Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. BSET is improving its business model during the soft housing market. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) saw written sales for its Memorial Day event jump 14% compared to last year.
Bassett Furniture operates 87 company- and licensee-owned home furnishing stores with free in-home design visits and capabilities in custom furniture design and manufacturing.
It also has a significant wholesale business with more than 1,000 open market accounts. These are done through Bassett Design Centers and Bassett Custom Studios. The wholesale business, including the Lane Venture outdoor brand, also services general furniture stores and a growing number of interior design firms.
Bassett also sells products directly to consumers on its website.
Bassett Furniture Beat on Earnings for Fiscal Q2 2026
On July 1, 2026, Bassett Furniture reported its fiscal second quarter 2026 results and beat on the Zacks Consensus by $0.04. Earnings were $0.24 versus the consensus of $0.20.
It was the first earnings beat in four quarters.
Gross margins rose 90 basis points to 56.5% year-over-year primarily due to higher margins in the Wholesale business offset by lower margins in Retail.
Bassett is still dealing with the soft housing market but it is starting to see some green shoots.
“Retail business was stronger as we moved through the quarter, and Bassett’s Memorial Day event resulted in a 14% increase in written sales and 4% more traffic than last year, said Rob Siplman, CEO.
“We saw these retail trends continue into June, which is a good start for the third quarter. Total written sales were up 9.5% and wholesale orders rose 5.2% for the second quarter,” he added.
The company is making investments during this soft period. It has invested in its website and has seen e-commerce written sales rise 40%, with the average order value increasing 24%. It has increased e-commerce sales by more than 20% in seven of the last eight quarters.
It was also the first positive web traffic since the second quarter of last year.
Analysts Are Bullish on Bassett Furniture
Is the bottom in earnings in? The last few fiscal years have been tough.
But one analyst has raised earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 since the earnings report a week ago.
The fiscal 2026 Zacks Consensus is now calling for $0.84, up from $0.83 before the Q2 earnings report. This is earnings growth of 12% as Bassett made $0.75 last year.
But the most accurate estimate is even more bullish, calling for $0.93 in FY2026.
Analysts expect a housing turnaround next year. The Zacks Consensus is looking for $1.31, which would be growth of 56% over FY2026.
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Bassett has been in business for 124 years. It has seen it all. It is managing through this weakness.
Shares of Bassett Furniture Rally Over the Last Month
Many believe the housing market will rebound next year, and that means good things for the furniture industry.
Shares of Bassett Furniture have been on the move, along with the homebuilders, over the last month. It’s outperforming the S&P 500 during that period.
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Bassett isn’t a cheap stock on a price-to-earnings (P/E) basis. Investors are diving in now, before earnings really get a chance to ramp back up.
It’s trading with a forward P/E of 23.4. A P/E over 20 is not considered a value.
However, Bassett is shareholder friendly. It pays a dividend, currently yielding an attractive 4.1%, to reward shareholders for their patience.
For investors looking for a way to play the rebound in housing, furniture manufacturer and retailer Bassett Furniture should be on your short list.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).