Walmart is down more than 9% after reporting its first U.S. comparable-sales miss in more than five years. Management said consumers are making trade-offs as discretionary spending softened. This week’s retail earnings give a clearer pulse on the U.S. consumer: ▸ $WMT Walmart: shoppers prioritized groceries and essentials as discretionary spending softened ▸ $TGT Target: traffic grew, with food & beverage among its strongest categories ▸ $HD Home Depot: smaller repair and maintenance projects held up, while larger renovations stayed soft ▸ $LOW Lowe’s: contractor demand helped offset weakness in larger DIY remodeling projects Consumers are still spending. But necessities and smaller projects are holding up better than bigger discretionary purchases.