Home Depot Q1 comps down 0.3% "...sales of $39.9 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of 9.4%" Press release   ...Home Depot CFO says retailer doesn’t plan to raise prices due to tariffs at CNBC. "Sales patterns improved as the quarter went on, McPhail said. Comparable sales declined 3.3% year over year in February, increased 1.3% from the prior-year period in March and rose 1.8% year over year in April..."we’ve seen the level of customer engagement that we saw in April continue into the first few weeks of May,” (McPhail) said." Read more   Fortune [...]

  Walmart Q1: US comp +4.5% / Sam's Club (ex fuel) +6.7% / Walmart Int'l net sales +7.8% "Walmart US ecommerce growth +21% - Walmart US achieved eCommerce profitability in Q1 for the first time, marking a milestone for the company." Press release   ...Walmart CFO says price hikes from tariffs could start later this month at CNBC. "We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb,” (CFO Rainey) said. “It’s more than any supplier can absorb. And so I’m concerned that consumer is going to start seeing higher prices. [...]

  April: Consumer prices rose 0.2% last month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.3%, an unexpectedly cooler reading than the 2.4% increase seen in March at CNN   US slashes 'de minimis' tariff on small China parcels to 54% at Reuters/Yahoo. "...the levies will be reduced to 54% from 120% for items valued at up to $800 sent from China via postal services, with a flat fee of $100 to remain, starting from May 14. Carriers can pay either the 54% or the $100 fee per package, industry experts said." Read more   Is Jeff Bezos Selling Out the Washington [...]

  Costco April comp sales (ex. fuel & f/x) +6.7%: US +7.1% / Canada +5% / Other Int'l +6.5% / Ecom +13% "April had one less shopping day versus last year, due to the calendar shift of Easter. This negatively impacted total and comparable sales by approximately one and one-half to two percent." Press release   Warby Parker Q1 net revenue +12% "On track to open 45 new stores, including five shop-in-shops at select Target locations slated to open in the second half of the year." Press release   Kohl’s Forms Committee to Find New Head After CEO’s Ouster at [...]

  Trump trade tariffs take U.S. imports, exports to near Covid-level event at CNBC. "We haven’t seen anything like this since the disruptions of summer 2020,” said Kyle Henderson, CEO of Vizion. “That means goods expected to arrive in the next six to eight weeks simply won’t." Read more   Brides Settle for Costco Flowers and American Wine as Tariffs Rain on Wedding Season at WSJ. "About 90% of dresses are manufactured in China...“People look at me like I’m insane when they see the prices, but I tell them it’s what I’m paying, too,” said (wedding florist) Fleck. “The carnation [...]

  CVS tops estimates, hikes guidance at CNBC. "Shares of CVS were up 7% in premarket trading Thursday. The company now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $6 to $6.20 per share, up from a previous guidance of $5.75 to $6 per share." Read more   Wayfair Q1 total revenue close to flat / US revenue +1.6% Press release   eBay Inc. Q1 revenue +1.0% Press release   Walmart US CEO John Furner Reveals How He Was Talked Into Buying Vizio at Adweek. "...chief growth officer Seth Dallaire...suggested Walmart could invest in a non-retail business to bolster thin retail margins...Furner also [...]

  White House blasts Amazon over tariff cost report: ‘Hostile and political act’ at CNBC. "The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs next to the total price of products on its site." Read more   ...Retail Giants Manage to Keep a Lid on Prices but Warn It Can’t Last at WSJ. "(At Amazon) some sellers have tested raising prices by as much as 30% to see how much of an increase they can make before Amazon’s systems will downgrade their listings, according to Brandon Fuhrmann, an Amazon merchant [...]

  Orders for big-ticket items like autos and appliances surged 9.2% in March in rush to beat tariffs at CNBC. "Excluding defense, the increase was even higher, at 10.4%, though the ex-transportation number was flat. Transportation equipment orders surged 27%..." Read more   ...Three-quarters of the public expect tariffs to increase consumer prices at APNORC   Tractor Supply Q1 comparable sales down 0.9%; comp average transaction growth of 2.1% Press release   P&G Q3 net sales down 2% Press release   ...Procter & Gamble CEO says price hikes are ‘likely' at CNBC. "He added that price hikes tied to the [...]