The festive season is an interesting time for the stock market, presenting unique opportunities for shares to buy while other companies take leave. Naturally, retail and e-commerce businesses see the largest boost, while tourism and luxury-related stocks also tend to benefit.
Here are three stocks that I think are worth considering as Christmas draws closer. All three have historically done well during previous festive periods.
Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer (LSE: MKS) is known for its higher-end Christmas food and gifts, with its London flagship store famously lit up during the season. But it’s been up and down this year ever since the April cyberattack that cost the business an estimated £101.6m.
Fortunately, insurance covered much of the loss, and it expects second-half profits to at least match last year’s levels. Online sales have been improving and food sales remain resilient, up 7.8% in the most recent quarterly results.
However, economic uncertainties such as inflation and rising costs could pressure margins. These are compounded by the ongoing fallout from the cyberattack.
To mitigate any further impact, it has implemented cost-saving initiatives and now expects a full recovery by the end of the financial year.
Card Factory
The greetings card and gifts retailer Card Factory (LSE: CARD) is always a popular choice in the run-up to Christmas, due to its proven seasonal performance. During last season, revenue grew 4.7% and like-for-like sales rose 3% — indicating strong seasonal demand for its products.
But it’s already had a good year, with H1 2025 revenue up 5.9% to £247.6m and a 74.3% surge in operating cash flow to £30.5m. With that kind of solid operational performance off-season, I expect the second half will be even better.
However, recent National Living Wage increases prompted a £14m cost headwind, reducing full-year 2026 expectations. Through efficiency programs, management expects mid-to-high single-digit profit growth, but weakened investor sentiment could still hurt the share price.
Meanwhile, the 5% dividend yield is an attractive bonus.
Airbnb
Looking across the pond, Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) is another stock likely to see increased demand during this festive season — for obvious reasons. The company operates one of the largest holiday accommodation rental marketplaces in the world.
However, it faces stiff competition from rivals Booking.com and Expedia, both of which are after its market share.
In its latest Q3 results, revenues climbed 10% year-on-year to $4.1bn while adjusted EBITDA hit a record high of $2.1bn — a 50% margin. Due to growing US demand and international expansion in Latin America and Asia Pacific, bookings increased 9% to 133.6m.
Despite this, the share price has declined 13% in 2025, amid delistings and tourist tax penalties in Spain and France. These regulatory pressures pose ongoing risks. Still, for Q4, it expects further revenue growth to approximately $2.7bn, helped by its new ‘Reserve Now, Pay Later’ feature.
Final thoughts
At The Motley Fool, we promote a long-term investment strategy that typically overlooks seasonal fluctuations. However, for those looking for shares to buy this month, the festive season could provide a welcome boost.
And these are just a few examples of the wide range of retail shares that could benefit this Christmas. Eagled-eyed investors may find even better opportunities on the FTSE indexes.
