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

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

United states Consumer discretionary / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>The WTR Consumer Products Index is down 17.5% YTD through June 23, 2025, on a 2.8x decline in its 12-month prospective absolute P/E ratio to 15.3x from 18.1x at the end of 2024.</li><li>Prospective earnings for the index are down 2.3% so far this year, but we note that it has outperformed the broader S&amp;P 600 Small Cap Index, which is down 6.3%.</li><li>Meanwhile, the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index is down 13.1% YTD, better than the WTR Consumer Products Index, despite relative earnings underperformance versus our index, as its prospective absolute P/E ratio compressed a lesser 1.2x to 15.3x from 16.5x at the end of 2024. </li></ul>

The WTR Consumer Products Index is down 17.5% YTD through June 23, 2025, on a 2.8x decline in its 12-month prospective absolute P/E ratio to 15.3x from 18.1x at the end of 2024.Prospective earnings for the index are down 2.3% so far this year, but we note that it has outperformed the broader S&amp;P 600 Small Cap Index, which is down 6.3%.Meanwhile, the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index is down 13.1% YTD, better than the WTR Consumer Products Index, despite relative earnings underperformance versus our index, as its prospective absolute P/E ratio compressed a lesser 1.2x to 15.3x from 16.5x at the end of 2024. 

WTR Consumer Products Index Lags S&P 600 YTD Despite Relative Earnings Outperformance