

Retail sales dropped 0.9% in May, but select sectors like online, apparel, and furniture retail defied the downturn with gains. ETFs like ONLN, RTH, XRT and IEDI should benefit.

iShares U.S. Consumer Focused ETF offers a unique, AI-driven approach of consumer discretionary, with a more defensive profile than traditional ETFs in this sector. While IEDI has average fundamentals, it has historically delivered superior risk-adjusted performance compared to competitors. IEDI has a few drawbacks: low assets under management, limited liquidity, portfolio concentration, and recent underperformance.

Retail sales grew at a slower pace than Wall Street had expected in December.

The Fed minutes infused some optimism as most officials favored a September rate cut if inflation continued to cool. Sector ETFs, which are the major beneficiaries of a rate cut, rallied to new 52-week highs.

These ETF investing areas should see an uptick in business this Easter.

Walmart (WMT) spread strong optimism by reporting robust fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 results, providing a big boost to its annual dividend and unveiling the $2.3 billion takeover of smart TV maker Vizio (VZIO).

Americans are expected to shell out $25.8 billion on Valentine's Day this year, an average of $185.81 per person. Investors seeking to capitalize on the splurge should invest in consumer discretionary and retail ETFs.

The start of 2024 brings renewed consumer confidence in the U.S. economy, backed by decreasing inflation expectations and solid consumer spending.
Full call transcripts — prepared remarks + analyst Q&A — with speaker-by-speaker formatting and one-click switching across every quarter on file.
Click below to see what's inside, then upgrade to read every transcript for IEDI and 80,000+ other tickers.
Transcripts source: company-published earnings calls. Speaker attribution and formatting are processed in-app.