Matt Frankel

Target had a rough quarter after four years of what I would call essentially flat revenue.

And with an incoming CEO, I wouldn't say it was a big surprise that the quarter was rough.

But Walmart, their earnings really just highlight how resilient the business is during uncertain times.

There's a core customer base that's going to shop at Walmart no matter what.

But during uncertain times, customers who typically shop at higher-end grocery stores and things like that, they often gravitate toward Walmart to stretch their budgets.

During the 2008 Great Recession, for example, Walmart was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500, and that's why their sales actually went up.

Not only was Walmart's Q3 impressive, but they did raise their full-year sales guidance.

which is especially interesting given the government shutdown disruptions in the fourth quarter, including SNAP benefits not coming to some people.

But it does make sense considering the grocery inflation we're still seeing out there.

Consumers want to make sure they're getting the best possible deals, and you're not going to get that at Publix or Kroger, you're going to get it at Walmart.

Yeah, since John kind of took my answer, I'll say up 3%.

Yeah.

It did have some impact, to be fair, when they announced that there was a deal in sight over the weekend.

We definitely saw the market rally a little bit.

That's what happened on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

The Dow set a new record.

That was really on the backs of the announcement.

But for me, the most important thing

isn't what the shutdown means to investors, what a five-week or six-week or whatever it was.

It's what we are avoiding by the shutdown not lasting even longer.