Consumer & Retail

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September 29, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

Americans Just Lost Faith in the Economy. The Receipts Say Something Different

There is a number buried in Tuesday’s market news that deserves more attention than the Dow’s 131-point drop. A key measure of U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly plunged in September...

September 27, 2026
Boldly Financial
Breaking, Consumer & Retail

Costco’s $95.7 Billion Quarter Is the Clearest Read on the American Wallet

If you want to know how the American consumer is really doing, skip the surveys and watch the warehouse. Costco reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday, September 24,...

September 27, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

Nike’s $53 Billion Question: A Turnaround That Keeps Asking for More Time

There is a particular kind of pain in watching a company you grew up admiring trade at a 12-year low. Nike closed Friday at about $35.75, down roughly 44%...

September 27, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

Starbucks Is Closing 250 Stores: Inside the $300 Million Turnaround Math

On September 24 and 25, Starbucks announced it will close roughly 250 underperforming stores across the United States and Canada in the coming days, about 1% of its North...

September 26, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

The Two-Consumer Economy: Why the Richest 10 Percent Now Drive Half of All Spending

Here is a number that explains more about the American economy than any GDP report: the top 10 percent of earners now account for 49.2 percent of all consumer...

September 25, 2026
Boldly Financial
Breaking, Consumer & Retail

Consumers Are Gloomy, Businesses Are Spending: Friday’s Data Tells Two Stories

There is a riddle in Friday’s economic data, and it is the kind of riddle that decides whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates again in October. Story one...

September 25, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

Costco’s $95.7 Billion Quarter: A Case Study in Winning When Shoppers Are Squeezed

There is a particular kind of American ritual that happens on a Saturday morning in a Costco parking lot. Families arrive with a list and a plan, and leave...

September 25, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

McDonald’s Bets $8.5 Billion It Can Win You Back: Anatomy of a Turnaround

There is a particular silence that falls over a boardroom when the numbers stop working. McDonald’s heard it this week. At its Investor Day on Wednesday, September 23, the...

September 24, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

Peloton Lost 97% of Its Value. Now It Is Betting the Comeback on a Folding Treadmill.

On Tuesday, Peloton announced three new treadmills, and the cheapest one may be the most important product the company has launched since the pandemic. The Tread Flex, at $2,195,...

September 20, 2026
Boldly Financial
Analysis, Consumer & Retail

One Warehouse, One Quarter: Why Costco’s Thursday Report Is a Portrait of the American Consumer

There is a moment, usually around 3:15 in the afternoon, when the Costco parking lot tells you everything about the economy. The carts are overflowing with rotisserie chickens and...