A new class of weight-loss drugs has rattled global equity markets, sending shares of everything from food and beverage companies to medical-device makers tumbling. As earnings season kicks into high gear, firms are expected to reveal if consumer behaviors are being altered by the likes of Ozempic.

So far, fear has driven investors to sell consumer-exposed stocks. A basket of such companies — including Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc. and Modelo beer producer Constellation Brand Inc. — is down nearly 9% since early August with losses roughly double those of the S&P 500 Index, while makers of things like insulin pumps have wiped out close to a third of their value over the same stretch amid concerns that fewer people will need their products.

  • Dogyote
    51·
    8 months ago

    Or are these relatively few people really having that much of an impact?

    I’m imagining a world where 99% of grocery shoppers ignore the cookie aisle while the last 1% fill their carts with Oreos every visit, like Whales in pay to win mobile games.