U.S. households and businesses have already reported drops in confidence because of all the uncertainty about which tariffs will stick from Trump’s barrage of on -again, off -again announcements. That’s raised fears about a pullback in spending that could sap energy from the economy.
Such fears have Wall Street focused on whether companies are seeing the uncertainty translate into real pain for their businesses.
Ulta Beauty jumped 6.1% after the beauty products retailer reported stronger profit for the latest quarter. The company’s forecasts for upcoming revenue and profit fell short of analysts’ targets, but Chief Financial Officer Paula Oyibo said it wanted to be cautious “as we navigate ongoing consumer uncertainty.”
Other retailers and airlines have said recently they’ve begun to see a change in their customers’ behavior because of the uncertainty created by tariffs.