This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Wal-Mart Warns of a Slowdown
If you want to get a sense of what’s happening in the world, your best bet is to ignore Government data and focus on corporate revenues.
Why revenues? Because earnings can be massaged any number of ways (depreciation methods, laying off staff to cut costs, depletion of loan loss reserves for banks, etc.). But you cannot fake actual money coming in the door.
With that in mind, I want to draw your attention to the recent drop in corporate revenues at a number of corporations including Proctor and Gamble, Starbucks, AT&T, CB Richard Ellis, Safeway, American Express, IBM.
If this doesn’t serve as evidence that real economy falling to pieces, I don’t know what does. To top it off, we can now add Wal-Mart, the single largest retailer, to the list. Wal-Mart just reported that same-store sales fell 1.4%.
This is the first time this has happened in six quarters.
So much for the “recovery” theory. If you look at the real economy, things are getting worse and worse. When even Wal-Mart reports that people are spending less (remember that corporate email that February sales were a “disaster”?) you KNOW things are bad.
Folks, something awful is brewing in the economy. And yet, against this backdrop, stocks continue to rally hard. This bubble is worse than anything I’ve seen in my career, including the 2007 top.
For more market insights visit us at www.gainspainscapital.com
Best Regards
Graham Summers
- advertisements -
Graham, I think to get a sense of what's happening in the world, you need to focus on the facts. After reading your blog, I knew some fact checking was in order. You say focus on revenues, well here are links that are contrary to your trying to "draw our attention to drop in revenues."
Proctor and Gamble revenue up 2%:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/24/procter-gamble-earnings/2108877/
Starbucks revenue up 11% to record high:
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/hot-stock-minute/amazon-revenues-rise-starbucks-warns-cooldown-expedia-travels-105848903.html
CB RE Earnings up 20 Million:
http://www.mideasttime.com/cb-richard-ellis-rating-reiterated-by-jmp-securities-cbg/20985/
Safeway same store sales up 1.5%:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=178993842
Amex reports 4% in revenues:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/19/consumer-spending-and-global-push-lift-american-express/
Your first sentence says to focus on corporate revenues and you mention Walmart. Yet Walmart recorded a 1% increase in revenues. Same store sales fell 1.4% due to later tax refunds, weather conditions, and the pay-roll tax increases. Read the article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324082604578486664288448182.html I suspect more people are ordering online rather than going in to the store to avoid those "people" of Walmart. lol.
You mistake revenue expectations with actual revenue numbers. Corporations, Wall Street, and financial advisers make up expectations all the time with hidden intentions. I don't think I will be visiting your site for more market insights anytime soon.
This may be true Graham, like many fundamental stories you have done, but SINCE WHEN have the mkts moved on any sound fundamental economics?? Time to wake up, the mkts have been HIJACKED by the corporatists and central planners, fight them and you will get you head blown off...............
well thats what you get when you cant keep ur shelves stocked with ammo.
if you did, wallmart would have record sales
Amazon is taking business from everybody. I'm not saying that's all there is to it but I rarely buy stuff in stores anymore.
Got an espresso machine for pretty well half price, delivered in two days for free. Hard to beat that kind of thing.
Amazon sellers and Ebay sellers are going head to head fighting to sell their 'stuff' cheaper and cheaper. The whopping increase in postal rates crushed alot of sellers on both sites (and two of my neighbors) so it will be interesting to see how the internet sales tax will effect these sellers who already have razor thin margins.
How the 'confidence level' can be up is beyond me.
"How the 'confidence level' can be up is beyond me."
The brain-dead are very confident.
We will devolve into Craigslist next, then neighborhood perm-garage sales, then horse drawn flat trailers like the fruit man and rag man from 1950's Cleveland. Next stop 1880's revisited.
Doesn't it beg the question, who the fuck is supporting these alleged "record corporate profits"?? I don't buy the bullshit for a moment.
Main St. has been crushed. All that's left are the big boys. That's how they get record profits.
The miracle of internet companies was they came up with ways to round-trip revenues.
There's an empty parking lot for one of these Wal-Mart Retail units in a Zip Code retailers fight to place a location that I gladly witness.
Severaly times a day as my fresh air habits permit in the 9-5.
..
I mean this, I hope your company goes out of business and may your executive board find retribution counseling their counterparts on the error of these ways.
