Are consumers pulling back on spending? It depends on which CEO you ask

7 comments

1. Why would you ask CEOs about macro market behavior ?

2. CEOs trying to pretend that they’re not completely removed from the day to day realities of consumers.

3. “Here at Nissin our Top Ramen packets are *flying* off shelves – *We* don’t think there’s anything wrong with the economy.”

4. banks have the best transparency on consumer behaviours, you get income indications from your credit card credit limits, number of transactions done, location, and growing or shrinking credit card debt.

5. CEOs getting touted as some sort of oracle type people is hilarious. I think it’s how people justify the compensation packages they receive. The CEO of McDonald’s is not some sort of economic guru, he’s a good businessman who made his way to the top and is attempting to increase revenue and profits for a single company. They own real estate which has increased in value due to the overall American economy, and extract rents from franchisees. They have a food making process that has largely gone unchanged since its inception, other than leveraging frozen/non-perishable food items to decrease spoilage/loss of product, thus making their product inferior to competitors. Their commanding market cap is based on their cheap prices, as their prices increase, I highly suspect over time, they will lose market share unless they innovate and create a better product or another unique differentiation.

   I wouldn’t listen to the McDonald’s CEO talk about the overall economy any more than I would listen to my dog explain quantum mechanics.

6. >The most recent round of quarterly earnings reports helped to sort companies into largely two camps: McDonald’s, Starbucks and Home Depot were among the consumer-centric companies that surprised investors with weaker-than-expected results, saying customers had pulled back on their spending. Others, like Sweetgreen and Delta Air Lines, bucked the trend and reported growth.

   You don’t have to ask and listen to CEOs, why would anyone do that? Just look at earnings reports.

7. Inflation is having a negative effect from the bottom up. People w limited income changed their consumer habits first. It’s hitting the middle class now. Wealthy should be able to overcome it through growth of investments, assets and income.