How to Invest in the Strong U.S. Consumer -- 8 Top Stock Bets

The U.S. consumer generally remains on very solid footing. Here are several top suggestions from Credit Suisse based on consumer strength.

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Publish date:: Jul 9, 2018 6:42 PM EDT

The U.S. consumer generally remains on very solid footing. Here are several top suggestions from Credit Suisse based on consumer strength.

There is life beyond investing in Amazon (AMZN) - Get Report as a play on a healthy U.S. consumer.

And it would be wise for investors to find that life ahead of what could be a bumper holiday shopping season. The U.S. economy added 213,000 jobs in June, handily beating Wall Street estimates for 195,000. Average hourly earnings rose a respectable 2.7% in June from twelve months earlier. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4% from 3.8%, still suggesting economic strength nonetheless.

Meanwhile, households continue to benefit from rising home values, a cash infusion from the Trump tax plan and more companies paying out fatter dividends.

Here's Jim Cramer's Current Thinking on the Market

"Our positive industry [consumer] sales outlook is bolstered by some powerful discretionary spending tailwinds," says Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti. The analyst breaks down his consumer bullishness into these areas:

Lower personal income tax withholdings retailed to 2018 tax cuts.
Ongoing broad-based U.S. wage increases.
One-time bonuses paid by some U.S. companies after receiving a tax break in 2018.

The Play

Credit Suisse offers up a host of stock ideas on the surging U.S. consumer below. The companies are plays not just on the U.S. consumer, but also firm-specific reasons.