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BUD or HSY or KR
Which ETF would AI Choose? Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) vs. The Hershey Company (HSY) vs. The Kroger Co. (KR)
Key Takeaways
- BUD offers global beverage exposure with a focus on beer production, providing international diversification but higher sensitivity to currency fluctuations and regulatory risks.
- HSY specializes in confectionery and snacks, emphasizing branded consumer products with strong U.S. market share but vulnerability to commodity costs like cocoa and sugar.
- KR provides broad U.S. grocery retail exposure, benefiting from essential demand but facing thin margins and competition from e-commerce and discounters.
- All three operate in the defensive consumer staples sector, yet differ in cost efficiency: KR shows the lowest relative valuation multiples, while HSY commands a premium for brand strength.
- Diversification varies—BUD spans geographies, HSY focuses on categories, and KR emphasizes volume-driven retail—with KR exhibiting lower volatility in recent market cycles.
- Recent months highlight sector resilience amid economic uncertainty, with KR demonstrating steadier trend consistency due to its staple goods focus.
Introduction
Comparing BUD, HSY, and KR is timely as investors seek defensive positioning in the consumer staples sector amid macroeconomic volatility and shifting consumer behaviors. These stocks represent distinct approaches within staples: BUD's global brewing operations, HSY's premium confectionery branding, and KR's mass-market grocery retailing. While not ETFs, they offer targeted exposure to essential goods demand, competing in overlapping supply chains but varying by scale, geography, and risk profiles. This analysis highlights structural differences in a market favoring recession-resistant assets.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) Overview
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) is the world's largest brewer, producing and distributing beer brands like Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois across North America, Europe, and emerging markets. As a single-stock holding equivalent, it provides concentrated exposure to the beverages industry within consumer staples. Key characteristics include a portfolio of over 500 brands, with top holdings inherently its own diversified beer and non-alcoholic offerings. Sector allocation is nearly 100% beverages, with geographic spread: USA ~30%, Brazil ~25%, Europe ~20%, and Asia-Pacific ~15%. No traditional expense ratio applies, but operational efficiency targets mid-single-digit EBITDA margins. BUD employs a growth-through-acquisition strategy, including stakes in Ambev and Budweiser APAC, with periodic portfolio optimization rather than fixed rebalancing. Liquidity is strong, with average daily volume exceeding 1.4 million shares and market cap over $130 billion.
The Hershey Company (HSY) Overview
The Hershey Company (HSY) manufactures and markets confectionery, snacks, and pantry items, holding ~35-36% of the U.S. chocolate market with brands like Hershey's, Reese's, and Kit Kat. It functions as a pure-play branded food stock, focusing on North America Confectionery (~80% of sales), North America Salty Snacks, and International segments. "Holdings" are its proprietary portfolio of ~100 brands, with top contributors including Reese's and Hershey's bars. Sector breakdown: confectioners ~70%, salty snacks ~20%, pantry/gum ~10%. No expense ratio, but strong gross margins (~40-45%) reflect pricing power. Fund structure is straightforward equity issuance, with emphasis on inorganic growth via acquisitions like SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels. Rebalancing occurs through portfolio management and innovation cycles. High liquidity with ~1.6 million average daily volume and ~$43 billion market cap.
The Kroger Co. (KR) Overview
The Kroger Co. (KR) operates ~2,700 supermarkets under 30+ banners, making it the largest U.S. pure-play grocer. It delivers broad exposure to food retail, with ~77% grocery sales, 11% pharmacy, and 10% fuel. As a single entity, top "holdings" are its private labels and vendor partnerships, emphasizing fresh foods and own-brands. Sector allocation: grocery stores ~80%, pharmacy/fuel ~20%. No expense ratio, but low-single-digit net margins highlight volume-driven efficiency. Structure supports hybrid retail (physical + e-commerce), with quarterly inventory optimization akin to rebalancing. Investments in digital and delivery enhance liquidity profile, evidenced by high share volume (~4 million daily) and ~$45 billion market cap.
Industry and Thematic Landscape
The consumer staples sector, encompassing beverages, confectionery, and grocery, benefits from inelastic demand for essentials amid inflation and geopolitical tensions. Capital flows have shifted toward defensives in recent cycles, with staples ETFs like XLP gaining traction. Macro drivers include moderating inflation easing input costs (cocoa for HSY, grains for BUD/KR), though supply chain disruptions persist. Regulatory scrutiny on alcohol (BUD) and food pricing contrasts with grocery antitrust reviews (KR's Albertsons merger). Earnings trends show resilience: staples average ~5-10% growth, supported by private labels and e-commerce. Geopolitical influences like trade tariffs impact BUD's imports, while sector risks include commodity volatility and shifting preferences toward healthier options.
Performance and Positioning Comparison
In recent months, consumer staples have outperformed broader markets, with the sector up ~15% YTD amid rotation to defensives. KR has shown the steadiest gains (~18% YTD), driven by e-commerce growth and essential retail stability, exhibiting lower drawdowns. HSY follows (~24-26% YTD), buoyed by salty snacks expansion but higher volatility from input costs. BUD trails slightly (~11% YTD), pressured by regional volumes yet resilient via premiumization. Relative volatility: KR lowest (beta ~0.6), HSY moderate, BUD higher due to forex exposure. Performance divergences stem from KR's volume focus versus BUD/HSY's pricing sensitivity; concentration risk is uniform as single stocks, but KR's macro insensitivity aids trend consistency.
