Summer feels like it just began.
But in just a few weeks, it’ll be time to head back to school.
According to analysts at Deloitte, “Deloitte’s 2025 Back-to-School Survey found that back-to-school spending for K-12 students is expected to reach a collective $30.9 billion this year, or approximately $570 per student,” as note by ChainStoreage.com.
All of which should have a positive impact on retailer stocks, such as:
Walmart (SYM: WMT)
Walmart continues to show why it’s a solid investment.
Up about 47% in the last year, and about 126% over the last five years, it’s weathered one inflationary storm after another.
Granted, it hasn’t been immune for changes in consumer spending, with many pulling back on discretionary spending. However, back to school shopping isn’t discretionary and should help boost shares of WMT heading into the 2025-26 season.
It’s had quite a strong impact on WMT in recent years, too. WMT soared from an August low of about $70 to a high of $104.76. It ran from an August low of $52 to $55.21. And it ran from an August low of about $42 to just over $49.
We’re looking for a similar bounce this year, too.
Target (SYM: TGT)
Target has had its share of issues lately.
But it also has a history of turning higher around back to school season.
In fact, it’s already starting to pivot higher now. It also has a strong history of running during back to school months. From an August 2024 low of about $141, TGT ran to a high of $157.52. From an August 2023 low of about $127, it did pull back initially before exploding to a high of about $170.62. From its August 2022 low of about $150, TGT hit a high of $162.
You can also trade an ETF on the back to school theme with the:
ProShares Online Retail ETF (SYM: ONLN)
Online shopping is one of the most-favored forms of shopping at the moment, which is beneficial for the ETF. With an expense ratio of 0.58%, the ONLN ETF also pays out a quarterly dividend. Most recently, it paid just over seven cents on July 1. Before that, it paid just over five cents per share on April 1, 2025. Its next one should be out by September.
The ONLN ETF also holds 19 stocks, which include Amazon.com, eBay, Coupang, Wayfair, and Etsy to name a few of the top ones.
P.S. Check out our latest Chart of Day
Artificial intelligence-related stocks could see a significant boost from President Trump’s new AI Action Plan. Released by the White House on July 23, the Administration’s AI Action Plan and three Executive Orders to accelerate US leadership in artificial intelligence.
That new plan outlines priorities in innovation, infrastructure, and international AI exports, while the orders mandate ideologically neutral AI in federal use, fast-track data center development, and promote global deployment of US AI technologies.
As noted in The White House report, “AI will enable Americans to discover new materials, synthesize new chemicals, manufacture new drugs, and develop new methods to harness energy—an industrial revolution. It will enable radically new forms of education, media, and communication—an information revolution. And it will enable altogether new intellectual achievements: unraveling ancient scrolls once thought unreadable, making breakthroughs in scientific and mathematical theory, and creating new kinds of digital and physical art.”
One of the top companies that should benefit is Nvidia (SYM: NVDA).
One of the most well-known AI companies in the world is Nvidia, a $4.29 trillion powerhouse whose stock rallied from an April low of $86.61 to a recent high of $183.30.
The tech giant is seeing incredible growth, driven largely by its dominant AI position. For one, its GPUs are now crucial for training and running complex AI models. Two, it holds a dominant position in the data center GPU market. In fact, we can see that data center growth in its first quarter earnings report, which noted 73% data center revenue growth year over year.
In April, the company posted: Q1 EPS of 81 cents, which beat estimates by six cents. Revenue of $44.06 billion, up 69.2% year over year, beat by $810 million.
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Written by Ian Cooper