FOMO never felt so good... While coronavirus fears spread and WFH becomes the norm for many, stay-at-home stocks are cruising care-free. As stock prices were downgraded en masse last week, "no-contact" stocks actually rose: Peloton (up 9%) — work out without visiting a germy gym. Zoom (up 8%) — video conference your biz meetings instead of in-person. Netflix (up 3%) — entertain yourself without leaving the house.
What retail-apocalypse?... TJX, the discount retail giant behind TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Homegoods, reported a 6% quarterly sales surge (and a fashionable $985M in profit). Meanwhile, JCPenney hasn't posted growth since 2017, and Macy's sales fell 0.5% last quarter. While brick-and-mortar stores shutter, TJX's trio of treat-yo-self-without-going-broke stores are embracing the "affordable splurge" that low- and middle-income Americans are craving.