What’s News in Earnings: Consumer Shakiness Worries Food and Drink Companies

单集文稿 ...

• 00:03

  Hey listeners, it's Monday, May 5th.

• 00:05

  I'm Chip Cutter for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Earnings,

• 00:08

  our look at the broad themes that stood out in the latest earnings season.

• 00:11

  Today, we're taking a look at what's happening to some of the country's food and beverage companies.

• 00:16

  One of the big takeaways so far,

• 00:17

  consumers are hitting pause on spending in all sorts of noticeable ways.

• 00:24

  Something is happening in the economy right now.

• 00:27

  Consumers feel shaky.

• 00:28

  Many are in belt-tightening mode, and they're buying less.

• 00:31

  For big soda makers, for big food companies, that's a worrisome development.

• 00:35

  Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Cooper covers the world of beverage and tobacco makers,

• 00:39

  and she's here to explain all that these companies and others are facing.

• 00:42

  Laura, great to see you.

• 00:43

  Great to see you, Chip.

• 00:45

  So big picture, what do the earnings reports show us about how consumers are feeling right now?

• 00:51

  So consumers are feeling really cautious.

• 00:53

  Many of the chief executives that were speaking on the earnings calls I listened to over the last couple of weeks said that they're seeing consumer softness,

• 01:00

  that they're being more judicious about how they spend their money.

• 01:03

  That being said, some consumer groups are getting hit harder than others,

• 01:06

  but the general consumer sentiment is just largely not good.

• 全部文稿