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Restaurants are go-to meeting hubs for friends, family, and colleagues. They’re also more insulated from online competition, which has led to a steady demand versus other retail-oriented businesses like department stores. This has been appreciated by the market as the industry was up 8.7% over the past six months compared to 6.5% for the S&P 500.

Alternate site health provider Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2024, with sales up 19.7% year on year to $1.35 billion. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $5.4 billion at the midpoint came in 2.5% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.44 per share was 21.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Holding company and industrial conglomerate Icahn (NYSE:IEP) reported Q4 CY2024 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, but sales fell by 11.1% year on year to $2.37 billion. Its GAAP loss of $0.19 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Restaurant company Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2024, with sales falling 18.6% year on year to $972 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.22 per share was 39.7% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Industrials businesses quietly power the physical things we depend on, from cars and homes to e-commerce infrastructure. Still, their generally high capital requirements expose them to the ups and downs of economic cycles, and the market seems confused about where we could go next. This uncertainty has led to a flat return for the industry over the past six months while the S&P 500 was up 6.4%.

Radiopharmaceutical company Lantheus Holdings (NASDAQ:LNTH) reported Q4 CY2024 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 10.5% year on year to $391.1 million. On the other hand, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $1.58 billion at the midpoint came in 2.3% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.59 per share was 3% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Retailers are overhauling their operations as technology redefines the shopping experience. Still, secular trends are working against their favor as e-commerce continues to take share from brick and mortars. This puts retail stocks in a tough spot, and over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 3.7%. This performance is a stark contrast from the S&P 500’s 6.4% gain.