iShares US Consumer Focused ETF

IEDI

Consumer spending has held up well despite economic headwinds. The state of inflation and the labor market will be key to watch.

The LSEG Retail/Restaurant Index reported Q1 2026 earnings growth of 27.2%. Retail earnings in the first quarter of 2026 received a significant boost from a historic tax refund season, reinforcing consumer spending at a time when the labor market remained resilient. Q2 2026 earnings are currently expected to mark the weakest growth rate of the year, with consensus forecasts calling for a gradual improvement during the second half of the year.

Retail sales dropped 0.9% in May, but select sectors like online, apparel, and furniture retail defied the downturn with gains. ETFs like ONLN, RTH, XRT and IEDI should benefit.

iShares U.S. Consumer Focused ETF offers a unique, AI-driven approach of consumer discretionary, with a more defensive profile than traditional ETFs in this sector. While IEDI has average fundamentals, it has historically delivered superior risk-adjusted performance compared to competitors. IEDI has a few drawbacks: low assets under management, limited liquidity, portfolio concentration, and recent underperformance.

Retail sales grew at a slower pace than Wall Street had expected in December.

The Fed minutes infused some optimism as most officials favored a September rate cut if inflation continued to cool. Sector ETFs, which are the major beneficiaries of a rate cut, rallied to new 52-week highs.

To date, 145 of the 199 companies in our Retail/Restaurant Index have reported their EPS results for Q2 2024, representing 73% of the index. The blended revenue growth estimate for the 199 companies in this index is 3.5% for Q2 2024. Home Depot reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue.

These ETF investing areas should see an uptick in business this Easter.

Walmart (WMT) spread strong optimism by reporting robust fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 results, providing a big boost to its annual dividend and unveiling the $2.3 billion takeover of smart TV maker Vizio (VZIO).

Americans are expected to shell out $25.8 billion on Valentine's Day this year, an average of $185.81 per person. Investors seeking to capitalize on the splurge should invest in consumer discretionary and retail ETFs.