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TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealIf you’re a fan of solid wood furniture, you already know how hard it is to find these days outside of antique stores. A great deal of furniture on the market today is made of particle board, which is much more cost-efficient for the average shopper, but doesn’t last as long as real wood. The solid wood options available range in price from hundreds to thousands, so finding one at an affordable rate is rare.That’s why the Simplihome Dylan Solid Wood Desk is such a remarkable deal, and frankly, a shocking one. Normally $359, this 60-inch desk is on sale at Amazon for just $99, saving shoppers 72% on office furniture they’ll use for years to come. Also, it ships for free, which is usually not the case for a piece of furniture of this quality.Simplihome Dylan Solid Wood Desk, $99 (was $359) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Why do shoppers love it?I began working from home a decade ago, and have since upgraded my setup to include a 60-inch standing desk made of solid wood. It was a pricey investment at the time, but ten years later, my desk is still comfortable, sturdy, and serving my needs well.All this to say, this beautiful desk at Amazon is a fraction of the price I paid all those years ago, and offers many of the same features. At 60 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 29.5 inches high, it has sufficient room for even large desktop computer setups and multiple monitors. It also has a keyboard drawer, so you have even more open surface space on top for your planner, tablet, or whatever else you need to get your work done. The legs are sawhorse-style, giving it a stylish look, not to mention it would fit in well with farmhouse or rustic home decor.This desk is made of solid pine and features a wire-brushed driftwood finish. When it comes to quality and durability, real wood has the upper hand. That’s because particle board is made of manufacturing waste products such as sawdust, wood chips, and other residue from mill operations. While it’s lighter weight than wood, it lacks the scratch-resistance wood has. And if real wood gets damaged, it can be sanded and repaired, which is not the case with particle board.Details to knowColors: Black and driftwood, but only the driftwood is on sale.Material: Pine.Weight: 46.3 pounds.Related: Walmart has a $110 10-inch Android 15 tablet on sale for only $66Shoppers have good things to say about this desk, highlighting that it’s constructed well and easy to put together. “Well built, beautiful finish, great value,” one shopper wrote. A second wrote, “Pretty easy to assemble. Quality, solid wood, and finish, the computer tray is very helpful. I like the clean lines and look.”Assembly is required to attach the legs to the base, but this desk comes with all the tools you’ll need to do so, as well as detailed instructions.Shop more deals Tiedingdingjiaju Pine Computer Desk, $285 (was $300) at AmazonBizum Electric Standing Desk, $134 (was $169) at AmazonIbf Solid Wood Desk, $200 at AmazonConsidering that the typical solid wood sawhorse desk on the market costs close to $300, this $99 deal on the Simplihome Dylan Solid Wood Desk is a rare one. If you want a desk that can last you many years to come while spending under $100, this is the one. Don’t miss the chance to get it at a rock-bottom price.

Amazon has long dominated the online space. But the company’s success didn’t happen overnight. A big strength of Amazon is that the company is not afraid to dip its toes into different waters. Just look at its origins compared to where the company is now. While Amazon started as a humble online book seller, nowadays, it’s hard to find a product the company doesn’t sell. Not surprisingly, Amazon’s recent 2025 fourth-quarter results were impressive in many ways.Net sales increased 14% to $213.4 billion year over year.Operating income increased to $25 billion.Net income increased to $21.2 billion.”We are seeing strong growth, and with the incremental opportunities available to us in areas like AI, chips, low-earth orbit satellites, quick commerce, and serving more consumers’ everyday essentials needs, we have a chance to build an even more meaningful business in Amazon.com, Inc. in the coming years,” Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy said.

