3 Trending Consumer Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market This Week
Investors could be eyeing the top consumer stocks in the stock market this week as another key inflation figure looms. Namely, there will be an update on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) measure which is preferred by the Federal Reserve. Now, the PCE would account for inflation while excluding any volatile food and energy costs which consumers are facing. As such, it would make sense that investors are eyeing consumer stocks now.
Regardless, while prices may be rising, consumers do not seem to be slowing their spending. Just last week, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan highlighted this. According to Moynihan, consumer spending on its Zelle payment network is outpacing 2019 levels. Understandably, this would be the case as in-person entertainment and domestic travel bounces back. Overall, it seems like the reopening trade continues to gain momentum despite greater than usual inflation rates now. In theory, this could mean that top consumer stocks would still have room to run moving forward.
For the most part, investors have plenty of quality consumer stocks to choose from now. Whether it is the vital consumer defensive sector or consumer discretionary industry, things appear to be heating up. Over the weekend, major U.S. retailer Target (NYSE: TGT) announced new additions to its annual Deals Day sales event. Currently, the company is offering groceries, electronics, and toys at discount rates. Elsewhere, golf equipment retailer PGA Tour Superstore is also seeing an uptick in demand for its offerings. So much so that CEO Dick Sullivan reported a 55% increase in year-to-date sales compared to 2019 levels. This would be in line with the recent spike in outdoor equipment sales over at Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS). On that note, here are three consumer stocks to watch in the stock market today.
Top Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now
- Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
- Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND)
- PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)
Amazon.com Inc.
When talking about the top consumer-focused players in the market today, Amazon would come to mind for many. After all, few can boast an e-commerce empire as massive as Amazon’s. From its Prime ecosystem of services to its massive selection of products, Amazon continues to dominate the space. On top of all that, the company has and continues to expand towards hot markets in the tech world. This is evident as its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, is an industry-leading business now. Now, AMZN stock appears to be trading within striking distance of its all-time high from September 2020.
Understandably, this could be because of the arrival of Prime Day 2021. For the uninitiated, Prime Day is Amazon’s annual mega-sale where consumers are bombarded with deals on all kinds of wares. This can range from consumer tech like Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) AirPods to home appliances such as iRobot’s (NASDAQ: IRBT) Roomba’s. Notably, this would mark Amazon’s busiest time of the year. As a result, I can understand investor hype around AMZN stock now.
All this goes to show that while the e-commerce pandemic tailwind could possibly slow, Amazon is not sitting idly by. In its recent quarter fiscal, Amazon posted total revenue of $108.52 billion, crossing the $100 billion mark in back-to-back quarters. Not to mention, the company also posted earnings per share of $15.79 for the quarter, marking a 215% year-over-year surge. With the current momentum in consumer spending, Amazon could be looking at another exciting quarter down the line. Would you say the same for AMZN stock?
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Beyond Meat Inc.
Following that, we will be looking at Beyond Meat. In brief, the Los Angeles-based company is a producer of plant-based meat substitutes. According to Beyond Meat, all of these products are made without using GMOs, hormones, antibiotics, or cholesterol. Indeed, as consumer dietary trends shift towards more sustainable sources of food, Beyond Meat would stand to benefit. Similarly, BYND stock is currently looking at gains of over 35% in the past month.
A crucial factor to Beyond Meat’s current business would be the adoption of plant-based meat alternatives. To accelerate this process, the company appears to be eyeing global restaurant chains now. Crucially, Beyond Meat is currently working with the likes of McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM). In fact, Beyond Meats recently launched a new Italian sausage with Yum! Brands subsidiary, Pizza Hut. Aside from fast-food names, the company is also bringing its wares directly to consumers. Last month, Beyond Meat expanded its existing partnership with Walmart (NYSE: WMT). Accordingly, Walmart now sells “Beyond Meatballs” across 2,100 stores in the U.S.
By and large, Beyond Meat’s aggressive partnership-based strategy would expose more consumers to its offerings. Should this lead to greater adoption of plant-based meat alternatives, more restaurant chains would be incentivized to adopt its offerings. Moreover, there is also the factor of growing global green initiatives and social movements in favor of the company’s business. Given all of this, would you consider BYND stock a top consumer stock to watch now?
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PayPal Holdings Inc.
Another top player to know among the consumer-based industries now would be PayPal. In short, PayPal is a frontrunner in the digital payment market now with over 20 years of experience. For a sense of scale, PayPal caters to 300 million consumers and merchants in over 200 markets across the globe. Amidst the pandemic, PayPal’s services became vital for consumers and businesses alike. Now, even as some parts of the world are looking to reopen, PayPal’s services remain viable. Namely, the company’s services offer consumers convenience when making payments. In a market where consumer spending is on the rise, PayPal will likely be there to facilitate said spending. As such, I could see investors eyeing PYPL stock now.
Sure, while all this is great for PayPal, the company is not sitting idly by. Specifically, PayPal, like other fintech players, is currently expanding into the cryptocurrency space. This can be seen as the company now allows customers to both trade and use cryptocurrencies on its network. In detail, PayPal users can now buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly through its Venmo app. Additionally, users can do so with as little as $1. The company seems to be appealing to crypto curious users given the widespread social hype around digital currencies now. No doubt, this would mark a strategic play by PayPal on the operational front.
In its latest quarter fiscal posted in May, the company reported solid figures across the board. To highlight, PayPal saw huge year-over-year surges of 1,205% in net income and 1,214% in earnings per share. CFO John Rainey had mentioned that these “record-breaking first-quarter results” serve to highlight the relevance of PayPal’s services now. All things considered, will you be watching PYPL stock closely now?
