What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the latest U.S. consumer confidence report revealed underlying weakness despite a headline increase, raising concerns about future spending. While the Conference Board's headline Consumer Confidence Index rose to 97.2 in July, the details painted a more cautious picture for investors. The Present Situation Index, a measure of consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, actually fell. More telling for the sector, the report showed a decline in buying intentions for major discretionary items such as homes, cars, and most appliances. This combination of factors signals potential weakness in future consumer spending, casting a shadow over companies that rely on non-essential purchases.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Footwear company Steven Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Steven Madden? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Travel and Vacation Providers company Carnival (NYSE: CCL) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Carnival? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Travel and Vacation Providers company Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Norwegian Cruise Line? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Toys and Electronics company Bark (NYSE: BARK) fell 7.5%. Is now the time to buy Bark? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Apparel and Accessories company Tapestry (NYSE: TPR) fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Tapestry? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Bark (BARK)
Bark’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 45 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 2 months ago when the stock dropped 26.2% on the news that the company reported weak first-quarter 2025 results: its revenue missed, and its revenue and EBITDA guidance for the next quarter fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Management attributed the weak sales to reduction in marketing spend amid rising tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty, and timing delays in retail shipments. On the other hand, Bark blew past analysts' EBITDA expectations this quarter. Overall, this was a softer quarter.
Bark is down 50.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $0.93 per share, it is trading 61.3% below its 52-week high of $2.40 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bark’s shares at the IPO in December 2020 would now be looking at an investment worth $74.85.
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