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- Charles Schwab’s Kevin Gordon describes the economic situation in the US as a “vibepression.”
- Consumer sentiment may be low, but economic data like GDP and employment are still strong.
- Gordon remains optimistic about growth, citing a resilient labor market and strong corporate earnings.
Recession forecasts have piled up recently, but Charles Schwab’s head of macro research thinks the vibes don’t match reality.
Speaking on Piper Sandler’s “What’s Next for Markets” podcast with the firm’s Michael Kantrowitz, Schwab’s Kevin Gordon said that the US economy is “vibepression.”
Gordon said that this is meant to be an extension of the concept of “vibecession,” a term coined by financial commentator Kyla Scanlon that refers to a scenario in which consumers are downbeat even as the economy is doing pretty well.
“It’s such an interesting time, because relative to history, the unemployment rate is relatively low,” Gordon said. “GDP is still expanding. Most of these macro factors that we all track do not scream recession. They don’t tell us that we’re in the depths of the financial crisis despite the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey telling us that sentiment is the worst in history.”
Americans are feeling gloomier about the state of the economy than just about any other time in history. According to the University of Michigan survey cited by Gordon, sentiment fell to 47.6 in April 2026, making the lowest point on record, as inflation continues to surge.
While many consumers may be highly pessimistic about the state of economic affairs in the US, Gordon remains optimistic that economic growth he sees will continue.
He made it clear that he believes the market will continue trending upward, citing the resilience of the labor market and corporate earnings as a primary drivers.
On the corporate front, Gordon doesn’t see much on the horizon that will disrupt the earnings strength that’s helped carry markets to fresh highs this year.
“I think that the general angst is not as bad as I would have expected,” he said. “I think that is mostly reflective of how well the market has done in this rebound and the fact that we’ve made several new all-time highs.”