COST Oct 2024 730.000 put

Hurricane Milton damages could top $121B. What it means for retailers

Hurricane Milton is bearing down on Florida as the storm is forecasted to make landfall on the state's Gulf Coast Wednesday night. Initially raised to a Category 5 in days prior, Milton has been downgraded back to a Category 4 as it nears Florida. Tampa Electric CEO and President Archie Collins told Yahoo Finance its grid restoration effort will be the "the biggest in in our history" in the wake of Milton. In 2022, Hurricane Ian did "$121 billion [in damages] and it only hit Fort Myers and swampland. [Milton] is hitting Tampa, Sarasota, Disney, Cape Canaveral, I mean this is hitting a lot of assets. So we're projecting at least $121 billion [in damages]," Weather Trends International Founder and CEO Bill Kirk tells Madison Mills and Seana Smith on Catalysts. Weather Trends International is a private company that provides weather coverage and guidance to clients such as major retailers, manufacturers, and agricultural producers. Kirk comments on what Hurricane Milton and its subsequent damages could mean for home improvement retailers such as Lowe's (LOW), Home Depot (HD), and Tractor Supply Company (TSCO), and Weather Trends International's findings on this year's weather and climate patterns. "Q4 we think is very strong. We have a very cooler, wetter, snowier La Niña-type winter, so we think it'll be stronger. Last year was the hottest in history right, so the sales were delayed until the polar vortex hit in January last year. This year you're moving all those sales up at full price full margin product," Kirk says on weather predictions. "So we're very bullish on Q4 and then we have a train wreck in 2025. I mean, we have cold wet spring, we have snow in April..." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.