Two Quality Dividend Stocks Worth Buying Now in 2026

When a market sector falls out of favor on Wall Street, savvy investors often find their best opportunities. Consumer staples companies are currently facing headwinds from two major trends: cost-conscious consumers pulling back on spending, and growing demand for healthier food options. This combination has sent investors fleeing from even the most respected names in the industry—but for contrarian thinkers, this represents an attractive entry point.

Two companies stand out as stocks to buy now despite current market skepticism: Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP). Both are industry leaders with proven track records, and their valuations have become increasingly appealing as investor sentiment has shifted.

Market Weakness Reveals Investment Opportunities

The consumer staples sector is experiencing simultaneous pressure from demand and perception headwinds. Rather than viewing this as a reason to avoid the sector entirely, patient investors should recognize this as precisely the moment when quality assets become undervalued.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo aren’t just any consumer staples companies—they rank among the world’s largest players in their space. Coca-Cola holds the fourth position globally, while PepsiCo ranks seventh among all consumer staples enterprises. More importantly, both have achieved an elite status: they’re recognized as Dividend Kings, having increased their payouts annually for over 50 years. This distinction requires not just operational excellence, but the ability to navigate through every economic cycle—good times and downturns alike.

The current market environment has created a rare situation where stocks to buy now include some of the industry’s most historically reliable performers. Their fundamental business strength hasn’t changed; what has changed is investor perception and therefore valuations.

Coca-Cola: Steady Performance at Reasonable Valuations

Coca-Cola continues to execute well despite sector headwinds, making it particularly appealing for investors seeking stability. In the third quarter of 2025, the company posted 6% organic sales growth, significantly outpacing the sector and demonstrating resilience in a challenging environment. This came on the heels of 5% growth in the preceding quarter, showing consistent momentum.

From a valuation perspective, Coca-Cola presents a balanced opportunity. Its price-to-sales ratio sits near its five-year historical average, while its dividend yield of 2.9% represents the middle ground of its historic range. More compelling is the company’s price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, both trading below their five-year averages—suggesting the market has priced in more pessimism than the fundamentals warrant.

For conservative investors seeking dividend income combined with reliable growth, Coca-Cola’s current positioning makes it worthy of consideration among stocks to buy now.

PepsiCo: Deep Discount for Long-Term Conviction

PepsiCo presents a more provocative opportunity for investors with stronger conviction in mean reversion. The company faces near-term challenges, with organic sales growth slowing to just 1.3% in third quarter 2025, down from 2.1% in the prior quarter—a concerning trend that’s spooked the market.

Yet this weakness has created an extraordinary valuation environment. PepsiCo’s dividend yield has climbed to approximately 4%, approaching the highest levels in company history. The stock’s price-to-sales and price-to-book ratios both sit meaningfully below five-year averages. While the price-to-earnings ratio exceeds historical averages, this reflects temporarily depressed earnings rather than fundamental business deterioration.

What justifies a longer-term perspective: PepsiCo’s business portfolio extends well beyond beverages. The company operates Frito-Lay, the world’s largest salty snack manufacturer, and maintains a substantial packaged foods business through brands like Quaker Oats. Recent corporate actions underscore management’s recognition of market realities. The company has been acquiring brands to better align its portfolio with consumer preferences toward healthier options, and activist investors are pushing for operational improvements—most notably outsourcing beverage bottling to improve margins, following Coca-Cola’s proven model.

These are stocks to buy now for investors comfortable with temporary uncertainty in exchange for compelling long-term rewards.

Calibrating Your Risk-Reward Profile

The contrarian playbook suggests that when an entire sector falls into disfavor, it warrants deeper analysis. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo represent quality at attractive prices—the classic formula for value investing success.

Coca-Cola suits those prioritizing steady income and proven stability. PepsiCo appeals to investors willing to tolerate short-term weakness for potentially greater future returns. The optimal approach for many may involve splitting exposure between both, creating a balanced portfolio that captures the risk-reward benefits of each.

Historical context matters: When The Motley Fool identified Netflix as a buy in December 2004, investors who committed $1,000 saw that position grow to over $500,000. When Nvidia received a buy rating in April 2005, a similar $1,000 investment ballooned to roughly $1.2 million. These outcomes weren’t the result of buying at perfect valuations, but rather from recognizing quality and holding for decades. This is the mentality that should guide consideration of dividend stocks worth buying now.

The current environment for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo mirrors historical moments when investor pessimism has created generational buying opportunities in quality businesses. Whether you lean conservative or contrarian, these securities merit serious evaluation for any long-term investment portfolio.