From Yahoo Finance: 2025-05-11 10:09:00

Companies were already carrying extra inventory before President Trump unveiled his aggressive view on tariffs. Companies are preparing for tariff uncertainty by buying inventory two-to-three months out. Bloomberg reported that the S&P 500 inventory-to-sales ratio declined, with the largest declines in autos, consumer durables, and apparel. Retail inventories looked lean heading into tariff uncertainty. Consumer spending increased by 1.6% on an annualized basis for April, likely boosted by consumers pulling forward purchases to front-run tariffs. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 228,000, indicating levels historically associated with economic growth. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model sees real GDP growth rising at a 2.3% rate in Q2. Stocks are not the economy, but analysts expect the U.S. stock market could outperform the U.S. economy.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: How much inventory did companies actually build ahead of tariffs?