How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Williams-Sonoma (WSM Quick QuoteWSM - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to WSM for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Williams-Sonoma's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Williams-Sonoma's main business drivers.

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a multi-channel specialty retailer of premium quality home products. Incorporated in 1973, the company has five brands and each of the brands are operating segments.

Pottery Barn (accounting for 41% of fiscal 2022 total revenues) is the largest brand of the company and offers premium quality furniture, lighting, tabletop, outdoor and decorative accessories.

West Elm (26.3%) produces personalized products designed by the company’s team of artists and designers.

Williams-Sonoma (14.8%) offers cookware, tools, cutlery, electrics, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture and cookbooks.

Pottery Barn Kids and Teen (13.1%) deals with products used for putting up nurseries, bedrooms and play spaces. It also caters to the teenage population with furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accents for teen bedrooms, dorm rooms, study spaces and lounges.

Other segment (4.8%) primarily consists of international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham. Rejuvenation offers premium quality products which are inspired from history and are manufactured in facilities in Portland, OR. Mark and Graham is known for personalized gift items. The brand manufactures women’s and men’s accessories, home décor as well as seasonal items.

(Note:  Zacks identifies fiscal years by the month in which the fiscal year ends, while WSM identifies their fiscal year by the calendar year in which it begins; so comparable figures for any given fiscal year, as published by WSM, will refer to this same fiscal year as being the year before the same year, as identified by Zacks).

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Williams-Sonoma ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in December 2013 would be worth $3,312.75, or a 231.28% gain, as of December 4, 2023, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 154.44% and the price of gold went up 60.06% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for WSM.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma have outperformed its industry in the past three months. It’s third-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings and net sales declined year over year. The quarterly results reflect low contributions from the company’s reportable brands driven by ongoing softness witnessed in consumer discretionary spending, especially on furniture. Also, elevated levels of promotional activity and current macroeconomic uncertainties were added woes. That said, margins grew from the previous year on the back of a solid operating model, which partially offset the above-mentioned headwinds through its full-price selling, supply-chain efficiencies and top-tier customer service. Impressively, the company now expects its operating margin to be 16-16.5% for fiscal 2023, up from 15-16% expected earlier.

The stock has jumped 26.92% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 9 higher, for fiscal 2024; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.