The trade landscape in 2025 and 2026 raised costs and rewrote the rulebook for who wins in consumer goods. A baseline 10% tariff on most imports, reciprocal tariffs hitting China as high as 145% at times, and the death of the de minimis loophole have fundamentally changed the competitive math.
Granted, tariff conversations and discussions are ongoing, but companies that spent the last decade building lean, China-dependent supply chains are now scrambling. But a handful of less-discussed names have been positioned ahead of all of it. Here are four that deserve a closer look.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Insteel Industries is watching imports dry up
There's a sentence buried in Insteel Industries' (IIIN 8.03%) most recent earnings call that should make investors pause. The company noted that as a result of the Section 232 tariff being expanded to derivative products, "imports have declined precipitously." Insteel is the largest domestic manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction, and for years, it had to compete against foreign PC strand flooding in at artificially low prices. That structural disadvantage is now gone.
Insteel operates almost entirely within the U.S., purchases raw materials domestically, and serves infrastructure and construction markets. These sectors are getting a long tailwind from domestic manufacturing investment. Only about 10% of its revenue touches import-exposed categories. That's the kind of supply chain the current moment was made for. This is a solid investment to consider.
NYSE: IIIN
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2. Duluth Trading Co. is playing defense with its sourcing
Duluth Trading Co. (DLTH +4.09%) just reported one of its quieter-but-more-interesting results in recent memory. Gross margin jumped 890 basis points in its fiscal fourth quarter, and it did so while absorbing more than $7 million in tariff costs. That's not really luck. It's what the company calls its "direct to factory sourcing initiative." In other words, it's building closer relationships with overseas manufacturers to cut out middlemen and reduce the cost per unit.
At the same time, Duluth is leaning into its identity as a brand for what it calls the "Modern, Self-Reliant American," which, whether you find that marketing compelling or not, is a customer who responds well to functional, durable American-style goods. The stock is small and illiquid, but the operational turnaround here is real. Be wary, the stock has had a great month. I would take a "wait and see" approach when starting investments here.
NASDAQ: DLTH
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3. Acushnet Holdings is mitigating tariffs better than almost anyone
Most companies projected tariff costs, only to see those projections blow up. Acushnet Holdings (GOLF +2.33%) is the parent company of Titleist and FootJoy, and did the opposite: It reduced its full-year tariff impact estimate from $75 million to around $35 million through a deliberate set of mitigation actions. The golf market itself has shown resilience, Acushnet continues to grow, and the Titleist brand commands the kind of premium pricing that creates a buffer.
The company has been aggressively buying back shares and maintaining its dividend. For an investor who wants tariff exposure in a sector nobody is writing about, this is an unusual combination of pricing power and supply chain sophistication.
NYSE: GOLF
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4. Lifetime Brands built its own factory in Mexico
Before "nearshoring" was a financial media buzzword, Lifetime Brands (LCUT 4.45%) acquired manufacturing operations in Mexico and built out its own plastics production facility. By the end of 2025, the company expected roughly 80% of its production to be sourced outside China.
The housewares space is getting squeezed, and Lifetime's stock has struggled. But the company has consistently paid dividends for 15 years, carries a current ratio of over 2 times, and is one of the few in its category that physically controls a nearshore manufacturing operation. The question is whether it executes cleanly into 2026. With the ticker being this low and the market cap dropping this spring, it's a safe time to consider buying.
