Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Research from Water Tower Research

Equity Research Firm

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul><li>US retail sales (excluding autos and gasoline) increased 3.6% Y/Y in 1Q25, according to the Advance monthly retail sales data from the US Census Bureau.</li><li>This was an acceleration from the 0.2% Y/Y growth in February 2025, but more importantly, there was an acceleration in CAGR growth versus 2019 levels compared with both January and February 2025, which represented a deceleration from prior year levels (see chart on right).</li><li>Whether this acceleration was in anticipation of the impending tariffs announcement is unclear. </li></ul>

US retail sales (excluding autos and gasoline) increased 3.6% Y/Y in 1Q25, according to the Advance monthly retail sales data from the US Census Bureau.This was an acceleration from the 0.2% Y/Y growth in February 2025, but more importantly, there was an acceleration in CAGR growth versus 2019 levels compared with both January and February 2025, which represented a deceleration from prior year levels (see chart on right).Whether this acceleration was in anticipation of the impending tariffs announcement is unclear. 

US Retail Sales Trends Grew 3.6% in 1Q