Just noticed something interesting about European Wax Center (EWCZ) this quarter. The stock has been crushing it compared to the broader Consumer Staples sector. We're only a few months into 2026 and EWCZ is up nearly 59% year-to-date, while the overall Consumer Staples group is averaging around 13% returns. That's a pretty significant gap.

What caught my eye is that EWCZ currently has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), and analyst sentiment has actually improved over the past quarter with earnings estimates moving 6.7% higher. The company operates in the wax centers and cosmetics space, which has been a bit sluggish overall—that industry segment is down 0.4% year-to-date on average. But EWCZ is clearly an outlier within its own industry group.

For comparison, I looked at PepsiCo (PEP), another Consumer Staples name that's also outperforming. PEP is up 17.9% year-to-date with a similar Zacks Rank of 2, though its earnings estimate revision was more modest at 0.7%. The difference is EWCZ is really standing out even within the wax centers and specialty retail space.

If you're hunting for Consumer Staples stocks that are actually moving, EWCZ and PEP seem worth keeping on your radar. The fact that EWCZ is beating both its sector and its own industry group is noteworthy, especially with improving analyst forecasts behind it.