Home Compare BBY vs WSM
Stock Comparison · Industry comparison · Specialty Retail

Best Buy Co. vs Williams-Sonoma: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The structural profiles are close, with Williams-Sonoma carrying a narrow edge on profitability. Best Buy Co still leads on growth and valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead runs through profitability, while growth still acts as a real counterweight on the other side.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Retail

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. BBY and WSM share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Best Buy Co and Williams-Sonoma each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
BBY
Best Buy Co., Inc.
57
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
WSM
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The clearest separation appears in profitability.

Dimension spread: BBY vs WSM Profitability 44 86 Stability 30 40 Valuation 88 69 Growth 58 24 BBY WSM
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +42
#2 Growth +34
#3 Valuation +19
#4 Stability +10
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for BBY and WSM Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer BBYWSM Relative valuation Structural strength

The structural gap is limited here, but current pricing still leans against Williams-Sonoma, Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where BBY and WSM each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY BBY Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 75 pct gap WSM Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 2nd 77th
Today BBY sits in the lower portion of its own 5-year history (2nd percentile), while WSM sits higher in its own history (77th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, BBY is at a historically more favourable entry position than WSM. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Both profiles are strong on profitability, but Williams-Sonoma, Inc. leads clearly.
Growth
On growth, Best Buy Co., Inc. is positioned higher in the group, while Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is closer to the middle.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
BBY
44
WSM
86
Gap+42in favour of WSM

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 15.3-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Earnings growth also leans toward BBY, which keeps the score lead from reading as a full growth sweep.

What this means for the comparison

Profitability is the clearest driver of the lead, with growth adding further support — though growth still provides a real counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the BBY vs WSM comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how BBY and WSM each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.