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DEO or HSY or UL
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Diageo (DEO) vs. The Hershey Company (HSY) vs. Unilever (UL) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- DEO has declined sharply in recent market activity, trading at a forward P/E of around 8 with a high dividend yield near 4.6%, appealing for income amid volatility.
- HSY shows relative resilience with year-to-date gains over 20%, supported by operational unification and strong confectionery demand, though at a premium forward P/E of 25.
- UL faces pressure from potential food business spin-off talks, with shares down significantly in recent weeks, yet offers a solid 3.7% yield and broad diversification.
- All three exhibit low betas under 0.3, highlighting defensive consumer staples positioning, but HSY leads in momentum while DEO appears most undervalued.
- Recent sentiment shifts driven by sector pressures like input costs and strategic reviews impact relative performance.
- Tickeron's AI bots trading consumer staples, including these tickers, show up to 69% annualized returns.
Introduction
This comparison examines DEO, HSY, and UL, leading consumer staples firms in beverages, confectionery, and household goods. These stocks offer defensive qualities with low volatility, attracting income-focused investors and traders seeking stability amid market swings. Recent performance contrasts highlight differing responses to economic pressures, input costs, and strategic shifts, providing insights into relative strength, valuation, and positioning for portfolio diversification or tactical trades.
DEO Overview and Recent Performance
Diageo plc (DEO), a global leader in premium alcoholic beverages with brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, and Guinness, operates in nearly 180 countries. Recent market activity has pressured the stock, with shares dropping over 25% from early March highs around $100 to near $72-73, reflecting broader sector challenges and a downgrade to Hold citing valuation concerns. Sentiment influenced by subdued premium spirits demand and inventory adjustments has led to underperformance versus benchmarks, though low beta of 0.17 underscores resilience. Trading at a forward P/E of ~8 and 4.6% yield, it draws value and income appeal amid recent weakness.
HSY Overview and Recent Performance
The Hershey Company (HSY), North America's largest chocolate producer with iconic brands like Hershey's, Reese's, and Kit Kat, spans confectionery, salty snacks, and pantry items. Shares have shown resilience, up over 20% year-to-date despite recent volatility, closing around $215-217 after dips to $209. Key drivers include unification of U.S. operations under one model and strong Q4 results with raised guidance, boosting analyst targets. Positive EPS revisions and outperformance versus the S&P 500 reflect robust snacking demand, with low beta of ~0.1 enhancing defensive appeal, though at a forward P/E near 25.
UL Overview and Recent Performance
Unilever PLC (UL), a multinational in beauty, personal care, home care, and foods with brands like Dove, Hellmann's, and Knorr, reaches 190 countries. Recent weeks saw sharp declines from $73 to ~$60, driven by reports of advanced talks to spin off or merge its $33B food unit with McCormick, sparking uncertainty. This strategic shift pressures sentiment amid mixed sales growth, though underlying EPS rose modestly. Low beta of 0.26 supports stability, with forward P/E ~16.5 and 3.7% yield positioning it as a diversified income play.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page curates the top 25 performers from over 350 AI trading bots that analyze thousands of tickers using advanced machine learning for real-time signals. These bots deliver annualized returns up to 138%, win rates of 56-89%, and profit factors from 1.4 to 12 across strategies like trend trading, hedging, and swing trades on timeframes from 5min to 60min. Sectors include semiconductors, energy, and consumer staples, where a dedicated bot trading HSY, DEO, and peers posts 69% annualized return with 59% win rate. With diverse styles and no minimum balance, they adapt to market conditions. Explore Trending AI Robots for suitable options.
Head-to-Head Comparison
DEO focuses on premium spirits with global reach but cyclical exposure, contrasting HSY's U.S.-centric snacking growth via acquisitions and UL's vast FMCG diversification. Recent momentum favors HSY with YTD gains, while DEO and UL lag due to sector headwinds and news. Valuation shows DEO cheapest at forward P/E ~8 versus UL ~16.5 and HSY ~25, with yields 4.6%, 2.7%, 3.7% respectively. Risks include input inflation for all, alcohol moderation for DEO, pricing scrutiny for HSY, and restructuring for UL. Low betas (~0.1-0.3) confirm sector defensiveness, but HSY sentiment strongest on catalysts.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors HSY due to superior trend consistency, YTD outperformance, operational catalysts like U.S. unification, and resilience in snacking demand. Its dedicated consumer staples bot including these tickers underscores potential, though DEO's valuation offers probabilistic rebound upside. Positioning reflects observable momentum over near-term stability.
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).
DEO’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileHSY’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and UL’s FA Score reflects 0 green FA rating(s).
- DEO’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- HSY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- UL’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 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.
DEO’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while HSY’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s), and UL’s TA Score reflects 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- DEO’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 5 bearish.
- HSY’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 6 bearish.