FUCK YOU wal mart. May I soon see a boarded store in my fresh air and may we all be better for it.
whine and snivel often?
Why do you hate capitalism?
As if.
If you think what they do is "capitalism", you should be angry.
I'm spending too much money at Whole Foods trying not be poisoned to go buy anything at Walmart.
lol@Propagandized Sheeple
That's what they get for not stocking bullets anymore!
I have cut my purchases at Wal-Mart by about 75%, primarily because they don't have the product I bought the most there, ammunition. Ditto for Dick's Sporting Goods, but I'm boycotting them.
You forgot to link the chart.
1966 Mustang Exhaust Note
This beast sat in the garage for 9 years, a fine aging process.
I needed to make it run to ship it, and instead of just making it run, did a restoration on it. It really don't get any better than this.
With separate dual exhausts, header, and Super Turbo mufflers, she really sounds good. This little video from a small camera does not do any justice to the exhaust note, but you get the idea. At two points you can just quickly hear the secondaries kicking in.
I used to drag race this car late in the last millennium.
Here is the U-Tube video, it will increase your testosterone levels simply by watching it, LOL
http://oahutrading.blogspot.com/2013/05/1966-mustang-exhaust-note. html
Be careful. These old cars will drain your wallet as quickly as any IRA, while you seek perfection.
I am amazed Tyler lets you post here. You dont even put any effort into your posts.
ditto,
don't mind the brainwashed zombies who are anti capitalist.........
the satanic criminals are winning the battle, but just you wait bitchez
When things were better, and the times were not as they are now, it was normal to go to wally-world a few times a week, just because. Now, we make it a point to not go there no more than once, or twice at most a month. Part of that also involves just staying home to not spend any money on gas either. Heck, the way babylonia is fast driving for a county wide lock down after another false flag event, and with all these gooney squads training and getting ready to declare war on the American people so they will be easier to conquer later by outside hostile forces from unfriendly countries, we really have nothing better to do than to sit around waiting to have them evil things come to our towns to kill us all off as planned. We saw the future in boston. Who alone can stand up to that?
America. It was once customary to dream of bright futures, and to work hard for white picket fences. All the average normal awakened and really conscious American has to look forward to now is, the disastrous wasting away of this country like that which was done to Europe in World War Two. Why bother planting a garden if it is just going to be eaten by the babylonian govt invaders, or some other countries armed forces?
Will the planed course ever change, or is the world doomed to repeat this world war cycle so those evil banksters that want to kill everyone can prosper again after 90% of all humanity is wiped out?
Look on the bright side - maybe H5N7 or that SARS thing will come along and kill them right along with us.
Don't lose heart pal. Boston to me was not that big a deal. False flag or more muslims who should never have been let in. The military police could not find one kid. You have major overtime costs and fat cops running around. Yeah it was a sickening police state thing but they cannot sustain it.
If things start falling apart - a lot of those cops will be at home protecting their family and stupid crap like they flat screen TV, boat, and other stupid gadgets that the bank owns. When the cities start burning those cops will be overwhelmed just like the one dumb kid overwhelmed Boston.
You have a very heavily armed and pissed off population. The problem is we can never seem to get up the food chain to the CFR, Trilateral Commission types who really pull the strings.
wally-world? ... way too many zombies
Walmart is having serious logistical and inventory issues and with the empty store shelves and lackluster earnings reports things don't bode well.
This was discussed here recently. WMT may be going full retard in their business model with crap from Asia. The costs have gone up along with distrib costs and demand has tanked. The guy posting here nailed it.
WMT has become almost a SNAP/EBT store that makes money off of illegals and the O Free Shit Army with EBT cards buying food. If WMT did not sell food - they would really be taking a beating.
I usually shop in WMT for cat food and a few other items where they are cheaper than anyone else. The stores are crowded - filled to the gills with people, more than ever before. Maybe out in the sticks the WMT business is tanking, but not here in northern VA.
andrewp111: poor kitty!!! http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/real-food-for-healthy-dogs-and-cats-cookbook.aspx
I'm afaid to go to Walmarts near me anymore since there was a shoot out between several Caribbean types in the parking lot and a policeman shot dead at the other IN THE STORE when he confronted a shoplifter.
