VCR News and Press, Vanguard Consumer Discretion From 05/24/22

The economic news emanating from Britain and the European Union is continuing to come in weak, as many European countries are expected to slip into a recession this year. While inflation may be ebbing in China and the U.S., inflation is still accelerating in Britain and the rest of Eu...

Retail sales have spiked over the last few months. Online retailers aren’t fairing much better. Inflation creates the illusion of retail strength. For further details see: Retailers Getting Hammered By Rising Costs

Until this week, that maxim seemed to be working in the current market as well, with both Target and Walmart as well as basic consumer goods companies in general holding their values better than the broader market indexes. To be sure, the news was not all bad. Sales for both Walmart a...

Latest 12 months wholesale price inflation ran 11%. Walmart and Target have big 2Q earnings misses. Oops! Retail demand does not seem to be the problem. In a market where computers and ETFs have no discernment, everything goes on sale. Retail may be uniquely advantaged when it...

Durables and apparel are cheap relative to 11-year averages. Auto and components are the most overvalued subsector. VCR: an alternative to XLY. 10 stocks cheaper than their peers in May. For further details see: VCR: Consumer Discretionary Dashboard For May

Target Corporation lowered its guidance for fiscal 2022 during its latest earnings update on May 18, which saw shares of TGT plummet during normal trading hours. In our view, Target remains a free cash flow generating powerhouse, and management will likely do whatever it takes to pres...

Consumer sentiment has dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade. Average hourly earnings have risen by 5.5% over the last year. It appears Americans have taken on an “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” attitude. For further details see: W...

Target followed in the footsteps of Walmart with its worst single-day reaction to earnings on record according to the data in our Earnings Explorer, and its worst day overall since the 1987 crash. Given the two are some of the largest publically traded retailers, broad measures of the...

However American consumers may feel, retail sales continue to climb. The Census Bureau’s latest data show solid gains outside of the virtual shopping malls, too. Headline sales (seasonally adjusted) rose much more than expected in April 2022, increasing 0.9% from March’s...

Retail sales jumped 0.9% in April from March, after having jumped 1.4% in March from February, to $678 billion, and were up 8.2% from a year ago, seasonally adjusted, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Raging inflation has outpaced the income growth of many Americans, and th...