As the conflict continues in the Middle East and oil prices remain high, attention has now shifted to how U.S. consumers will face this in the coming months.

For now, inflation seems to be under control. But prolonged high oil prices are putting investors into a risk-on mode.

They expect U.S. consumer spending to be affected, but that could actually enable big U.S. retail stocks to shine.

Traditionally, they have been seen as blue-chip defensive stocks that could provide value to consumers who want to reduce their grocery bill.

This week, we look at 3 retail stocks that you are familiar with.

Before we proceed, we have some interesting content this week that might change how you think about your portfolio!

Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 4.58% ) : Another Nvidia news for the week. This time, its revenue and earnings have blown past expectations. Net income for the latest quarter doubled to US$54 billion on higher, and Nvidia is projecting a revenue growth of 70% for fiscal year 2028. [Read More]

Salesforce $CRM ( ▲ 1.57% ) : SaaS is fighting back. Salesforce's latest earnings have exceeded expectations, growing 87% to US$1.9 billion. Meanwhile, revenue is up by 11%, and the company projects 11% revenue growth for the current financial year [Read More]

Dick’s $DKS ( ▲ 2.52% ) : Sportswear is not having a great time. Dick’s reported its latest earnings results, which missed expectations. Profits declined by 17.3% as Foot Locker saw a revenue decline of 3.6%, even though overall revenue rose by 53%. Dick’s reduced its forecast for the current financial year. [Read More]

Zoom $ZM ( ▼ 1.84% ) : Zoom’s latest financial results did beat expectations but markets were not happy with its forecast. Revenue rose by 4.9%, while profits were up by about 5 times. Zoom projects earnings per share of between $1.46 and $1.50 compared to market expectations of $1.50 for 3Q 2026. [Read More]

Dollar Tree $DLTR ( ▲ 0.99% ) : Dollar Tree beat expectations, but share price still fell due to weak 3Q guidance. Revenue is up by 7%, while earnings per share rose by 250.6%. Strong results, but the market was not impressed by its sales growth projection of 3% to 4% for 2026. [Read More]

PDD $PDD ( ▲ 1.18% ) : Well, its aggressive promotions and marketing campaign have its pros and cons. The pros? Its revenue grew by 8%. The cons? Profits declined for 2Q 2026. However, what’s more worrying is that PDD is saying that China’s consumer confidence remains low. [Read More]

Xpeng $XPEV ( ▲ 1.77% ) : Xpeng is having a good quarter. Revenue is up by 8%, as its vehicle deliveries rose by 65% q-o-q. MONA L03 SUV is a breakout hit, with record orders. International deliveries are also up by 81% and account for over 25% of total revenue. [Read More]

IHH Healthcare: Revenue was up by 17% in 1H 2026, driven by higher inpatient and daycase volumes. Profits also grew by 15%. Its overall strategy is to grow its medical tourism segments in both Malaysia and Singapore. [Read More]

ASL Marine: Full-year results are in for 2026. Revenue is up by 3%, while profits more than doubled. Ship chartering revenue increased by 10%, while shipbuilding and repair were flat. [Read More]

ISOTeam: Revenue is down by 11.3% for 2026, as the company attributes it to the timing of recognition of revenue. Meanwhile, profits declined by 4.5%. Positively, gross profit margin remains resilient at 18.3% as the company emphasised ‘quality of earnings over topline growth’. [Read More]

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Walmart sells everything under the sun through its retail and wholesale outlets in America and the world.

👆️ How 2Q 2027 Results Went: Generally a steady quarter, with Walmart also receiving its tax refunds. Total revenue is up by 5.9% for the quarter, which marks a moderation from 7.3% in 1Q 2027. Nevertheless, still steady growth in its topline. Adjusted earnings per share are up by 19.1% if we exclude one-off items and tax matters.

💪 Investment Case: We do think risks are back on for inflation in the United States, with oil prices ranging from around US$85 per barrel to US$95 per barrel. Walmart represents a blue-chip retail consumer stock that is tailored to weathering shocks such as this. Portfolio beta is at 0.61, which is our go-to figure to examine how exposed the company is to overall market movements.

There are several positives that we see that could position Walmart as a defensive play with some potential upsides:

Valuation-wise, Walmart has always traded at a premium compared to its competitors as it holds a dominant market share in the U.S.

We also view its efforts to reinvest its tariff refunds into reducing the prices of its products as a positive move to defend its market position.

In the past 3 months, Walmart has been heavily sold as its results have missed expectations. Additionally, investors also view its weak guidance for the quarters ahead as a sign that consumers are wary about the potential impact of prolonged higher oil prices on spending.

Its pharmacy segment has also been hit by the ‘pharmacy deflation’ issue, which has dragged Walmart’s profitability.

That said, we do see some value in Walmart considering its defensive potential and view that the stock has been slightly oversold at this point.

❓️ Market Analysts: Target price of US$127.7 with an implied upside of +24.4%.

Costco sells everyday items and groceries through its membership warehouses in the United States and internationally.

👆️ How It Has Been So Far: Latest quarterly results are not out yet, but we can digest its sales results for May, June and July. Comparable sales have grown by 12.5%, 8.8% and 8.9% for these months, which shows a slight moderation but overall still strong growth.

💪 Investment Case: Costco stands to benefit the most with a decline in consumer confidence and spending. That is because its business model thrives on high-volume purchases at lower per-unit prices, which are ideal for consumers who want to reduce their shopping bills if inflation hits.

Notably, its membership income grew by 10.7% in its latest quarter, with 90% of its members renewing their membership. Its digital platform has also recorded a strong average growth of 20.2% from May to July.

Costco remains a favourite for many of its members, and its digital platform is making it easier for them to shop online.

We do see the valuation premium that Costco has as quite justified. PER is at 46.9 times, the most expensive compared to its peers.

❓️ Market Analysts: Target price of US$1,080 with an implied upside of +15.3%

Target sells everyday items through its retail outlets in the United States.

👆️ How 2Q 2026 Results Went: Net sales are up by 5.3%, with comparable sales growth at 3.8%. Adjusted earnings per share doubled from a year ago, but were mainly boosted by tariff refunds. If we exclude the tariff refunds, EPS would have grown by 20%.

💪 Investment Case: Target is in the middle of a turnaround. And it represents a riskier bet compared to the other 2 retailers above. There are two important indicators that investors are looking out for.

For now, Target is sticking to its strategy of offering a ‘differentiated retail experience’ which focuses on style, design, newness and value. This means that it’s trying to follow what’s trendy and offer new offerings outside of its traditional home appliances and clothing.

It has lowered prices on 10,000 items with its tariff refunds in order to compete on price with the other players. And it has shown that it has room to absorb this, as its gross profit margin improved by 70 bps from last year, excluding the tariff refunds.

Furthermore, capex spending is increasing to US$5 billion in 2026, as Target seeks to invest in and remodel new and existing stores.

❓️ Market Analysts: Target price of US$161.62