AI Screener
Tickeron’s AI Screener is an AI-powered stock and ETF discovery tool that helps traders and investors filter the market based on technical patterns, fundamentals, trends, volatility, and AI-driven signals. Users can scan thousands of stocks and ETFs using customizable filters such as industry, market capitalization (market cap, a measure of company size), technical indicators, price patterns, and performance metrics. The screener identifies trade ideas, trending stocks, breakout candidates, and market opportunities more efficiently than manual screening, empowering data-driven decisions across asset classes. Explore it today to uncover hidden gems in consumer staples or beyond.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI favors KR for its superior risk-adjusted positioning, broader diversification through retail scale, and cost efficiency in a staples rotation. KR's lower volatility, steady volume growth, and attractive multiples (~16x forward P/E) edge out BUD's global reach and HSY's premium brands (~25x+), offering ~65% probability of relative outperformance over recent cycles based on momentum stability and macro resilience. This is not investment advice.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
BUD’s FA Score shows that 0 FA rating(s) are green whileHSY’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and KR’s FA Score reflects 2 green FA rating(s).
- BUD’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- HSY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- KR’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
BUD’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while HSY’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s), and KR’s TA Score reflects 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- BUD’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- HSY’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 6 bearish.
- KR’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
BUD (@Food: Meat/Fish/Dairy) experienced а +6.21% price change this week, while HSY (@Food: Specialty/Candy) price change was -1.88% , and KR (@Food Retail) price fluctuated -6.03% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food: Meat/Fish/Dairy industry was +3.29%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +0.21%, and the average quarterly price growth was +8.14%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food: Specialty/Candy industry was +1.04%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.63%, and the average quarterly price growth was +4.29%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food Retail industry was +0.67%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -1.48%, and the average quarterly price growth was +2.76%.
Reported Earning Dates
BUD is expected to report earnings on May 05, 2026.
HSY is expected to report earnings on Apr 30, 2026.
KR is expected to report earnings on Jun 11, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Food: Meat/Fish/Dairy (+3.29% weekly)The meat, fish, and dairy food industry processes livestock, fish and milk products for consumer consumption. Some companies also process dairy byproducts. Tyson Foods, Inc., Hormel Foods Corporation and Pilgrims Pride Corp. are some of the biggest producers in this industry. Many of these companies are recipients of American farm subsidies. On the other hand, new-age food innovation like plant-based meat substitutes (which are designed to simulate chicken, beef, and pork sausage) could potentially augur disruptions and/or create new competition in this space.
@Food: Specialty/Candy (+1.04% weekly)A specialty/candy manufacturer specializes in one or more of the following: chocolate, candies, pasta, condiments, seasonings, among other items. Hershey Company, McCormick & Company and J.M. Smucker Company are some of the major firms in this segment. Demand for this industry’s products comes from both institutions/restaurants as well as households.
@Food Retail (+0.67% weekly)The food retail industry includes companies that sell food, beverage and household products. Items sold include grocery, gourmet food, fresh produce, and frozen food. Kroger Co., George Weston Ltd., Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., and Sprouts Farmers Markets, Inc. are examples of major food retailers. While e-commerce companies like Amazon have increasingly been ramping-up offerings in the food retail space, several traditional players have also been expanding their online presence to stand their ground against rising competition.
| BUD | HSY | KR | |
| Capitalization | 146B | 41B | 41.6B |
| EBITDA | 21B | 1.94B | 5.43B |
| Gain YTD | 18.254 | 11.901 | 9.365 |
| P/E Ratio | 22.34 | 46.62 | 44.15 |
| Revenue | 59.3B | 11.7B | 147B |
| Total Cash | 11.8B | 926M | 879M |
| Total Debt | 73B | 5.74B | 25.2B |
BUD | HSY | KR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 15 | 5 | 56 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 51 Fair valued | 36 Fair valued | 55 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 67 | 65 | 23 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 75 | 45 | 77 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 45 | 49 | 50 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 56 | 7 | 10 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
HSY's Valuation (36) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as BUD (51) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry, and is in the same range as KR (55) in the Food Retail industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to BUD’s and similarly to KR’s over the last 12 months.
KR's Profit vs Risk Rating (23) in the Food Retail industry is somewhat better than the same rating for HSY (65) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for BUD (67) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that KR's stock grew somewhat faster than HSY’s and somewhat faster than BUD’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's SMR Rating (45) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as BUD (75) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry, and is in the same range as KR (77) in the Food Retail industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to BUD’s and similarly to KR’s over the last 12 months.
BUD's Price Growth Rating (45) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry is in the same range as HSY (49) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry, and is in the same range as KR (50) in the Food Retail industry. This means that BUD's stock grew similarly to HSY’s and similarly to KR’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's P/E Growth Rating (7) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as KR (10) in the Food Retail industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for BUD (56) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to KR’s and somewhat faster than BUD’s over the last 12 months.
| BUD | HSY | KR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 63% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 54% | 2 days ago 69% | 2 days ago 68% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 49% | 3 days ago 45% | 2 days ago 49% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 49% | 6 days ago 48% | 2 days ago 39% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 55% | 2 days ago 55% | 2 days ago 47% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 52% | 2 days ago 52% | 2 days ago 53% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 55% | 3 days ago 64% | 6 days ago 57% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 16 days ago 54% | 11 days ago 54% | 2 days ago 47% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 51% | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 69% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 56% | 2 days ago 57% | 2 days ago 58% |
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KR and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, KR has been loosely correlated with ACI. These tickers have moved in lockstep 56% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if KR jumps, then ACI could also see price increases.