It’s March 2025, and trade war concerns have tanked the market. Investors are fleeing into safe-haven blue chips, with The Campbell's Company ($CPB) becoming one of the most popular choices. This household staple makes soups, sauces, and snacks. The perfect store of value for uncertain times.

Campbell's jumps from around $37 per share to over $41.

Meanwhile, the rest of the market tanks as pundits call "The Big One.” Prepare for the crash of all crashes, as the U.S. economy gets flushed down the toilet.

It’s June 2026. The early 2025 trade war was less severe than it seemed, and the S&P 500 is up more than 45% from its 2025 lows. Meanwhile, Campbell's is down more than 48% from its 2025 highs.

Never bet against America.

The Campbell's Company was not the safe-haven investment play many thought it would be. Still, some investors now think it’s "too cheap to ignore" thanks to the stock’s ultra-high yield and portfolio of recognizable, consistently popular products.

In today’s report, we’ll look at what The Campbell's Company does and whether it could be a good bottom-fishing, high-yield investment.

Founded in 1869, The Campbell's Company is a food manufacturer known for its soups, sauces, snacks, and beverages. The company is best known for its canned soups, though Campbell's also produces many other household staples, including Prego pasta sauce and Pepperidge Farm cookies.

While this is a multibillion-dollar company, Campbell's has a market cap of just $6.46 billion, making it significantly smaller than peers like General Mills and PepsiCo.

Over the past 10 years, Campbell's stock has been a major disappointment. The company delivered an average annual total return of -6.79%. In other words, an investor who bought this stock in June 2016 would have actually lost money.

Burying money in the backyard would have resulted in better returns.

However, zooming out, Campbell's delivered an average annual total return of 12.14% between June 6, 2006, and June 6, 2026. Over the past 20 years, Campbell's actually outperformed the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which generated an average annual total return of 11.21%.

At the moment, Campbell's trades at a price to earnings ratio of 9.99 while offering a 7.20% starting dividend yield.

Campbell's doesn’t raise its dividend every year, though the company has a 5-year compound annual dividend growth rate of 1.61%. Additionally, the dividend appears covered thanks to the firm's payout ratio of 59.32%. However, Campbell's carries a lot of debt, and this could affect its dividend in the future.

The company has $7.41 billion in debt, more than its entire market cap.

This isn’t automatically an issue, but it is something to be aware of. Food is a low-margin business, so rising input costs or shifting consumer demand can have a major impact on profitability.

Likewise, Campbell's is a mature business with slow-growth brands. The company introduced its first ready-to-eat soup in 1895. The two most appealing aspects of this stock are its high starting yield and turnaround potential if the company's valuation is rerated.

If Campbell's can continue maintaining its dividend, investors collect a 7.20% starting yield. And if Wall Street reevaluates the company and assigns it a price to earnings ratio of 12, its share price would jump from $21.68 to $26.04. That’s a significant gain driven entirely by sentiment shifting from "terrible" to merely "bad."

This is tempting, but I doubt I’ll buy this stock.

Here’s why…

I’ve been investing in dividend stocks for years. During that time, companies like Campbell's and Conagra have been routinely pitched as deep-value stocks. In 2021, during a massive bull run, several analysts on Seeking Alpha pitched Conagra as one of the few cheap stocks left in the market. It was trading at around $30 per share at the time, significantly higher than its current price of $13.01.

Similarly, Campbell's gets pitched every time there’s a sell-off or market correction.

Campbell's stock rising a few percentage points was treated as a major "recession indicator" during last year's tariff sell-off, only for the S&P 500 to finish the year in the green while Campbell's sank even lower.

This isn’t a company I hate, but there are other companies that offer better value.

CompX International Inc. ($CIX) carries no long-term debt and often yields 9%–10% thanks to special distributions.

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. ($AMNF) makes meatballs, pasta sauces, and other household staples. It has zero long-term debt, inflation-beating dividend growth, and market-beating long-term returns while still trading at a price to earnings ratio below 20.

REITs like Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. ($GLPI) and Getty Realty Corp. ($GTY) often offer starting yields above 7%, and both have stronger and more consistent dividend growth than Campbell's.

Again, I’m not a Campbell's hater, but this company occasionally becomes a battleground stock or trendy hedge investment. Meanwhile, there are better opportunities for investors seeking high starting yields, defensive industries, and low valuations. Campbell's will probably rebound at some point. However, it’s not a stock that particularly appeals to me, especially when there are numerous attractive alternatives.

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Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, always do your own research.