Weddings are big business. The average cost of a wedding was $35,000 in 2023, according to The Knot. That's up significantly from recent years due in part to inflation. While couples plan to spend less on their weddings in 2024 (the typical couple plans to spend $33,000 on average, according to Zola, a wedding planning website), wedding costs have tended to rise over the long term. That makes wedding stocks a potentially lucrative long-term investment.
Top wedding stocks
Top wedding industry stocks in 2024
The wedding industry is very fragmented. Many of the high-dollar wedding-related items come from local shops, service providers, and venues. Consequently, there aren't any big-name wedding stocks out there.
However, several companies in the consumer discretionary sector benefit from the wedding industry, including:
| Wedding Industry Stock | Ticker symbol | Market Cap | Company Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| (NYSE:PINS) | $21.2 billion | An idea-sharing social media site. | |
| Etsy | (NASDAQ:ETSY) | $6.2 billion | An online marketplace where people can buy and sell unique goods. |
| Urban Outfitters | (NASDAQ:URBN) | $3.8 billion | A trendy clothing and decor retailer. |
| Signet Jewelers | (NYSE:SIG) | $3.5 billion | A specialty retail jeweler. |
| LVMH | (OTC:LVMHF) | $361.5 billion | The world's largest luxury goods company. |
Here's a closer look at how these companies benefit from the wedding industry.
1. Pinterest
Pinterest is a social media platform for virtual sharing, search, and discovery of images and ideas. In the middle of 2024, the company had 552 million active monthly users, up 12% year over year. It's generating an increasing amount of revenue per user as it works on monetizing all those eyeballs.
Pinterest is also a wedding planner's best friend. The platform features more than 38 million boards dedicated to weddings where people planning or dreaming of their big day can discover unique ideas to make it extra special. These are highly engaged users, which Pinterest is increasingly monetizing, making it a great way to invest in the rebound of the wedding industry.
Etsy
2. Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce platform that allows people to buy and sell unique and creative goods. It connects millions of buyers and sellers from almost every country in the world. The company focuses on featuring special items that inject "joy into the everyday."
What's more special than a wedding? That makes Etsy a great place for those planning a wedding to find unique items for their special day, including jewelry, bachelorette party favors, or other decorative items for the wedding cake or venue. The platform allows someone planning a wedding to find something unique to make it stand out.
Urban Outfitters
3. Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters is a retailer with several brands, including Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, focused on lifestyle-oriented general merchandise and consumer products. While the pandemic affected the company, it delivered record sales and profits during the first quarter of 2024, showing its staying power and operating success.
Urban Outfitters doesn't focus specifically on weddings. However, its Anthropologie brand is becoming a go-to destination for wedding-related clothing purchases through Anthropologie Weddings. It sells everything from wedding and maid of honor dresses for the bridal party to other dresses and suits for those attending a wedding. Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters sells wedding guest dresses and other wedding-related fashion items.
Signet Jewelers
4. Signet Jewelers
Signet Jewelers is the world's largest diamond jewelry retailer and the biggest specialty jewelry retailer in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. It operates roughly 2,700 stores under the Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H. Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples Jewellers, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, Blue Nile, Rocksbox, and James Allen brands. Each year, it sells more than $7 billion in jewelry, watches, and associated services.
Signet's focus on diamond jewelry makes it one of the closest things to a pure-play wedding industry stock. The company sells an assortment of engagement and wedding rings. Its differentiated brands allow it to cater to different customer segments, including those on a budget or looking for more fancy, higher-quality diamonds and metals.
LVMH
5. LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world's leading luxury products group with more than 75 brands. It also has a vast retail network of more than 6,000 stores worldwide. The company focuses on six different sectors: wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, selective retailing, and other activities.
LVMH has everything needed to make a wedding really special. It owns Tiffany & Co., a luxury jeweler that should benefit from increased engagement and wedding ring sales. Meanwhile, it makes high-end wedding dresses via its Givenchy and Louis Vuitton brands, as well as top-tier wine and spirits such as Dom Perignon Champagne. LVMH has the brands to turn any wedding into a memorable event.
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These stocks will benefit from the wedding industry's recovery
Weddings cost a lot of money. While the average cost of a wedding will likely dip in 2024, it has risen over the years as couples trend toward bigger weddings. That growth should enable companies that derive sales from the wedding sector to continue benefiting. As a result, wedding-related stocks could prosper in the coming years.
