The beverage industry is undergoing significant changes as consumers around the world become more cautious about drinking. Companies are performing at different rates. Those with diversified portfolios spanning beer and soft drinks, or a strong presence in high-growth emerging markets, have shown greater resilience than traditional spirits and mainstream Western beer businesses. See how analysts rank beverage stocks here.
A Bloomberg report in August offered some hope for the struggling spirits industry. The number of Americans who reported drinking alcohol remained unchanged from the previous year, suggesting that the recent decline in drinking rates may be stabilizing.
Also read: 10 Best Blue Chip Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now
According to a Gallup poll, 54% of Americans said they consumed alcohol in 2026, matching the previous year’s record low but ending three consecutive years of declines. The average number of drinks consumed per week rose slightly to 3.2, up from 2.8 a year earlier.
The alcohol industry has faced sustained pressure from declining consumption since the pandemic. Growing awareness of alcohol’s health risks has prompted some consumers to cut back. Alternatives such as THC-infused beverages have also gained attention, while tighter household budgets have left consumers with less money to spend on alcohol.
The Gallup survey also found that more Americans associate alcohol with negative health outcomes. This year, 51% said drinking was bad for their health, compared with less than 30% for nearly two decades before 2020. Just 13% of respondents said they drank too much, the lowest figure on record.
Take a look at: 10 Best Dividend-Paying Beverage Stocks to Buy Now
In 2023, around 62% of Americans reported consuming alcohol occasionally, according to Gallup, which has tracked drinking habits since 1939. The recent decline has extended across gender, race, age, and religious groups.
From an investment perspective, beverage stocks remain worth considering. Many companies in the sector have paid regular dividends for years, although dividend growth has generally been slower than in some other sectors. A recent report by Janus Henderson found that beverage companies paid $5.3 billion in dividends in the first quarter of 2026, representing underlying growth of 3.8%. Given this backdrop, we will take a look at some of the best dividend stocks from the beverage sector.
Our Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we looked up various companies working in the beverage sector, picked out the ones that pay dividends, and ranked them by the number of hedge funds invested in them as per the Insider Monkey database, as of Q2 2026. We selected stocks with dividend yield above 2%, as of October 14.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 2.49%
Read ADM’s valuation analysis here: Archer-Daniels Stock is Trading at 15 Times Forward Earnings. Is that Cheap?
9. Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 3.27%
Take a look at: Brown-Forman (BF-B) Struggles with Weak Spirits Demand and Canada Headwinds
8. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 2.78%
Read More: Keurig Dr Pepper is Cashing Out of Chobani, is the $925 Million Exit a Smart Reset?
7. McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 4.29%
Also read: Is McCormick’s (MKC) Modest Price Tag Hiding a Spicier Story?
6. The Kraft Heinz Company (NYSE:KHC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 7.05%
Read KHC’s story here: Kraft Heinz Stock Looks Cheap. Here’s What Investors are Missing
5. Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 3.32%
Read the full analysis here: Is Mondelez’s Snack Empire Building a Wider Moat?
4. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 2.70%
Read More: Starbucks is Winning Back Customers. Can it Win Back Investors?
3. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 4.58%
Read PepsiCo’s story here: PepsiCo Just Cut its Earnings Forecast. Is the Stock Still Worth Buying?
2. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 3.24%
Also read: McDonald’s Has a Powerful Brand and a Growing Dividend. Is That Enough?
1. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 90
Dividend Yield as of October 14: 2.31%
Read the full analysis here: Coca-Cola Has a Dividend Investors Love. Its Valuation is Another Story
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
