What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after a steeper-than-anticipated drop in U.S. consumer confidence raised alarms about future consumer spending.
The Conference Board reported its consumer confidence index fell to 94.2 in September, its lowest reading since April. The decline was attributed to growing pessimism among Americans regarding inflation and a weakening job market. This data is particularly concerning for companies reliant on discretionary spending, such as those in online retail, travel, and the gig economy, as reports suggest a bleak consumer outlook could curb spending on non-essential items and services. The survey's Expectations Index, a measure of short-term outlook, has remained below a key threshold that often signals a future recession, adding to investor concerns about the economic landscape.
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:
- Online Marketplace company Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) fell 11.7%. Is now the time to buy Etsy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Consumer Subscription company Bumble (NASDAQ: BMBL) fell 4.2%. Is now the time to buy Bumble? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Video Gaming company Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ) fell 4.2%. Is now the time to buy Skillz? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Online Marketplace company Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) fell 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Teladoc? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Social Networking company Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) fell 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Reddit? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Etsy (ETSY)
Etsy’s shares are very volatile and have had 25 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Etsy and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 14.4% on the news that OpenAI announced a new "Instant Checkout" feature for ChatGPT, which will allow users to buy directly from Etsy sellers.
This partnership is a significant win for Etsy, as it expands their reach and makes the purchasing process more seamless for a massive user base. The news has boosted investor confidence and helped the stock reach a new 52-week high, reversing a recent sell-off. Investors are optimistic that this integration could drive a new wave of growth and user engagement for the e-commerce platform.
Etsy is up 24.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $66.11 per share, it is still trading 11.1% below its 52-week high of $74.34 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Etsy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $543.53.
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