Amazon reveals its big bet on the grocery space.Shutterstock

Amazon sees big opportunities in physical storesBecause of its speedy delivery and competitive price points, Amazon has the opportunity to do well in all corners of retail.But given that many consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending due to lingering inflation and economic concerns, it makes sense for Amazon to hone in on a category that’s non-negotiable — groceries. During the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call, Amazon shared plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years.Related: Target’s big store push ignores frustrated shoppers”With over $150 billion in gross sales, Amazon.com, Inc. is clearly a large grocer at this point,” Jassy said. “Customers in thousands of U.S. cities and towns can now get perishables delivered same day alongside millions of other items.” But Amazon isn’t just expanding its Whole Foods line. As Reuters reported, the company is also opening a 225,000-square-foot mega-store outside Chicago. It’s the online retail giant’s first store of this kind, and it will sell everything from fresh produce to household essentials. The store will also serve as a distribution center for same-day deliveries.Amazon could encroach on Costco and Walmart’s turfWhen we think of megastores, it’s natural to think of giants like Costco and Walmart that have long dominated in the physical store space. The big question now is whether Amazon will enjoy enough success with its Chicago-area superstore to take business away from some of its biggest competitors. Amazon saw “significant adoption” of its same-day grocery services over the past year, Brian Olsavsky, the company’s CFO, shared during its most recent earnings report. Related: Dollar Tree quietly adds more higher-priced itemsBut some retail experts are skeptical about whether Amazon will enjoy enough success in physical retail to be a true threat to established names such as Costco and Walmart.”At this stage, the store is more experimental than anything else,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData’s retail division, told RetailWire. “Whether this works remains to be seen.” Saunders also pointed out that Amazon’s track record of physical store concepts isn’t great.”They tend to focus too much on technology and not enough on customers and differentiation,” he explained. “Given there are so many physical stores to choose from, those things are critical.””There’s no evidence Amazon has unique insight into stores,” said Protonik President Doug Garnett, according to RetailWire. More Retail:Costco sees major shift in member behaviorRetail chain shuts all locations as legal changes hit industryCostco makes major investment in online shopping for membersLululemon struggles to reverse concerning customer behaviorT-Mobile launches free offer for customers after major lossOthers, however, think Amazon’s megastore could be successful with the right approach.”If Amazon were to stuff 220,000 sq. feet with an eclectic assortment of quality returns at really great prices — that’s a treasure hunt that could generate some fun, margin, and take care of some of the problems of reverse logistics,” Peter Charness, UST’s retail strategy vice president, told RetailWire.All told, Amazon’s approach to inventory could dictate whether its new megastore is the first of many, and whether it will give its competitors something real to worry about.Maurie Backman owns shares of Amazon and Costco.Related: Costco quietly changes its famous return policy

Home Depot, one of the largest U.S. home improvement retailers, continues to face challenges as shoppers shift their discretionary spending habits in stores. In response, the retailer’s CEO has issued a stern warning about how shifting consumer sentiment and market pressures could impact the company’s future performance and sales. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Home Depot’s U.S. comparable sales increased by a minor 0.3% year over year, according to the company’s latest earnings report.Also, recent Placer.ai data revealed that Home Depot’s same-store visits were down by 1.5% year over year in October, up 3% in November and down 0.5% in December. Amid weaker consumer demand, the retailer’s operating income dropped by 14.4%. 

Home Depot saw declines in store foot traffic during the fourth quarter of 2025. Shutterstock

