Stephens Research is bullish on select consumer stocks for 2026, arguing that a combination of entrenched brand positions, pricing flexibility and company-level execution can drive outperformance independent of the wider economic cycle. The brokerage’s Best Ideas report identifies winners across specialty retail, services, food and agriculture, packaged foods and restaurants, expecting these names to outpace their industry peers through margin improvement, market-share gains or favorable demand dynamics.
Below is a company-by-company breakdown of Stephens’ top consumer recommendations and the specific operational levers the analysts say support upside in 2026.
Signet Jewelers - Specialty Retail / Consumer
Stephens picks Signet Jewelers as its leading idea within the consumer and consumer automotive ecosystem category, framing the company as an underappreciated turnaround opportunity. The brokerage points to a renewed emphasis on fashion jewelry, rising acceptance of lab-grown diamonds, and stronger merchandising under new leadership as primary catalysts. Stephens also highlights Signet’s relatively low leverage and a sizable opportunity to grow share in a large, fragmented fashion-jewelry market. Taken together, these factors form the basis for the firm’s expectation of margin expansion and a multiple re-rating for Signet in 2026.
Boyd Group Services - Consumer Services
Within business and consumer services, Stephens singles out Boyd Group as its top idea, noting improving industry fundamentals and company-led self-help measures. The analysts call attention to a normalization in repairable insurance claims and easing pressures on premiums, which should remove a headwind for the business. They also flag Project 360, a cost-savings initiative, as a source of margin upside. Stephens emphasizes Boyd’s strategy as a consolidator in a fragmented collision repair market and expects accelerating EBITDA growth and better returns as acquisition synergies are realized.
Bunge Global - Food & Agribusiness / Consumer Staples
Stephens identifies Bunge Global as its top idea in the food and agribusiness category, focusing on the transformational potential of the company’s merger with Viterra. The combined platform is described as delivering greater diversification across crops, geographies and value chains, which Stephens believes will enhance earnings stability and cash-flow generation. The report also highlights Bunge’s exposure to renewable fuels, disciplined risk management and the prospective realization of synergies as reasons the company could convert commodity volatility into shareholder value through 2026 and beyond.
SunOpta - Packaged Food & Beverage
In packaged food and beverage, Stephens names SunOpta as its top pick, citing the company’s exposure to fast-growing plant-based and better-for-you categories. Key operational positives include a coast-to-coast manufacturing footprint, rising capacity utilization and the potential for margin expansion. The analysts note that new equipment coming online should support volume and that SunOpta will likely need limited incremental growth capital expenditures. Based on these dynamics, Stephens forecasts high-single-digit revenue growth and improving profitability for SunOpta in 2026.
Wingstop - Restaurants / Consumer Discretionary
Stephens highlights Wingstop as its preferred restaurant idea, viewing 2026 as an inflection year after a difficult 2025. The brokerage points to several execution-focused drivers: scope for gains in brand awareness, higher visit frequency and improved throughput tied to the rollout of Wingstop Smart Kitchen and other data-driven digital initiatives. Coupled with an asset-light franchise model and strong unit economics, Stephens expects the rapidly scaling digital ecosystem and improved operational execution to support sustained same-store sales and unit growth.
Across these recommendations, Stephens frames outperformance as a product of company-level initiatives - merchandising and product mix in retail, cost programs and consolidation in services, scale and diversification in agribusiness, capacity and category exposure in packaged foods, and digital and operational initiatives in restaurants. The report underscores that the path to 2026 upside differs by name but centers on improved margins, market-share capture or structural demand trends.
Readers should note that the report’s conclusions rest on the specific levers and assumptions Stephens lays out for each company, such as synergy realization, capital discipline and successful execution of new initiatives. The analysts’ views are forward-looking and contingent on those factors playing out as anticipated.