By Rian Howlett
Publication Date: 2025-11-20 21:01:00
The “K-shaped” economy has become a hardened idea among corporates, investors, and consumers.
And those at the bottom end of the K, or Americans on the lower end of the income scale, continue to be under pressure.
Comments from some of America’s biggest retailers this week — ranging from Walmart (WMT), to Home Depot (HD), to Target (TGT), and Lowe’s (LOW) — all offered some version of this caution, either about low-income shoppers specifically, or the ways they see pressured consumers showing up in their business.
And while commentary from executives on conference calls can sometimes be a self-fulfilling prophecy as analysts ask each company versions of the same question, the uniformity in response is the latest signal that the US economy is ending 2025 in a weakened state.
“We continue to benefit from higher-income families choosing to shop with us more often,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the company’s earnings call Thursday morning.
“Middle-income households have been steady, and while lower-income families have been under additional pressure of late, we’re encouraged by how our teams are meeting them with greater value across necessities and doing what we can to help them stretch their dollars further.”
On Wednesday, Target executives said, “Many of the themes remain largely consistent with what we’ve shared in prior quarters. Guests are choiceful, stretching budgets and prioritizing value.”
At TJX Companies — which houses brands like TJ Maxx, HomeGoods,…
