Spirit's troubles highlight a broader market trend where budget-conscious consumers cut back while the wealthy splurge on luxury. This pattern, once confined to goods, is now evident in services like travel, signaling a potential risk for other budget-focused businesses and an opportunity for luxury brands.

A weak economy can be beneficial for a market leader like Floor & Decor. While near-term earnings suffer, the downturn forces weaker competitors without structural advantages into bankruptcy. This ultimately allows the dominant player to capture significantly more market share during the eventual recovery.

Hollywood's current crisis is self-inflicted, stemming from a decades-long failure to adapt its business models and economics. Instead of innovating to compete with tech-driven services like Netflix, the industry persisted with inefficient structures and is now blaming disruptors for inevitable consumer-driven changes.

By eliminating common revenue streams like ads, ticket fees, and expensive concessions, the Bananas create an exceptional fan experience. This builds intense loyalty and word-of-mouth, which ultimately drives more sustainable growth through ticket demand and merchandise sales, proving that customer surplus can be a primary business driver.

Netflix is launching its 'Netflix House' theme parks inside former department stores. This capital-light strategy of leasing and repurposing existing retail space allows it to chase 'experience dollars' without the massive upfront investment Disney makes in building parks from scratch.

Consumer spending patterns in the gaming sector act as a canary in the coal mine for the economy. When consumers feel financial pressure, the first cutback is on destination travel like Las Vegas. A more severe warning sign of a pervasive downturn would be a subsequent decline in spending at local, regional casinos.

According to the Conference Board survey, the percentage of consumers planning a vacation (38.7%) has dropped to its lowest level in over 45 years, outside of periods during or immediately after a recession. This sharp decline in discretionary service spending is a significant red flag for the domestic travel and tourism industry.

Vail's historically high single-day lift ticket prices, which have risen three times faster than inflation, are not actually designed to be purchased. This 'ski-flation' is a deliberate strategy to make the day pass so unappealing that customers are driven toward buying the more profitable season pass instead.

Asset-light hotel management firms like Hilton grow earnings through RevPAR, unit growth, and buybacks with minimal capital. This structural difference leads to vast outperformance versus asset-heavy REITs. Since separating in 2017, Hilton's free cash flow quadrupled while its REIT counterpart's shrank.