- Company name
- Williams-Sonoma
- Sector
- Home furnishings retail
- About
- Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (Williams-Sonoma) is a retailer of home goods based in San Francisco, California. It sells furniture, cookware, decor and related goods through e-commerce websites, retail stores and business-to-business sales. Its brands include Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids, Rejuvenation, Mark and Graham, GreenRow and Dormify. It operated 508 stores at August 2, 2026, in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, and it has franchise partners in other countries. In the year that ended February 1, 2026 (fiscal 2025), net revenues were $7,806.8 million and net income was $1,088.4 million. Laura Alber is President and Chief Executive Officer. The company files 10-K and 10-Q reports with the SEC, and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars.
- Thesis
- The price of Williams-Sonoma depends on whether it can keep its operating margin in the high teens while tariffs stay in place and the housing market is weak. In Q2 of fiscal 2026, comparable brand revenue rose 6.2% and total revenue rose 6.7% to $1,959.8 million. The non-GAAP operating margin was 17.3%, which is 60 basis points less than a year before, because tariffs cut the merchandise margin. The GAAP margin of 22.9% is much higher, because the company booked refunds of earlier IEEPA tariffs. The company counts those refunds out of the non-GAAP results and out of its guidance. It raised its guidance for fiscal 2026 to revenue growth of 4.7% to 7.2% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 17.8% to 18.2%, and it assumes that all tariffs now in place stay, including new Section 301 tariffs announced on July 23. For the price to hold or rise, three things must be true. Comparable sales must keep growing in all brands. The company must pay for the tariff costs with supply chain efficiencies, occupancy leverage and a lower rate of staff cost, as it did in Q2. Demand for large home purchases must not fall further. The next tests are the Q3 report, expected in November 2026, and the Q4 report with the outlook for fiscal 2027, expected in March 2027.
- Risks
- Tariffs can cut the margin. The guidance assumes that all tariffs now in place stay for fiscal 2026, including Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs, and the merchandise margin fell 230 basis points in Q2 because of tariff costs. The refunds of Q2 will not come again.
Demand for home goods can fall. The company says that its results came despite the housing market and other macroeconomic events. A longer weak housing market would hurt sales of big items.
Costs of transport and oil can rise. The guidance assumes that oil prices stay elevated for the rest of the year.
The margin must hold after the refunds. The GAAP operating margin of Q2 was 22.9%, but the non-GAAP margin was 17.3%. A reader who looks at the GAAP result will overstate the earning power.
Rules for the tariffs can change. Some tariffs the company paid were refunded, and new tariffs followed. A change in either direction can move cost and the amount of vendor payments.
- Balance sheet
- At August 2, 2026, Williams-Sonoma had cash and cash equivalents of $1,028.9 million, against $1,019.8 million at February 1, 2026. It had no borrowings under its credit facility of $600 million, and $13.6 million of letters of credit were outstanding under it. The facility can grow by up to $250 million. The balance sheet shows no debt. Operating lease liabilities were $1,527.9 million, of which $217.0 million is current. Merchandise inventories were $1.45 billion. Operating cash flow was $696 million in the first half, which includes $200.2 million of tariff refunds and interest. In Q2, the company paid $90 million in dividends and bought back no shares. About $1.1 billion remains under its buyback authorizations.
As of Aug 2, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Nov 18, 2026 (estimate): Q3 fiscal 2026 results: margin without refunds. Pending. Watch: Comparable brand revenue keeps growing and the non-GAAP operating margin stays in the range of 17.8% to 18.2% that the company guides for the year, and this passes; a falling margin fails.
Mar 2027 (estimate): Q4 fiscal 2026 results and outlook for fiscal 2027. Pending. Watch: Revenue for fiscal 2026 lands in the guided range and the first outlook for fiscal 2027 keeps a margin in the mid-to-high teens, and this passes; a lower margin outlook fails.
- Recent events
- Oct 16, 2026: Williams-Sonoma appointed Lynn Martin as a director, effective October 19, 2026.
Aug 28, 2026: In its Form 10-Q, Williams-Sonoma said that it bought back no shares in Q2. In the first half, it bought back 1,608,253 shares for $287.8 million. About $1.1 billion remains under its buyback authorizations.
Aug 26, 2026: Williams-Sonoma reported Q2 fiscal 2026 results. Revenue rose 6.7% to $1,959.8 million, GAAP diluted EPS was $2.84 and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.10. Operating cash flow for the half-year was $696 million, and cash was $1.0 billion.
Aug 26, 2026: Williams-Sonoma booked income from refunds of IEEPA tariffs in Q2: a $167.8 million cut in cost of goods sold and $6.3 million of interest. It also booked $47.5 million for payments to vendors and $10.0 million for a one-time employee payment. It had collected almost all of its first refund claim of $197.8 million.
Aug 26, 2026: Williams-Sonoma raised its guidance for fiscal 2026 to revenue growth of 4.7% to 7.2% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 17.8% to 18.2%.
May 21, 2026: Williams-Sonoma reported Q1 fiscal 2026 results. Revenue was $1,805.5 million and diluted EPS was $1.93.