Consumers in focus — What you need to know in markets on Friday

It’s all about consumers on Friday.

The preliminary report on consumer sentiment in December is set for release from the University of Michigan on Friday morning.

Economists expect the reading to come in at 94.4, better than the 93.8 seen at the end of December. Last week, we got a 9-year high reading from the Conference Board’s consumer confidence measure.

The election, blamed

Ahead of the US presidential election, all sorts of companies were blaming uncertainty related to the election for problems in their business.

In the aforementioned University of Michigan sentiment survey released just before Thanksgiving, a surge in optimism was attributed to the end of the election. “The upsurge in favorable economic prospects is not surprising given Trump’s populist policy views,” that report said, “and it was perhaps exaggerated by what most considered a surprising victory as well as by a widespread sense of relief that the election had finally ended.”

But, it seems, there was one corporate laggard remaining: Restoration Hardware (RH).

After the market close on Thursday, the luxury home goods retailer slashed guidance and, in part, blamed the economic environment around the election for its poor third-quarter results.

“First, our business in November was below our expectations, which we largely attribute to consumer softness related to the US election and our Fall 2016 Source Books getting in homes later than planned,” CEO Gary Friedman said in a release.

The company now expects fourth-quarter revenue to total $562-$592 million, far less than the $639.2 million Wall Street analysts were looking for. Shares of the company were down as much as 17% in after hours trade.

Now, Restoration Hardware’s struggles this quarter — and beyond — are about more than just the election. Way more.

“While we are clearly disappointed in our fourth quarter outlook, we believe we are making the necessary investments and changes to position our business for the long-term,” Friedman added.

“At RH, we have demonstrated an ability to navigate through challenging periods before, and emerge an even stronger business and brand. We are confident that our choices will prove to be the right ones, driving long-term sustainable growth, improved returns on capital, and shareholder value.”

And looking back at the company’s recent earnings history, this is not the first time we’ve seen a release loaded with explanations (some might say excuses!). In announcing its fiscal fourth quarter from last year, the company threw the kitchen sink out there. This time the company may have ended an infamous corporate era of citing the seemingly-endless 2016 election for business trouble.

Shares after those warnings fell to around $40. Late Thursday, the stock was near $32.

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Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance.

Read more from Myles here; follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland