Look Past the Retail Doom and Gloom. There Are Still Some Winners.
Many retail stocks have been ravaged amid a tempestuous earnings season.
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Home Depot customers go big on smaller projects
Home Depot customers are still shopping — they’re just shifting their priorities on improvement projects. “Our customers and our contractors tell us that there is some stance of deferral when it comes to large projects. Customers are opting for smaller versus larger,” Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail said during Tuesday’s earnings call. “We are also…
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Musk downplays margin pain on road to self-driving future
Elon Musk’s bet to sacrifice margins now for improved margins later when full self-driving software is completely integrated into Tesla cars failed to impress investors, sending the electric-vehicle maker’s shares down nearly 10% on Thursday. Musk, who has waged a price war against EV rivals since last year, signaled price cuts were here to stay…
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5 ways banks are plugging into the electric vehicle market
Banks are revving up their work with electric vehicle manufacturers by forging partnerships, offering vehicle financing and collaborating on digital tools. The sector is sizzling: Moody’s Investors Service reports that sales and announced launches of alternative fuel vehicles, especially battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, “are gaining momentum in the U.S. as auto manufacturers drive toward…
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Best Buy signals more pain for electronics retailers with muted profit forecast
Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) on Thursday joined peers with a cautious annual earnings forecast as uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook tempers expectations for a recovery in demand for TVs, laptops and other electronic products. U.S. retailers offered bigger discounts than usual during the holiday season to stoke demand as surging costs of rent…
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Target fends off holiday gloom with discounts, warns on 2023 earnings
Target Corp (TGT.N) on Tuesday forecast muted profit growth in 2023 and warned of the need for more discounts to woo shoppers cutting their discretionary spending due to surging inflation. The retailer’s discounting strategy powered its sales and profit in the holiday quarter to exceed market expectations for the first time in a year, lifting…
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Carvana’s Tale of Debt and Losses Looks a Lot Like Old Hertz
Shares of Carvana Co. more than doubled in the month leading up to Thursday’s awful fourth-quarter earnings report. By the time the numbers hit shortly after the US market close, it was clear that optimism had been gravely misplaced. The online used-car dealer had lost almost $7,400 on every vehicle it sold in the quarter.…
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Retailers lower outlooks with discretionary spending under pressure
Discretionary apparel retailers proffered less-than-sunny earnings vistas this week, with Macy’s, Nordstrom, T.J. Maxx parent TJX, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch all lowering their outlooks. Gap completely withdrew its second-half forecast on falling sales, while Urban Outfitters missed estimates.Why it matters: After a resurgence in 2021 — when the apparel industry saw one of…
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Dollar stores are benefitting from shoppers trading down
This week’s dollar store chain earnings show that even higher earning households are taking advantage of dollar store price points. Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree reported increased in-store sales this week, citing customers trading down to lower-priced items this summer. Dollar General reported a 9% increase in sales year-over-year, with same-store sales jumping by…
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