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All Reports

Retail Stocks: Goods Are Back in Style. Three Unique Ways to Analyze Retailers

Aram Rubinson September 3, 2024

Key Points: Goods are coming back in style, and that’s one of the key reasons we shifted our industry weightings a few months ago – out of leisure stocks and into rate-sensitive durables. In this report, we analyze retail stocks that should also benefit from a return to spending on goods. We put forth three unique ways to analyze retailers: (i) sales per square “footprint”, (ii) inflation-adjusted same store sales, and (iii) inventory “freshness”. Sales

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What Falling Rates Mean for the Consumer. The Shift Is On

Aram Rubinson August 15, 2024

Key Points: Employment is the engine of consumption growth, and it’s shifted into low gear. The aim of this report is to determine whether monetary policy will soften the blow. We assess the effect lower rates might have on (i) the consumers’ P&L, (ii) the low-end consumer, (iii) spending on goods versus services, (iv) the housing market, and (v) home values.

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Consumer Stocks: Repositioning for the Next Phase of the Cycle

Aram Rubinson July 24, 2024

After turning more cautious on the consumer, we’ve received a lot of questions from clients. This report seeks to address those queries while adding a healthy dose of micro analysis to our macro call. We share updated thoughts on autos, RVs, housing-related stocks, staples, and leisure. We also dig into historical return profiles of consumer stocks.

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The US Consumer: Slower Growth Ahead? Adding Exposure to Durables

Aram Rubinson July 8, 2024

Key Points: Our optimism for the US consumer has been well placed. The consumer has been remarkably resilient over the past few years, largely due to strong labor markets and bulletproof balance sheets. The current year is off to a good start, but as we peer into 2025, we expect spending to slip into a lower gear.

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The Low-End Consumer: Swimming Upstream

Aram Rubinson June 20, 2024

Key Points: The low-end has been struggling for a while, but recent commentary from McDonald’s, Dollar Tree, Five Below, and others has fueled investor concerns. The aim of this report is to add clarity to the debate, and to determine whether a bet on the low-end makes sense.

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Consumer Demand Is Good, But What About Supply?

Aram Rubinson June 3, 2024

Key Points: When it comes to the consumer, market participants spend a lot of time and energy studying the demand side of the equation. Supply dynamics often get short shrift. In this report, we analyze the supply of labor, the supply of fixed capacity, and the supply of inventory. Understanding the supply side can also tell us something about where inflation is headed.

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"UP-TO-DATA" PODCAST​

A Conversation with Ted Decker, CEO of Home Depot

July 22, 2024

Today we caught up with Ted Decker, the CEO of Home Depot.  We talked about the health of the consumer, the state of the housing market, the “lock-in” effect, AI, and more.  I asked how long the hangover in COVID-friendly categories like BBQ grills, outdoor furniture and washing machines might last.  He compared the dynamic to a hurricane, which made…

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A Conversation with Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines

July 16, 2024

Conversations with CEO/CFOs:  We added a new feature to our “Up-to-Data” podcast series. This week’s issue features a 30-minute conversation with Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Airlines.  Ed has led Delta’s employees, customers and shareholders through some turbulent times.  In the process, he and the rest of the Delta team have built trust with customers (empathy), employees (no furloughs),…

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Covering the Waterfront. Coming Soon: Conversations with Corporate Execs

June 30, 2024

This installment of our “Up-to-Data” podcast is more comprehensive than most.  We take a step back to see what the latest data are telling us about the consumer.  We cover the labor market, excess savings, the wealth effect, goods vs. services, household balance sheets, inventory dynamics, the housing sector, and leisure. Coming soon: Conversations with Corporate Execs.  Many of our…

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Politics, Taxes, Tariffs, Consumer Credit, and Inventory Freshness

June 11, 2024

The Presidential election is not far away, and this installment of our “Up-to-Data” podcast explores how policy might influence consumer behavior.  When it comes to policy, there’s a lot to consider, and we’re especially attuned to distributional shifts that could occur as a result.  The presentation also takes stock of household balance sheets, including the supply of credit.  Finally, we…

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Inflation-Adjusted Retail Sales, e-Com, Home Depot, The “Lock-in Effect”, and Credit Card Green Shoots

May 22, 2024

We’ve analyzed a ton of new data over the past week.  Issue #4 of our podcast makes sure you are up to date.  It walks you through incremental data from the Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Survey, April retail sales, e-Commerce penetration, Capital One, Discover Financial, Home Depot, the New York Fed’s household debt and credit report, the San Francisco Fed’s…

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Savings, Inflation, Immigration, the Low-End, Food, and Mattresses

May 22, 2024

In issue #3 we analyze immigration, excess savings, and the low-end consumer.  Immigration has been a big contributor to the labor force, and with elections in the offing, it presents more than a trivial risk.  We track the amount of construction put into place due to the CHIPS Act.  We also offer an analysis of the US mattress industry.  We…

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