Heading into a weekend when everyone is focused on commentary out of Jackson Hole, we decided to go a different direction. Today we are highlighting some of the most interesting quotes from earnings releases and conference calls during the month of August. We picked out the quotes from our Conference Call Recaps that provide insight into either the broader economy or specific industries.  

Overall, company commentary suggests that the consumer is generally strong, but purchasing patterns have changed due to higher gas prices, inflation, and shifting consumer activities. On the corporate side, a number of tech companies have made note of the fact that business has softened as the economy is now on the backend of the COVID demand pull forward.

August ’22 Earnings Quotes:

Uber (UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted: “Driver engagement reached another post-pandemic high in Q2, and we saw an acceleration in both active and new driver growth in the quarter. Against the backdrop of elevated gas prices globally, this is a resounding endorsement of the value drivers continue to see in Uber.” This might be due to the higher cost of living brought forth by the inflationary environment.

UBER’s management team saw “Delivery demonstrated stable consumer, merchant, and courier metrics against tough YoY comps as COVID-19 restrictions continued to ease around the world.”

Starbucks (SBUX) is still seeing “strength in customer demand globally,” according to CEO Howard Shultz.

“We are not currently seeing any measurable reduction in customer spending or any evidence of customers trading down, reflecting the strength of the Starbucks brand, deep customer engagement and loyalty, pricing power, and the premium nature of our beverage and food offerings.” – Shultz

Tyson Foods (TSN) CEO Donnie King noted that “increasing consumer demand for protein remains relatively steady.” However, consumer demand is being impacted by “a challenging macroeconomic environment.”

Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon noted: “We expect inflation to continue to influence the choices that families make, and we’re adjusting to that reality so we can help them more.”

CFO David Rainey is seeing consumers trade down “in terms of quality and quantity… Clearly, they’re stressed from higher gas prices, higher food prices, and even housing.” 

Target (TGT) Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington commented that, although consumer spending power appears to remain strong, “confidence in their personal finances continues to wane.” Hennington also added that “difficult news headlines, COVID surges, and continued political volatility” had a negative impact on consumer confidence as well.

Home Depot (HD) CEO Ted Decker noted “continued strength in demand for home improvement projects,” which is likely supplementing a decline in new home activity.

PayPal (PYPL) CFO Gabrielle Rabinovitch commented: “we’re closely monitoring the impact of high inflation on economic growth, consumer demand, and sentiment, as well as broader global macroeconomic indicators. The backdrop continues to be complex, and we’re taking an appropriately prudent approach to managing our business.”

Alibaba (BABA) still sees “supply chain and logistics disruptions” due to China’s COVID-zero policy. However, the company did see improvement towards the end of the quarter. CEO Daniel Zhang saw “signs of recovery since June as logistics and the supply chain situation gradually improved after COVID restrictions eased.”

Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong said, “you have to really remember that crypto is not linear. Any given quarter could be up or down or even any given year. But if you evaluate the business across price cycles, it tells a much different story.”

“The future of all media is digital and programmatic, eventually all media will be digital, and it will be transacted by machines,” according to The Trade Desk’s (TTD) press release.

Zoom (ZM) lowered guidance due to FX headwinds, weak online sales, and “to a lesser extent backend linearity,” as per CFO Kelly Steckelberg.

Cisco (CSCO) CEO Chuck Robbins commented: “While we anticipated some moderation from the unprecedented product order growth of last year, demand signals remain solid.”

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su noted that “there has been additional softness in the PC market in recent months.”

NVIDIA (NVDA) CFO Colette Kress added: “we have likely under-shipped gaming to our end demand significantly… we do have gaming growth drivers to consider for the future.” 

“The next wave of computing is coming. With AI and 3D graphic advances, developers will extend the internet with virtual world overlays that connect to the physical world,” as per CEO Jensen Huang.

Salesforce (CRM) Co-CEO Bret Taylor noted that the company is “seeing [gross merchandise value] decelerate in line with the rest of the e-commerce industry as consumers settle back down to pre-pandemic norms.”

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