is roughly US$191.9b, placing PepsiCo firmly in mega cap territory.

PepsiCo stands out in this screener because it focuses on categories that many households tend to protect when budgets tighten. These include branded drinks and snacks that feel like small treats yet sit close to everyday essentials. The business offers a mix of stability and change. Investors see a long track record of high quality earnings, a 4.2% dividend and strong profitability. At the same time, management and an activist investor are pushing harder on productivity, portfolio shifts into functional drinks and fresh foods like Alvalle gazpacho, and cost efficiencies in the distribution network. The flip side is meaningful debt and flat longer term revenue. This makes the stock more reliant on pricing power, cost control and careful execution with lower income consumers as Social Security COLA expectations ease and real wages remain under pressure.

PepsiCo’s mix of treats and essentials might be masking a sharper story about pricing power, debt and COLA sensitive households. See how the balance of strengths and pressure points stacks up in the 4 key rewards and 1 important warning sign

Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

Kimberly-Clark makes everyday personal care essentials such as Huggies diapers, Kotex feminine care and Kleenex tissues that show up in households, hospitals and offices around the world. Most of its roughly US$16.6b in revenue comes from North America at about US$10.7b, with International Personal Care contributing around US$5.9b. The stock has a market cap of about US$36.8b, putting it solidly in large cap territory.

Kimberly-Clark gives you exposure to products people keep buying even when Social Security checks grow more slowly and real wages are under strain. The company is leaning into higher margin personal care, cost savings and materials innovation such as its new natural fiber program. It also carries high debt and a dividend that is not fully covered by earnings or free cash flow. With an outlook cut tied to China diapers already in the price, the key question is whether brand strength and productivity can offset input costs and competitive pressure from private labels as the COLA backdrop shifts.

Kimberly-Clark’s everyday essentials story looks steady; yet the real twist may sit in how its debt load and uncovered dividend intersect with COLA sensitive households. Read the 2 key rewards and 2 important warning signs (1 is major!)

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.