Americans Are Angry About Inflation, and Neither Party Has an Answer. 3 Defensive Consumer Stocks to Own Right Now.

American voters have spoken, and they’re not happy about the higher prices they’re paying for… well, pretty much everything. A recent poll commissioned by CNN indicates 55% of voters’ top concern right now is the skyrocketing cost of living. That’s more than twice the share of any other issue on their minds at this time.

Regardless of the underlying politics, the lingering problem of inflation is clearly too big for investors to ignore. To this end, here’s a closer look at three names that can not only stand up to this headwind but may even benefit from it.

1. Walmart

This isn’t anything brick-and-mortar retailer Walmart (WMT +0.73%) hasn’t survived, or even thrived on, before. The last time inflation raced out of control, after the COVID-19 pandemic lull in 2022, the company frequently touted that most of its market share gains were coming from households earning $100,000-plus per year who weren’t regular shoppers at its stores before. It’s still happening, in fact, as CEO John Furner noted during the Q4 earnings conference call in February.

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NASDAQ: WMT

Walmart

Today’s Change

(0.73%) $0.96

Current Price

$132.43

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.1T

Day’s Range

$130.85 - $132.78

52wk Range

$93.43 - $134.69

Volume

2.2K

Avg Vol

20M

Gross Margin

23.41%

Dividend Yield

0.73%

This resilience makes sense, of course. Thanks to its sheer size and scale, Walmart can afford to offer the lowest possible retail prices on most consumer goods.

2. Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble’s (PG +0.33%) products may not be the cheapest options on store shelves. They are usually the best-known, though, with brands like Tide laundry detergent, Pampers diapers, and Charmin toilet paper part of the P&G family.

These are goods many consumers have used for much of their lives, and loyalty to them is high. This ultimately means P&G enjoys pricing power even in challenging economic environments.

Image source: Getty Images.

Procter’s real strength in tough times, however, is its sheer size and what that provides it. This company can – and usually does – simply outspend challengers like Colgate-Palmolive or **Clorox **on marketing and promotion. It’s not unusual, in fact, for P&G to be the world’s most prolific advertiser. And the company’s got 70 consecutive years’ worth of dividend increases to verify it can push through inflationary headwinds, making it a Dividend King.

3. Duke Energy

Last but not least, add** Duke Energy** (DUK +0.33%) to your list of consumer-facing stocks to own while inflation is high.

Even by utility stock standards, Duke Energy is a pretty plain-vanilla pick. The company serves nearly 9 million customers in the southeastern quarter of the United States, delivering power produced by a predictable combination of natural gas and coal but also nuclear and hydroelectric power.

There’s nothing especially special about it, which may be why its stock hasn’t quite kept up with some of its peers’ gains of late.

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NYSE: DUK

Duke Energy

Today’s Change

(0.33%) $0.41

Current Price

$123.25

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$97B

Day’s Range

$122.35 - $123.33

52wk Range

$113.39 - $134.49

Volume

1.9K

Avg Vol

3.9M

Gross Margin

30.76%

Dividend Yield

3.41%

Don’t draw the wrong conclusion from this recent performance, however. Duke Energy is evolving to meet the ever-growing energy needs of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. It’s just doing so with less fanfare.

The real reason to own a piece of dividend-paying Duke while inflation is undermining much of the domestic economy, though, is that paying for electricity is practically compulsory. People will make a point of keeping their lights on regardless of the cost.