There Are Only a Handful of Nasdaq-100 Stocks That Yield Over 3%. Here's My Top Pick to Buy Now.

Mondelez is presented as the most attractive Nasdaq-100 constituent yielding more than 3%, supported by stronger 10-year performance than PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz and lower perceived macro sensitivity than high-yield utilities. The company generated a 3.3% five-year revenue CAGR, while earnings are projected to grow by more than 9% annually from 2028 through 2030. The article argues Mondelez trades at a meaningful valuation discount to Costco at 46.7x earnings and Walmart, while retaining defensive consumer-staples characteristics.

Analysis

The investable question is not whether MDLZ deserves a defensive premium, but whether its discount reflects a temporary cocoa-cost/volume concern or a structurally lower growth algorithm. MDLZ has a more favorable mix than KHC—international snacking provides pricing and emerging-market runway—but that same mix leaves reported earnings more exposed to FX and elasticities following successive price increases. A normalization in cocoa inflation would create a meaningful gross-margin recovery catalyst over the next 6-18 months; continued input-cost pressure without volume stabilization would prevent the valuation rerating.

The proposed comparison with COST and WMT is analytically weak: their multiples embed membership/retail-media economics and share gains, not simply staples defensiveness. The cleaner relative value is MDLZ versus PEP: MDLZ offers less North American beverage and bottling drag, while PEP has better balance-sheet durability and a more established capital-return profile. If consumer trade-down intensifies, private-label snack penetration and promotional spending could cap MDLZ's ability to retain price/mix, with KHC likely the greater loser due to weaker brand momentum.

Near term, this is unlikely to be a standalone catalyst; the article is low-information and should not drive positioning. The relevant 1-3 month data are Nielsen/IRI category volumes, cocoa futures, FX, and whether management protects organic-volume guidance. For 6-18 months, the upside case requires gross-margin expansion to translate into EPS rather than being reinvested into promotion, while the key falsifier is a second consecutive guidance reset tied to elasticity or emerging-market currency weakness.

Utilities remain a separate rate-duration trade rather than a substitute for MDLZ. AEP, EXC and XEL can outperform sharply if long-end yields decline or data-center load commitments convert into regulated rate-base growth; absent that, financing needs and regulatory lag make their apparent yield support less reliable. CMCSA's yield is compensation for a deteriorating broadband earnings base, so a broad "high-yield Nasdaq" basket would dilute rather than diversify the MDLZ thesis.

Key Decisions for Investors

• No event-driven trade on this article alone; place MDLZ on a pre-earnings watch list and require confirmation from category-volume data and management's organic-volume outlook before adding exposure.
• For a 6-12 month defensive allocation, favor a modest long MDLZ / short KHC pair. Thesis: superior international snack brands and margin recovery versus KHC's structurally weaker volume and innovation profile. Exit if MDLZ reports two quarters of negative organic volume or KHC demonstrates sustained share gains and raises its medium-term growth outlook.
• For investors seeking a relative staples trade, consider long MDLZ / short PEP only after sizing commodity and FX exposures: the trade works if cocoa costs ease and MDLZ margins recover faster. Risk is PEP's stronger capital returns and beverage resilience; stop/reassess on a material MDLZ guidance cut or renewed cocoa-price spike.
• Avoid substituting AEP, EXC, or XEL for MDLZ solely on dividend yield over the next 1-3 months. Revisit utilities if Treasury yields fall materially or if state regulatory approvals and contracted data-center load provide visible rate-base acceleration.
• Do not chase CMCSA on yield; monitor broadband net-add trends and EBITDA guidance. A long case needs evidence that free-cash-flow durability offsets subscriber losses, not merely a low valuation.