Americans are cutting back on personal hygiene products in a troubling sign for the US economy and consumer-focused companies.
- “The strains that the consumer is under have been exacerbated over the last couple of months,” one Morningstar analyst says.
This sets up a tough remainder of the year for consumer-goods companies and retailers, which begin reporting their latest quarterly results in a few weeks.
- Their stocks have trailed the S&P 500 this year, and now their ability to keep raising prices and gloss up their income statements looks like it won’t work much longer.