While the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and the inflationary environment are of concern to investors regarding the pace of economic recovery, rising discretionary spending makes the prospects bright for apparel companies. Prominent companies in this space—PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), and Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL)—reported their quarterly results last week, surpassing consensus EPS estimates. We expect shares of these companies to soar in price on fundamental strength and industry tailwinds. So, let’s take a closer look at these names.Even though U.S. consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in August due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and high inflation, the major stock market indexes are hovering near their all-time highs. This can be, in part, attributed to the solid second-quarter corporate earnings results.
According to a FactSet research report, more S&P 500 companies beat the EPS estimates in the second quarter than on average. Also, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs last week on easing concerns about the Fed’s tapering activities.
The apparel industry has been benefiting from rising discretionary spending and increasing online and brick-and-mortar sales. So, we think it could be wise to bet on quality apparel stocks PVH Corp. (PVH), Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN), and Shoe Carnival (NYSE:CUK), Inc. (SCVL). These companies reported impressive quarterly results last week, beating the consensus earnings estimates.