As the dark clouds of inflation continue to hover, consumer sentiment is starting to take a hit. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for May fell to a six-month low of 67.4, marking a decline of 12.7% from April's final reading of 77.2. While softening economic data has raised hopes for a potential Fed rate cut, those same data points also highlight an increasingly challenging environment for consumers.
In this scenario, it might seem that only the bravest investors would put their money into consumer stocks. However, with none other than Walmart (WMT) ushering the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) to new highs above 40,000 today, there's no time like the present to take a look at some underappreciated consumer-facing stocks.