It used to be a 'nice' area but has degenerated with more rentals, Section 8 people and zero down houses. And yes, you can still get zero down houses despite what they say to the contrary. It's even advertised on the radio! (usually right after the "How to Flip that House" commercial).
I'm sorry to say it but our culture is pretty messed up right now.
WHERE? What state even ...
Kohls and Dillards, 2 of my favorite stores, reported a drop in revenues and wanrings for rest of the year. They eveidently did not get the memo..."everything is spendid." The stores are so so crowded on the weekends, but the local manger of Kohls says nothing sells unless it's reduced about 80%. I guess that's enough profit margin to survive another day.
As for JC Penneys, it plunged over 20% since Soros biught it from what I read....actually I am surprised they are not closing some of their money-losing stores.
People don't have money or jobs, how can they buy things unless they are real cheap. I totally agree, something real awful is brewing in the economy and when it surfaces it will be nasty.
The elite have money. Lots of money. The high end malls are packed with people, and they are spending. All that QE bubble cash has to end up somewhere, you know. The lower levels have less in real terms, and the middle is being squeezed out.
Kohls and Dillards are 2 of my least favorite stores but since Hope and Change I have essentially opted out. Once in a blue moon I might get something at Target. Steinmart also once a year or so. Kohl's shit is always way overpriced. Kohls is as bad as Penneys. The fact Herb Kohl was a Dem Senator and tribesman is another negative. I would rather go to JCP.
Dillards - too much money for their stuff. Unless it is on the 80% mark down racks then they are a rip off like Kohls.
THe Dillards I go to is a ghost town.
Dillards is a high end store these days? Holy shit, back in the early 80's they were a knock off Kmart. What happened that I didn't care enough to follow?
I haven't been into a Dillard's, Penney's and other upscale department stores in years.
Wow, you really shop at Kohl's AND Dillard's? Man you must be rich!
Loki probably does what I do and combine all the coupons, discounts, $5 off deals, Kohls cash and on and on (like a little old Lady) and then wait for what he wants to be discounted 60, 70, 80, or even 90%....then it's almost free when you use the stack of coupons they sent you and the scratch-offs at the counter!
ZH'ers are math Wizards who can easily do the coupon math.....ok, takes a little time but I'm not paying unless I can get the Thingamajig at least 95% off whether it's a sweater, car or a House.....b/c you have to remember...
I'm a Cheap Bastard.
Retail for rags? Please don't be a sucker falling for that (except undies of course; buy cheap, toss often). I used to be a model and retail rags are marked up like 4000%+ then fake markdown sale tags attached. Pure fool's stuffing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QK8mJJJvaes
Goodwill is a $50million+ industry in my state and there are a lot of retirees who walk malls for entertainment so you more times than not find designer stuff w/ retail tags still attached, unworn or well cared for "made in America" vintage things -- but you gotta dig. If you dig for rags cheap, you have plenty fiat left to trade at the Gold dealer.
Walmart. Don't know if they're losing customers for this reason but I do NOT shop at Walmart cause anytime I go into any of their stores (even the new green ones) the chemical smell (fertilizer? all that plastic?) quickly gives me a pounding nauseous headache that won't go away for hours. After reverting back to local retailers I've enjoyed higher quality and don't store as much "super sized" crap in my home AND get more variety which IS worth a few cents more.
"Walmart. Don't know if they're losing customers for this reason but I do NOT shop at Walmart cause anytime I go into any of their stores (even the new green ones) the chemical smell (fertilizer? all that plastic?)"
The smell of the subways "food" makes me gag; obnoxious, sickening smell like something died and subways at walmarts sliced-and-diced-and-warmed it. Bring back McDonalds, please.
Walmart better let the BLS do their reporting and the FedRes their accounting. hujel
Walmart will pair with JPM to eliminate all non EBT approved products and begin warehousing and selling .gov goodies to the welfare masses.
The stock will skyrocket. It's all free $$, right? $85 fucking Billion a month IIRC.
YES WE CAN!
If they had properly guided expectations lower and then beat them, the stock would set a new high, now we have to wait until Monday. Bitchez!
Yeah.....that's how Apple's been doing it. Until...they can't.
If they had properly guided expectations lower and then beat them, the stock would set a new high, now we have to wait until Monday. Bitchez!