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It has been a week.
The super cold weather in New York zapped the battery on my two-door sports car, prompting a call to AAA. It started right up, thankfully. I pulled a back muscle trying to sumo squat 400 pounds on an empty stomach. So much for that $75 weight belt I bought.
As for work, the market got crushed on Tuesday due to Greenland-related tariff fears, but by the end of the week, everything was great. Speeches by President Trump and Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, quieted the bears down, and the dip buyers returned.
Getting back to Greenland, I can’t remember reporting a market-related story on Greenland in my 22-year career — save for the past two weeks.
Oh well.
But throughout it all, one comment from President Trump really left me thinking about what’s possible. The president said he thinks the stock market could double this year!
Sure, I didn’t expect the president to come out saying he believes the stock market could crash this year. But hearing that type of market call from a US president is eye-opening. I fancy he has said it before, and I probably was equally as intrigued.
While I agree that there are a good number of catalysts that could power up the market this year — massive tax refund season, AI buildouts, etc., the reality is the US consumer needs to come alive.
Strong-paying jobs have to lead. Consumers have to earn more money to compensate for the high costs of daily necessities, whether that’s razor blades or milk. Lower gas prices will help, and so could the president’s push to cap credit card rates.
Read more: What Trump’s 10% cap on interest rates would mean for credit cardholders
But here’s where the situation stands within many households: Using Tide and Pampers maker Procter & Gamble (PG) as an example, the financially stretched consumer continues to drive mixed earnings results at the consumer giant.
The company’s second fiscal quarter sales missed estimates in the grooming, fabric care, and baby categories on Thursday as consumers traded down to cheaper private-label options.
P&G did beat earnings estimates and maintain its full-year outlook.
“We are seeing sales growth in our categories in the US and Europe, albeit at a slower pace,” Procter & Gamble CFO Andre Schulten said (video above).
“The consumer is choosing to be a little bit more diligent in terms of using pantry inventory, maybe dosing the product a little bit more carefully, maybe making choices in terms of how frequently they use,” Schulten said. “None of this is untypical. None of this will sustain. So we firmly believe the category over time will return to three to 4% growth.”
Has it gotten so bad out there folks are putting a teaspoon of Tide in the washing machine to do a full load of laundry? Maybe. Are they using one disposable razor for six months to save money? Maybe. Are they only bathing once a week to conserve soap? Maybe. Using one square of toilet paper to wipe themselves instead of a wad? Maybe.
None of this fits well with what I heard from Jensen this week.
Sporting his trademark black leather coat, the Nvidia co-founder said he’s seeing a “boom” in trade jobs and six-figure salaries for those helping to build out AI infrastructure.
“Everyone should be able to make a great living,” Huang said. He added that he anticipates the current wave of AI will lead to the “largest infrastructure build-out in human history” involving trillions of dollars.
At some point the US consumer will have to truly turn the corner for the economy to hit new heights and for the stock market to double. Maybe it will be this year.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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