I have written for almost 10 years here on Seeking Alpha, and over the years regular folks - those who have invested in dividend growth stocks for retirement - have relied on a continuing cash flow of dividend income to support their retirement. The strategy has worked for countless "lower risk" investors who have been able to support their later years with a reliable flow of income. The most reliable of those dividend stocks have been the dividend aristocrats and kings with a long and continuous history of paying and increasing their dividends year after year.
It has been a great run!
Is It Time To Rethink Value For Growth?
As this pandemic continues, and as we do not know for sure when the consumer will return, I am seeing signs that various companies will stand to gain from this "evolution" while others will lose - perhaps forever - due to a reliance on an outdated economy model.
As of now around 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. For a moment let's consider the ramifications of pandemic isolation, social distancing, as well as reduced consumer activity:
- Are consumers flocking to buy cars? Nope.
- Are consumers flocking to fly? Nope
- Are consumers flocking to go to theaters? Nope
- Are consumers flocking to restaurants, bars, concerts, fast food places, cruises, hotels, retail brick-and-mortar locations?
- Are they buying new homes, buying resales, moving to new apartments, latching on to new fashions, buying any general merchandise at all?
The answer right now is a resounding no.
There is what see:
- Necessity shopping online
- Social interaction via technology
- Social sharing via technology
- Reaching out to larger numbers of people known or unknown
- Online learning
- Streaming services for entertainment
- Internet gambling
- Getting news from technology
- Food shopping via home delivery
- Any
