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Today's big stories

Walmart reported better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday
Our analyst has settled on the best way to protect your portfolio from inflation once and for all – Read Now
Thyssenkrupp is looking to list its hydrogen business on the stock market

Frequent Shopper Club

What’s Going On Here?

Walmart reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday, after the US retailer’s loyal customers kept coming back – whether they wanted to or not.

What Does This Mean?

Shortages of supplies and workers have been pushing up costs around the world, and retailers like Walmart have duly been upping their prices to offset them. And since the company sells products customers need no matter what, it’s in a great position to do just that. That might be why revenue from its existing US stores climbed 9.2% last quarter compared to the same time a year ago – the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2020. Walmart said the current quarter is off to a good start too: shoppers have already started buying holiday gifts in a race to beat shipping delays, which might be why the firm increased its sales outlook for the rest of the year.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: America’s still spending.
Another major US retailer posted impressive quarterly results of its own on Tuesday: Home Depot’s revenue from existing stores rose by a better-than-expected 6.1% versus the same time last year. Such a strong showing from two of America’s biggest retailers is a good sign, suggesting the country’s still willing to spend even with prices on the up and up. And given that consumer spending is the biggest driver of US economic growth, Tuesday’s results could bode well for the country as a whole.

Zooming out: Santa’s come early.
That’s not the only sign that consumer spending is moving in the right direction: data out on Tuesday showed that US retail sales climbed by a higher-than-expected 1.7% in October versus the month before (tweet this). That’s the third consecutive month of increases, and the biggest jump since March. But economists are reserving judgment: they, like Walmart, think the momentum’s just a result of early holiday shopping.

You might also like: Walmart’s an example of a superstar stock. Here’s how to find others.

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Analyst Take

And The Award For “Best Inflation Hedge” Goes To…

Stéphane Renevier, Analyst

What’s Going On Here?

Everyone has an opinion on where best to invest your money to protect it from inflation.

But the decision is far from clear-cut. In fact, all the investor favorites have their drawbacks.

Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPs), for one, are often touted as the perfect inflation hedge, but you don’t actually get a lot of bang for your buck with them.

And while you do with bitcoin – which benefits from wider trends even when prices are rising – the cryptocurrency could also lose half its value at the drop of a hat.

So that’s today’s Insight: the various best ways to inflation-proof your portfolio, and the single-best way to inflation-proof your portfolio.

Read or listen to the Insight here

“ESG is BS”

Yep, Duncan Grierson – founder and CEO of Clim8 – thinks “ESG is BS”.

Now we know what you’re thinking: the founder of a climate-focused investing app thinks ESG is a load of old hooey. What gives?

Here’s what: Duncan knows that the world’s 20 biggest ESG funds hold on average 17 fossil fuel companies in every portfolio, as well as tobacco, weapons, and alcohol companies.*

But with Clim8, you’ll get investment portfolios that don’t just claim to be green: they really are, covering everything from clean energy to the circular economy.

And you can rest easy knowing that Clim8 has a comprehensive exclusion policy. Goodbye, fossil fuels. So long, gambling companies. Sayonara, Big Tech.

That way, you’ll support planet-friendly innovation and nothing else. Isn’t that refreshing?

Invest Greener

Disclaimer: Capital at risk

*The Economist, 22 May 2021