Retail Summit ICR Strikes, Which US Stocks Are Worth Watching?

The ICR conference held from January 13th to 15th is expected to release a large amount of holiday sales data, preliminary financial reports, and annual outlook. As one of the most anticipated retail conferences this year, management teams from over 250 top publicly listed and privately growing companies will be attending. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. believes that based on holiday survey results and better-than-expected credit card data, most companies will release positive fourth-quarter data. However, analyst Corey Tarlowe stated, "The latest data from nearly 90 companies shows that retail inventory has begun to steadily rise, and the difference between inventory/sales growth is narrowing, indicating potential future price reductions and profit pressures." Looking ahead, Tarlowe and his team are bullish on Walmart Inc. (WMT.US), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF.US), Caseys General Stores (CASY.US), Planet Fitness (PLNT.US), SharkNinja (SN.US), and Birkenstock (BIRK.US). Jefferies Financial Group Inc. anticipates that top pick Walmart Inc. will continue to maintain strong momentum, with market share continuing to grow. Additionally, performance from Victoria's Secret (VSCO.US) is expected to continue improving. On the other hand, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is cautious about Lululemon Athletica (LULU.US). Regarding the ICR and holiday sales data, BTIG analyst Janine Stichter stated that the latest data shows that sales season is generally in line with or slightly better than expected, despite concerns about the five-day holiday. Stichter noted that considering the short holiday sales season, sales momentum overall remained solid throughout the month, with particularly strong sales momentum around Thanksgiving weekend and the week leading up to Christmas. Key themes at this week's ICR include consumer performance in 2025 and companies' strategies to address tariff and trade war issues. The two retail stocks with the largest price fluctuations during last year's ICR conference were Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (WWW.US) and The Container Store. Companies participating in this week's ICR include Five Below (FIVE.US), Genesco Inc. (GCO.US), Urban Outfitters (URBN.US), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL.US), Dutch Bros (BROS.US), and Macy's, Inc. (M.US), among others.