After wild swings in prices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, lumber stocks have been steadier in recent years as lumber prices have been stable. Futures are hovering between $500 and $700 per thousand board feet in early 2026. Lumber is a key input in homebuilding and home improvement. With the housing market sluggish, lumber prices are still down significantly from their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Top lumber stocks in 2026
Let's delve into a few of the best lumber stocks to buy this year.
1. International Paper
NYSE: IP
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2. Boise Cascade
NYSE: BCC
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4. UFP Industries
UFP Industries (UFPI -0.39%) is a large, diversified lumber and wood-based materials company. It operates in three segments: construction, packaging, and retail solutions, including decking, siding, and fencing. Like its peers, UFP has struggled with a slow housing market as sales in all three of its segments fell in 2025.
The company expects those challenges and the impact of proposed tariffs to persist, though it's focused on controlling costs and driving efficiencies. It's also on the lookout for acquisitions and recently acquired C&L Wood Products, an Alabama-based small manufacturer of pallets and mulch, and Oldcastle APG's MoistureShield decking assets that will expand its composite decking capacit. The company has made moves to expand in 2025, acquiring a facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, and a 30-acre site in Lackawanna, N.Y., for a composite decking facility.
Lower commodity prices tend to lower valuations in the industry, creating opportunities for industry leaders like UFP Industries to acquire new companies.
5. Weyerhaeuser
NYSE: WY
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Weyerhaeuser (WY -0.54%) has a different business model from the other companies on the list. It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in timberlands.
It now has 12.4 million acres in the U.S., and manages another 14 million in Canada. Weyerhaeuser is significantly bigger than any other timberland REIT, and the company makes money by selling timber grown on its property. It also owns significant milling and production operations.
Because of its direct exposure to lumber prices, Weyerhaeuser benefits when lumber prices go up. However, the company has also struggled with a weak housing market, and it has accelerated its share repurchases to take advantage of the lull in the industry.
Both revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were down in 2025 as the company noted a very challenging market backdrop, but it said it was well-positioned to benefit from longer-term demand fundamentals.
How to invest in lumber stocks
If you want to buy a lumber stock, here's how to do it. Just follow these steps:
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Benefits and risks of investing in lumber stocks
Lumber is a commodity, so the benefits and risks of investing in lumber stocks are similar to those of other commodities. They include the following.
Benefits:
- The performance of lumber stock is correlated with the price of lumber. If lumber prices spike like they did during the pandemic, lumber stocks could soar.
- Lumber stocks generally pay dividends.
- Most lumber stocks have some correlation with the housing market, so a recovery in the housing market would benefit the lumber sector.
- Lumber is an essential material for home construction and other purposes, so demand for these companies' products will continue over the long term.
Risks:
- Commodity stocks have relatively little control over their performance since the business is closely tied to lumber prices.
- The lingering weakness in the housing market has caused lumber stocks to spiral through 2025 and 2026.
- The paper industry has been in a long decline, weighing on lumber stocks with exposure to paper.
- Tariffs have mostly had a negative impact on the industry, which has led to price volatility, pressure on homebuilders, and caused some sawmills to close.
The bottom line
The lumber industry is primarily commodity-driven, so creating a competitive advantage can be difficult. That also means lumber companies are at the mercy of market prices, which can be a tailwind during booms like the pandemic, but have been a challenge more recently.
Still, these companies provide essential materials for homebuilding, furniture, home products, and other industries, and the shortage in the U.S. housing market should eventually drive demand growth. In other words, patience in the sector should pay off, though tariffs remain a wild card.
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About the Author
Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends UFP Industries and West Fraser Timber. The Motley Fool recommends Boise Cascade and International Paper. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
