What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after seasonal-shopping data pointed to continued consumer demand heading into the holiday period. The National Retail Federation’s annual survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, projects U.S. Halloween spending of $13.5 billion this year, following last year’s record level. Circana’s retail tracking data also showed late-season back-to-school sales rose 4.2% year over year in the week ended September 5. Together, the data suggests that shoppers are still allocating spending toward seasonal and discretionary categories, even as they remain value conscious. That is constructive for retailers exposed to apparel, footwear, home goods, automotive parts, sporting goods, and off-price merchandise, as investors look ahead to the more important fourth-quarter selling season.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Apparel Retailer company Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) jumped 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Zumiez? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Vehicle Retailer company Camping World (NYSE: CWH) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Camping World? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Auto Parts Retailer company Monro (NASDAQ: MNRO) jumped 9.4%. Is now the time to buy Monro? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Boat & Marine Retailer company OneWater (NASDAQ: ONEW) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy OneWater? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Department Store company Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) jumped 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Kohl's? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Monro (MNRO)

Monro’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 33 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 2 months ago when the stock dropped 18.1% on the news that the company reported disappointing second-quarter results that included a wider-than-expected loss. The company posted an adjusted loss of $0.09 per share, significantly missing analysts' forecasts for a profit of $0.02. While revenue fell 4.6% year-on-year to $287.1 million, this figure was in line with Wall Street's expectations. The negative sentiment was primarily driven by poor underlying performance metrics, including a 1.7% decrease in same-store sales, a key indicator of demand at existing locations. Furthermore, adjusted operating income of $2.2 million missed consensus estimates by over 57%, signaling deeper profitability issues. Overall, the quarter was marked by a significant earnings miss and declining sales trends.

Monro is down 28% since the beginning of the year, and at $14.18 per share, it is trading 40.4% below its 52-week high of $23.81 from February 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Monro’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $239.84.

ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention.

AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.