Winners and losers from the May Retail Sales report

The May Retail Sales report on Tuesday showed sales were down 0.9% to miss the consensus estimate of -0.5%. Core retail sales were down 0.3% month-over-month vs. +0.2% consensus.

The nonstore retailers category outperformed during the month, up 0.9% month-over-month and 8.3% higher year-over-year. The solid growth could be a positive sign for e-commerce pure plays such as Amazon (AMZN), Wayfair (W), Chewy (CHWY), Etsy (ETSY), Qurate Retail (QRTEA), eBay (EBAY), Beyond (BYON), and Newegg (NEGG) that typically see some sluggishness in May.

Home improvement retailers Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW) are on watch after the building materials & garden equipment category saw negative month-over-month and year-over-year growth for what is a key month of the spring selling season.

The electronics & appliance stores category saw a 0.6% month-over-month and 1.9% year-over-year decline in May. Those marks could be negative signs on how Q2 is going for Best Buy (BBY) and Whirlpool (WHR).

Restaurant sales fell 0.9% month-over-month amid some concerns about consumer discretionary spending. Typically, consumer sentiment impacts dine-in companies such as Darden Restaurants (DRI), Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN), Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), and Brinker International (EAT) to a higher degree than fast-food operators such as McDonald’s (MCD) and Yum! Brands (YUM).

The health & personal care stores category outperformed broad retail during the month (-0.1% month-over-month, +7.7% year-over-year) in a read that could be positive for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and CVS Health (CVS).