(CONN:NASDAQ) On Wednesday September 1, 2021 Conn’s, Inc. (CONN) posted better-than-expected revenues of $418.38mm beating the consensus estimate of 392.91mm (-6.09%) and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was +14.02% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured an increase in foot traffic of +6.08 % YoY at its stores for Q2 2021. As a result of beating the sales and EPS, the stock opened at $27.12, up +10.

Notable Hit 1: (EAT:NYSE) On Wednesday August 17, 2021 Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) posted better-than-expected revenues of $1.08bn beating the consensus estimate of 987.45mm and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was +79.1% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured an increase in foot traffic of +136.1 % YoY at its restaurants. Advan’s footfall data has a correlation of 0.97 on a YoY basis with EAT’s top-line revenue over the last 14 quarters.

Notable Hit 1: (PENN:NASDAQ) On Thursday August 5, 2021 Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN) posted better-than-expected revenues of $1.55bn beating the consensus estimate by +29.44% and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was +406% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured an increase in foot traffic of +337% YoY at its casino locations. Advan’s footfall data has a correlation of 0.99 on a YoY basis with PENN’s top-line revenue over the last 10 quarters.

As people start to feel the threat of the new Delta Variant, Southwest Airlines is experiencing its effect firsthand. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down airports worldwide and Southwest was no exception, seeing an 89.65% decrease in foot traffic as measured by Advan between April 2019 and April 2020. According to The Dallas Morning News, “On April 14, 2020, only 87,534 passengers went through Transportation Security Information checkpoints in U.S. airports, the fewest number of travelers since the 1950s.

Notable Hit 1: (CAR:NASDAQ) On Tuesday August 3, 2021 Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) posted better-than-expected revenues of $237bn beating the consensus estimate by 14% and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was +212% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured an increase in foot traffic of +120.38% YoY at Avis locations. Advan’s footfall data has a correlation of 0.97 on a YoY basis with CAR’s top-line revenue over the last 14 quarters.

(BYD:NYSE) On Wednesday July 28, 2021 Boyd Gaming (BYD) posted better-than-expected revenues of $893.6mm beating the consensus estimate of $780.4mm (-12.67%) and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was +325.8% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured an increase in traffic of +247.73% YoY at Boyd’s casinos. Advan’s footfall data has a correlation of 0.99 on a YoY basis with BYD’s top-line revenue over the last 10 quarters.

While the world seemingly shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, grocery stores had a steadier path than the rest of the economy. On the other hand, many big box stores like Target, Costco, and Walmart, experienced a bit more volatility with higher highs, but also lower lows. Big box stores saw a 28.4% decrease in foot traffic in April 2020, but then jumped back up 28% the following month. On the other hand, grocery store foot traffic decreased only 18.

(TRN:NYSE) On Thursday July 22, 2021 Trinity Industries (TRN) posted worse-than-expected revenues of $371.3mm missing the consensus estimate of $437mm (-15%) and in the same direction as Advan’s forecasted sales. The revenue was -27% YoY - Advan’s foot traffic data captured a decrease in traffic of -9% YoY at Trinity’s factories. Advan’s footfall data has a correlation of 0.9 on a YoY basis with TRN’s top-line revenue over the last 10 quarters.

The necessarily misnamed “Euro 2020”, one of the largest soccer competitions worldwide, had to be postponed until June 2021 due to pandemic restrictions. The winner of the European Championship was Italy after beating England 3-2 in the final on penalties. Webley Stadium in London hosted the semi-finals as well as the final on 7/6, 7/7 and 7/11 respectively. We employed our international data to see whether the European sporting events are heading back to normality.

On Monday, July 19, 2021, Ice Cream brand Ben & Jerry’s announced that it will cease selling ice cream in West Bank. The announcement was followed by widespread condemnation from the Jewish community worldwide, and a stern warning from Israel’s PM to Unilever, B&J’s parent company, that there would be legal and other consequences. But what about the actual customers? How have they reacted? Looking at the recent foot traffic across all 380 Ben & Jerry’s stores that Advan Research covers, there does not seem to be a material effect on customer visits.