Companies Are Seeing a Challenged U.S. Consumer as Earnings Season Starts

The U.S. user is “challenged” and looking for value, PepsiCo’s CEO said Thursday, offering a caller position connected nan authorities of American households arsenic net play gets nether way.

Drink and snack elephantine PepsiCo (PEP) reported its latest financial results earlier today, offering a scaled-back outlook that disappointed investors. On a convention telephone pinch analysts this morning, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramon Laguarta discussed nan authorities of nan U.S. consumer, which investors will watch intimately arsenic nan second-quarter net play picks up steam. 

'Difficult Consumer Environment'

Earlier this week, nan CEO of user brands institution Helen of Troy (HELE) referenced a “stretched” consumer. And nutrient institution Conagra Brands (CAG) discussed a “difficult user environment” successful its ain study earlier today. 

Some of Laguarta's comments, according to a transcript of nan telephone from AlphaSense: 

• “In nan U.S., location is intelligibly a user that is much challenged and is simply a user that is telling america that successful peculiar parts of our portfolio, they want much worth to enactment pinch our brands. That is not for each nan consumers.”
• “I deliberation this request for worth aliases much worth consciousness, I think, is impacting each family successful nan U.S. So it is different levels of income, I deliberation it's impacting everybody, and we're seeing behaviors successful different income levels.”
• “So possibly you spot nan higher-income consumers, that they're not going to costly restaurants, they're adjusting their behaviour to much affordable restaurants aliases they enactment astatine location and past they create their ain intermezo moments aliases nosy moments astatine home.”
• “So do you spot different behaviors happening everywhere? I deliberation nan connecting line, it would beryllium nan user is much cautious, nan user is much choiceful, but nan user is consenting to walk successful areas wherever they spot value.”

Bank earnings, which start to onshore tomorrow, will thief further exemplify consumers' financial health.