Disney, Airbnb, Hilton issue profit warnings, indicating a "definite weakening" in US consumer spending

Following the decline in performance of food and consumer giants such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Nestle, and P&G, travel giants like Disney, Airbnb, and Hilton have also issued warnings in their latest financial reports: due to a decrease in disposable income, American consumers have indeed reduced their spending on dining, travel, leisure, and other areas.

Some analysts point out that due to doubts about the health of the U.S. economy, coupled with American consumers depleting their savings, continued inflationary pressures are prompting U.S. households to tighten their spending. More corporate reports show clear signs of soft consumer demand in the United States.

Disney, Airbnb, and Hilton also find: Americans are "not spending" anymore

On Wednesday, Disney released its third-quarter earnings report, with revenue and profits exceeding expectations and raising full-year profit guidance, but the theme park business remains weak:

Domestic (U.S. and Canada) theme park revenue fell by 6% year-on-year to $1.35 billion, with slow overseas revenue growth.

This caused Disney's stock price to drop by over 4%.

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston stated that the theme park business (including Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California) was affected by "slowing consumer demand", leading to a 3% decline in operating profit.

The park business has been impacted by rising food and labor costs, as American consumers have been dealing with rising food costs and other expenses, resulting in sluggish growth in park attendance.

Due to food inflation and other reasons, consumers are more price-sensitive and will manage their budgets more cautiously.

Meanwhile, due to the strong U.S. dollar, many high-income American tourists are traveling more overseas, causing Disney parks to lose many domestic visitors.

Furthermore, Disney fans have also reduced their purchases of plush toys, toys, and other goods, leading to a 5% year-on-year decline in the efficiency of theme parks and retailers' peripheral consumer goods.

Not only Disney, but companies like Airbnb and Hilton Hotels have also been impacted by weak consumer spending in the United States.

Earlier this week, short-term rental platform Airbnb warned that despite it being the peak travel season, there are signs of a slowdown in accommodation demand from American travelers, forecasting a deceleration in full-year revenue growth. This also led to a 13.4% drop in Airbnb's stock price on Wednesday.

Hilton Hotel chain CEO Chris Nassetta stated after releasing earnings on Wednesday that the U.S. consumer market is "definitely softening".

After spending the money saved during the pandemic, American consumers now have reduced disposable income, with even travel expenses decreasing.

Rising prices, reduced household savings, U.S. consumption shows signs of fatigue

Although the U.S. inflation rate has fallen from its high point of 9% two years ago, according to U.S. government data, overall price levels have risen by over 20% in the past five years, with certain categories including food seeing even higher price increases.

While expenses are forced to increase, U.S. household savings have also decreased. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, American households depleted the savings accumulated during the pandemic earlier this yearOverlaying the recent weak US employment prospects has made the American people more "reluctant to consume", with even the willingness to borrow for consumption declining.

Data released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday showed that US consumer borrowing increased by $8.93 billion in June, below the expected $10 billion. Apollo's chief economist Torsten Slok stated that the slowdown in consumer credit is consistent with the slowdown in consumer spending.

A lot has happened since June, and it seems that the growth in consumer spending is slowing down, but it's not collapsing yet.

Previously, the performance of consumer industry giants such as McDonald's, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks has generally declined, showing signs of weakness in the overall US consumer industry. This is also due to the decrease in consumers' disposable income, leading them to focus more on reducing consumption or turning to lower-priced goods.

From dining to daily necessities, and even travel expenses, consumption in the US is decreasing, indicating a "confirmed weakening" in American consumption