Dow Jones – Consumer Cos Up Amid Strong Earnings — Consumer Roundup

Shares of retailers and other consumer companies ticked up amid strong earnings and speculative swirls.

Consumer-products giant Kimberly-Clark posted robust fiscal fourth-quarter earnings growth and boosted its dividend as stockpiling of kitchen towels and other items continued to benefit its sales.

Shares of videogame retailer GameStop surged in the morning, more than doubling in value at one stage as hedge funds betting against retail traders who have driven up the price of the usually sleepy stock in recent weeks were trapped in a “short squeeze,” as an upward spiral in the price of GameStop forced them to buy back shares at exorbitant prices.

In a highly unusual move for a company with a market capitalization over $4 billion, GameStop slipped into the red at one stage before surging higher again.

Retail trade association NPD estimated there was a substantial increase in toy sales last year, triggered by renewed demand for children’s playthings when lockdowns began in March.

 Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2021 17:14 ET (22:14 GMT)

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