Investing.com -- The furniture and mattress sector showed resilience during Black Friday weekend despite challenging weather conditions in the Northeast and Midwest, according to Piper Sandler’s latest industry analysis. While sales were generally flat year-over-year, this represents a slowdown from previous holiday weekends in 2025, largely due to tough comparisons with last year’s post-election surge and recent snowstorms affecting retail traffic.
Two standout stocks in the furniture sector have emerged as top picks for investors looking ahead to 2026:
Somnigroup International (SGI): Retailers reported Tempur brand outperformance during Black Friday weekend, with Sealy products either meeting or slightly exceeding expectations. The company’s proposed acquisition of LEG is viewed as a strategic move that could significantly enhance vertical integration and profit margins. According to Piper Sandler, this acquisition would give SGI control over springs, foam, and potentially adjustable bases, creating substantial operational efficiencies. While regulatory hurdles remain, industry insiders believe these can be navigated successfully. SGI remains one of Piper Sandler’s favorite names in the sector due to healthy industry trends and specific margin improvement opportunities in 2026 and beyond.
Wayfair (W): The online furniture retailer appears to have benefited from the recent snowstorms that disrupted brick-and-mortar shopping, boosting e-commerce sales over the holiday weekend. Despite overall flattish year-over-year performance across the furniture and mattress categories, Wayfair is positioned as Piper Sandler’s other top pick in the sector. The company’s digital-first approach provides resilience against weather-related disruptions that affected physical retailers during this crucial shopping period.
In recent news, Wayfair received varied analyst commentary; Jefferies downgraded the company to Hold citing valuation, while firms including Truist Securities and Piper Sandler reiterated their positive ratings.
The broader furniture and mattress industry faced challenging year-over-year comparisons, as last year’s Black Friday weekend saw exceptional growth (mean of +15%, median of +8%) driven by post-election optimism and pent-up demand. Despite this difficult comparison and weather disruptions, November sales generally remained positive year-over-year for retailers not severely impacted by late-month snowstorms.
As the industry moves into 2026, both SGI and Wayfair are positioned to capitalize on stable market conditions and company-specific growth initiatives, according to Piper Sandler’s analysis.
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