- UL’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
DEO (@Beverages: Alcoholic) experienced а +7.11% price change this week, while HSY (@Food: Specialty/Candy) price change was +2.26% , and UL (@Household/Personal Care) price fluctuated +5.43% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Beverages: Alcoholic industry was -1.24%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -8.24%, and the average quarterly price growth was -18.74%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food: Specialty/Candy industry was +2.89%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +0.38%, and the average quarterly price growth was +6.38%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Household/Personal Care industry was +2.02%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.74%, and the average quarterly price growth was -7.71%.
Reported Earning Dates
DEO is expected to report earnings on May 06, 2026.
HSY is expected to report earnings on Apr 30, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Beverages: Alcoholic (-1.24% weekly)The alcoholic beverage market includes beer, wine, and spirits. From $230 billion in 2015, the industry has grown to around $250 billion by 2019. In recent years, alcoholic beverage makers have been looking to expand distribution and purchase channels, such as through online stores (e.g. e-commerce platform Drizly) and convenience stores. Anheuser-Busch In Bev and Diageo are major global alcoholic beverage companies, while U.S.-owned companies include Constellation Brands and Brown-Forman Corp. among several others.
@Food: Specialty/Candy (+2.89% 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.
@Household/Personal Care (+2.02% weekly)Household/Personal Care companies sell products for home cleaning and/or personal hygiene and grooming purposes. Products of this industry include detergents, shampoos, soaps, cosmetics, fabric conditioners and infant care fragrances. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Estee Lauder and Colgate-Palmolive are some of the biggest names in the business. A lot of the products become a necessary part of people’s daily routine, and therefore the industry is relatively less vulnerable to macroeconomic downturns. At the same time, product quality, consumer safety, and ease of use are extremely critical factors for a company to survive competition and earn recognition in this industry.
| DEO | HSY | UL | |
| Capitalization | 42.9B | 42.7B | 126B |
| EBITDA | 6.39B | 1.94B | 11.3B |
| Gain YTD | -8.972 | 16.620 | -9.930 |
| P/E Ratio | 18.14 | 48.58 | 19.31 |
| Revenue | 19.8B | 11.7B | 59.8B |
| Total Cash | 2.69B | 926M | N/A |
| Total Debt | 23.5B | 5.74B | N/A |
DEO | HSY | UL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 3 | 5 | 51 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 13 Undervalued | 38 Fair valued | 40 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 61 | 79 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 97 | 45 | 96 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 78 | 49 | 77 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 50 | 5 | 79 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | n/a | 50 | 75 |
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.
DEO's Valuation (13) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry is in the same range as HSY (38) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry, and is in the same range as UL (40) in the Household Or Personal Care industry. This means that DEO's stock grew similarly to HSY’s and similarly to UL’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's Profit vs Risk Rating (61) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as UL (79) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for DEO (100) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to UL’s and somewhat faster than DEO’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's SMR Rating (45) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is somewhat better than the same rating for UL (96) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for DEO (97) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that HSY's stock grew somewhat faster than UL’s and somewhat faster than DEO’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's Price Growth Rating (49) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as UL (77) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is in the same range as DEO (78) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to UL’s and similarly to DEO’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's P/E Growth Rating (5) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is somewhat better than the same rating for DEO (50) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for UL (79) in the Household Or Personal Care industry. This means that HSY's stock grew somewhat faster than DEO’s and significantly faster than UL’s over the last 12 months.
| DEO | HSY | UL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 51% | 1 day ago 66% | 1 day ago 38% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 60% | 1 day ago 66% | 1 day ago 31% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 54% | 1 day ago 45% | N/A |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 60% | 4 days ago 48% | 1 day ago 38% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 46% | 1 day ago 59% | 1 day ago 41% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 55% | 1 day ago 52% | 1 day ago 45% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 42% | 1 day ago 64% | 1 day ago 42% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 21 days ago 59% | 9 days ago 54% | 8 days ago 41% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 68% | 1 day ago 60% | N/A |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 50% | 1 day ago 57% | 1 day ago 36% |
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DEO and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, DEO has been closely correlated with PRNDY. These tickers have moved in lockstep 69% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if DEO jumps, then PRNDY could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To DEO | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEO | 100% | +1.87% | ||
| PRNDY - DEO | 69% Closely correlated | +0.07% | ||
| MGPI - DEO | 55% Loosely correlated | +2.44% | ||
| BUD - DEO | 55% Loosely correlated | +1.08% | ||
| STZ - DEO | 54% Loosely correlated | +8.53% | ||
| REMYY - DEO | 44% Loosely correlated | -0.66% | ||
More | ||||
HSY and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, HSY has been loosely correlated with KHC. These tickers have moved in lockstep 58% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if HSY jumps, then KHC could also see price increases.
UL and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, UL has been loosely correlated with PG. These tickers have moved in lockstep 64% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if UL jumps, then PG could also see price increases.