Investors Focus on Retailers as Wages Rise

Investors Focus on Retailers as Wages Rise
A money counter counts 100 U.S dollar banknotes in Kiev, Ukraine, Oct. 31, 2016. Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko
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NEW YORK—U.S. companies are warning about rising wages eating into profit margins, increasing investor worries that next year’s expected drop in profit growth may be sharper than feared.

Amidst overall strong quarterly results, climbing labor costs are a growing concern, with more than a dozen companies in the S&P 500 mentioning them in conference calls so far this earnings season.