Goldman Sachs senior consumer analyst Bonnie Herzog expects that the U.S. consumption environment will significantly improve in 2026 due to real income growth, employment improvements, and tax cuts, with "non-essential consumption" outperforming defensive sectors. Herzog is particularly optimistic about beer stocks, believing that major events such as the FIFA World Cup will drive sales growth, making 2026 the "year of beer stocks" and a golden market for stock pickers.

Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog advises investors to decisively buy nicotine, energy drinks, candy, and beauty stocks as 2026 approaches. She believes that as consumer fundamentals improve significantly, growth in these sub-sectors will outperform the market in the future, making now a great entry point for these types of consumer stocks.

However, Goldman Sachs is a classic contrarian indicator.