8. Retail
The U.S. retail industry has been jeopardized by the coronavirus outbreak and a large number of stores have already had to close their doors. For example, Apple has closed all stores outside of China until at least March 27 and other big retailers in fashion, sporting goods stores and tech have made the same announcements, with more coming in every single day.
Urban Outfitters, Nike, and other popular companies have announced plans to pay workers at least in the short term for lost wages. This is good news for the employees, many of whom are among the lowest-paid American workers, but it will mean the companies’ bottom lines will take a hit.
One Jefferies analyst told CNBC, “With stores accounting for 75% of sales for most retailers, we anticipate massive EPS [earnings per share] declines for 1Q (the first quarter), especially as most retailers appear to be paying employees during the 2 week closures.”
