"Buy nicotine, energy drink, and candy stocks"! Goldman Sachs calls: Get ready for a frenzy in U.S. consumer stocks.

Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog recommends investors decisively buy stocks in nicotine, energy drinks, candy, and beauty categories as 2026 approaches. She believes that as consumer fundamentals improve significantly, growth in these sub-sectors will outperform the broader market in the future, making now an opportune time to enter these consumer stocks.

On December 16, Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Senior Consumer Analyst, issued a strong bullish signal in her latest report, stating that after the generally poor performance of the consumer staples sector in 2025, market logic is beginning to shift.

She expects that driven by a rebound in real income growth, employment growth, tax cuts, and waning inflation related to tariffs, the U.S. consumer environment in 2026 will be more constructive, especially for the middle-income group. This will support an investment strategy of “non-essential consumption outperforming defensive consumption.”

Herzog emphasized that although the consumer staples sector may continue to face pressure next year, the stock-picking environment will be encouraging. Goldman Sachs continues to encourage investors to put new funds into categories that are attractive and whose profit growth can outperform the market, specifically including energy drinks, nicotine, candy, and beauty products.

Additionally, the firm specifically pointed out that thanks to “three major positive events” including the FIFA World Cup, 2026 is very likely to be the “year of beer stocks.” This bullish call comes as signs of U.S. economic recovery become apparent. Although concerns about a “K-shaped” recovery persist, strong core retail sales growth in October shows that overall consumer conditions remain robust.

From Defense to Offense: Improvement in the Macro Background

In her report, Herzog reviewed the market performance in 2025, describing it as a year of poor performance for consumer staples, with the sector overall lagging the market except for nicotine stocks.

This phenomenon was mainly attributed to concerns about the health of the U.S. consumer, including macro uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and layoffs, all of which suppressed consumption trends throughout the year and forced consumers to seek value.

However, looking ahead to 2026, Goldman Sachs expects a reversal in the macro environment. Herzog points out that with accelerating growth in real income, coupled with support from the employment market and potential policy tailwinds, consumer confidence will be restored.

This background will no longer favor traditional defensive sectors but will create opportunities for more resilient consumption categories. Regardless of the overall trend for consumer staples, Goldman Sachs believes that 2026 will be a stock-picker’s market.

2026: "Year of Beer Stocks" and "Super Triple Events"

In specific sub-sectors, Goldman Sachs is highly focused on the beer industry, even predicting that the coming year will be the “year of beer stocks.”

Herzog believes the headwinds facing the industry will gradually ease, ushering in a series of specific positives.

These positives include the low base effect from last year, expected better weather conditions, and most critically a “triple hit of events”: the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games, and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

Goldman Sachs believes these three major events will significantly expand consumption scenarios for beer next year, driving substantial growth in sales.

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