Home Depot executives pinpoint cause of weak demand in storesHome Depot’s poor performance comes after it faced several consumer boycotts last year over its decision to cut its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and its alleged cooperation with ICE’s immigration crackdown (an accusation Home Depot previously denied). It also recently raised prices in its stores to offset tariff pressures. Additionally, Home Depot continues to suffer from uncertainty in the U.S. housing market. “The home improvement space has faced sustained pressure from macroeconomic headwinds — including persistent inflation and a cooling housing market — prompting many consumers to delay major projects and defer big-ticket purchases,” wrote Ezra Carmel, content writer at Placer.ai, in an analysis.   Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail confirmed during an earnings call on Feb. 24 that current housing-market challenges are affecting how home improvement consumers shop in stores.Related: Home Depot cuts back key employee benefit amid customer struggles“There are a number of dynamics we are observing that are pressuring housing and home improvement demand,” said McPhail. “The current mortgage rate environment and significant increase in home prices since 2019 have impacted housing affordability. Housing turnover has remained at historical lows since 2023, which has significantly reduced demand for projects and other purchases associated with buying and selling a home.”Billy Bastek, Home Depot executive vice president of merchandising, said that while the company saw categories such as power, plumbing, and electrical perform well during the fourth quarter, “larger discretionary projects remain under pressure.”It is no surprise that fewer consumers are tackling these projects. The average 30-year mortgage rate in the U.S. has been elevated since 2022, sitting above 6%. In recent months, mortgage rates have slowly declined, but challenges remain. In January, the U.S. housing market saw a dip in existing-home sales, according to recent data from the National Association of Realtors. How the U.S. housing market performed in January 2026:In January, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.10%, down from 6.19% in December.The median existing-home sales price reached $396,800, up 0.9% year over year.Existing-home sales dropped by 8.4% month over month and 4.4% year over year.Specifically, month-over-month U.S. home sales decreased by 5.9% in the Northeast, 7.1% in the Midwest, 9% in the South, and 10.3% in the West.
Sources: National Association of Realtors, Freddie Mac
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release that the “decrease in sales is disappointing.” However, he added that although housing affordability is improving, supply remains an issue.“Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022,” said Yun. “This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago,” he added. “However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low. Due to low supply, the median home price reached a new high for the month of January.”Home Depot CEO drops warning on future sales Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said during the earnings call that the company expects economic pressures to continue throughout the year. “Our customers also tell us they have concerns over general economic uncertainty, including inflation, growing job concerns, and higher financing costs,” said Decker. “As we look ahead to fiscal 2026, we anticipate these pressures will persist, as we have not yet seen a catalyst for an inflection in housing activity.”For fiscal year 2026, Home Depot expects its comparable sales to either remain flat or grow by 2%.Decker emphasized that the top reason the company’s sales could fall at the lower end of that range is continued consumer uncertainty resulting from poor market performance. He said Home Depot has yet to see a major improvement in large discretionary purchases, a sign the market is still struggling. “That’s really the telltale for us of when we think the demand profile is going to change for the upside, and we still have not seen that,” he said. “You’ve heard us consistently now saying things are improving. Our comp (comparable sales) clearly improved, a positive comp in 2025, but we have not seen the increase in big ticket, and that will be a telltale for a turn in the market.”Decker highlighted that low housing turnover has led to a $22 billion cumulative underspend by consumers on home improvement projects, a trend he said the company doesn’t expect to worsen.“Turnover obviously helps people fix things up before they sell, and the new owner modifies the house to how they want it,” said Decker. “It also has an impact on the people who think they’re gonna move and just waiting in more of a repair than a replacement cycle. I don’t necessarily think that’s gonna get any worse, but we’re certainly bouncing along what we hope would be a bottom in things like turnover.”Home Depot makes big push to win back shoppersDespite recent challenges, Home Depot plans to open 15 new stores this year and is betting big on its recent launch of digital tools powered by artificial intelligence to drive consumer demand.In September last year, Home Depot launched a Project Planning tool for its Pro customers (residential and commercial professional contractors), which allows them to create material lists, track and manage orders, personalize delivery preferences, and gain visibility on early pricing and inventory availability. “We’ve improved in-store tools and processes that drive greater engagement with our Pros that have resulted in higher sales there,” said Bastek.More Retail:Lowe’s rolls out free offers for customers amid challengesHome Depot and Lowe’s quietly gain new rivalKroger adds generous offer for customers as grocery prices riseLast month, Home Depot also expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to launch more AI tools to assist associates and customers with project completion tasks.Decker said during the call that Pros customers will soon have more AI tools to make tackling projects more seamless. “We’re introducing a number of project management and list builders for our pros, including things like an AI takeoff scheme, letting pros build projects, just typing in the type of project they’re working on in a pre-populated list of the project in the app for the pros, so they don’t have to go through and put the hundreds of items,” said Decker. “It pre-populates, and then they can edit that list, they can save that, repeat it for future jobs. There’s a tremendous set of activities,” he continued. Related: Home Depot over the years: A complete history of America’s biggest hardware store

The goal is to reduce Solana’s growing geographic concentration in Europe and introduce multicast functionality.

Valuation arguments and earnings momentum favor the rest of the world and emerging markets over the U.S.

“I live in a state with no inheritance tax. I assume I can make this deposit legally.”