A number of major retailers missed Wall Street expectations this week by wide margins while the vast majority of the nearly 150 U.S. retailers that have reported first-quarter earnings so far explicitly mentioned inflation, as surging prices squeezed bottom lines.
Refinitiv data showed that, of the 145 retailers that have reported first-quarter earnings so far, 138 flagged supply chain issues and 127 mentioned inflation.
Walmart, Target, and Kohl’s were among the biggest retailers that reported earnings this week that came in well below Wall Street forecasts, highlighting the impact that the highest rate of inflation in 40 years was having on consumer sentiment and corporate profits….