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Pepsi reported a 5% drop in sales, Nestle had an 8% drop for Hot Pockets, frozen pizzas and Stouffer frozen dinners. Kraft Mac n Cheese, Pringles, Pop Tarts are all sagging.
Starbucks is losing the low end altogether, with its stock plunging 14% after turning in lower revenue, transactions, and ticket-size, while losing fully 1.5 million loyalty-reward users.
The CEO blamed "macro headwinds." Meaning lower-end consumers squeezed by inflation and weak wage growth.
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More broadly, the luxury ETF LUXX, which includes brands like Hennessy, Hermes, and Ferrari, is actually up 20% in the past 6 months as the wealthy gobble up their Balenciaga and let the poors eat TJ Maxx.
In fact, just a few months ago Lamborghini announced they'd sold 10,000 cars for the first time in history. A third of them in the US, and mostly the Urus SUV that goes for $237,000 -- 269 for the performance model featuring carbon ceramic brakes with subtle off-white coloring and a watermark.
Bentley also reported record sales, with Aston Martin and Rolls Royce close behind. One analyst summed it up as a "K-shaped economy,” with very different realities for those at the top and those at the bottom, reflected in strong credit card spending at the top paired with rising delinquincy rates for the rest.
This pretty much sums it up. The plebs need bitcoin but will fight you if you try to show them.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @gmd 10 May
Middle class is fucked. Asset owners will keep getting richer.
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Man, I'm really negative today. Needs to change.
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I never understood flashing symbols of wealth. It's a level of decadence that is utterly grotesque. Good books, good friends and a sleepy conscience. This is the way.
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Its weird. Every time there are economic troubles, the rich flaunt their money. You would think luxuries would be failing, but they always flourish during these times! A dollar-first monetary policy -- ideally ending the Fed. That is a good last line!
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Inflation increased 3.5% in March 2024 from a year ago. Understanding what inflation is, why it matters and how to handle it can help when making financial decisions
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This is so controversial.
Does it not infer that there's some huge widening gap between the middle class and the rich?
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It definitely does.
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is the top end boomers rubbing it in everyone's face yet again? their cashed up retirement funds, is there age demographics to go with that spending data