Replies to post #25755 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[santafe2]

Great article. I suspect this is happening at many consumer levels. Even NFLX felt the pain. I'll be interested to hear Apple's earnings release on Thursday. Do people still need an iPhone 13 when the government isn't paying for it? Maybe. AAPL appears recession proof but the numbers will help us understand the depth of consumer economic disappointment.

It appears that everyone who wanted to spend too much money on a technologically enhanced mattress did so in 2021 with their checks from the government. What did our political gurus expect when they gave away money for being a breathing American and much more money for not working for two years, then suspended payments on education loans and paid for early child care among other benefits and then...and then, pulled all the punchbowls from the party?

[n4807g]

No doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about slowing consumer demand in the coming months.

[DewDiligence]

SMG slashed EPS guidance yesterday:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/scottsmiracle-gro-reduces-outlook-sales-110000723.html

“…retailer orders were more than $300 million below our plans for the month in the U.S. Consumer segment alone. This surprising trend has put significantly greater pressure on our fixed cost structure that, when coupled with the commodity cost increases we have experienced since the start of the war in Ukraine, will cause us to fall well short of the revised financial targets we established in March.”

Adjusted earnings per share are now expected in a range of $4.50 to $5.00.

The prior guidance was $8.00!

Lawn care is similar to mattress purchases (#msg-168656436) insofar as it’s a relatively easy thing for consumers to forgo when their confidence in the economy wanes.

[DewDiligence]

Uh oh—appliance sales are sagging:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/whirlpool-whr-q3-earnings-report-2022-11666362637

Whirlpool Corp. slashed production of refrigerators, dish washers and other home appliances by more than a third during its most recent quarter to shrink inventories as consumer demand diminished, executives said.

The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company cut its profit forecast for 2022 by about half, warning that high costs were likely to persist into next year as appliance demand remains muted.

“Demand is down and cost is up,” Chief Executive Marc Bitzer said during a conference call.