Consumer Confidence Fell to Its Lowest Level Since 2014 and Consumer Stocks Are Already Paying for It

U.S. consumer confidence has fallen to its weakest level in more than a decade, signaling a potentially material risk to household spending. However, consumer-exposed equities have remained relatively resilient, creating a divergence between deteriorating sentiment data and market pricing. The key investment question is whether this equity-market calm can persist if weak confidence translates into lower consumption.