Indulgence Spending Is Still Growing, and The...

Naples, United States, October 6th, 2026, FinanceWire

Spending on nights out and other forms of consumer indulgence has continued to hold up even as households keep a closer eye on their budgets. Sales at U.S. restaurants and bars were up 5.8% year over year in August 2026, according to the Census Bureau, while a Capgemini survey of 12,000 consumers found that seven in ten people turn to small indulgences to cope with financial pressure. From nightlife and hospitality to beer and nicotine, these are habits a lot of people keep even when they cut back elsewhere.

Adult nightlife is a particularly fragmented part of that economy, with a large number of independently operated venues and a range of businesses supporting them. That structure creates opportunities for companies that acquire and operate venues and for businesses that provide the technology, payments, marketing, and other services those venues rely on.

Tradewinds Universal (OTCID: TRWD) is a holding company that acquires and scales adult hospitality businesses and related technologies, and it's pursuing both sides of that opportunity. The company is working toward a network of more than 100 venues through acquisitions, licensing, payment systems, and management services. Its strategy is now expanding beyond owned businesses, with licensing agreements designed to bring TRWD's technology and services to additional nightlife operators.

TRWD recently announced that it has signed its first U.S. licensing agreement, bringing its revenue-producing relationships into the domestic adult nightlife and hospitality market. The U.S. licensee has relationships with a range of nightlife operators, including those associated with Peppermint Hippo, Las Toxícas, and other brands, which gives TRWD a network of potential participating businesses for its technology and services. Revenue under the agreement is projected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2026.

The U.S. deal follows TRWD's first licensing agreement, which covers the Latin American nightlife market. Under that agreement, the licensee paid a $50,000 non-refundable upfront deposit, and TRWD also receives a negotiated share of revenue from participating partners.

"This is what execution looks like," said Andrew Read, CEO of TRWD. "In a matter of weeks, we have gone from introducing this strategy to signing agreements covering Latin America and now the United States. More importantly, we are entering the revenue stage."

The licensing model lets operators bring TRWD's technology and services into their venues without selling them. The platform is designed to participate in recurring economics around nightlife operations, including communications technology, marketing, customer retention, lead management, payment-related services, ATM services, and management.

"The U.S. agreement is particularly exciting because the licensee already has relationships across an established network of operators," Read said. "That gives us the opportunity to introduce TRWD technology and services across additional businesses and participate in a broader range of revenue opportunities."

To put the opportunity in context, TRWD pointed to publicly reported industry data. RCI Hospitality Holdings (Nasdaq: RICK) reported about $242.5 million in fiscal 2025 nightclub revenue across 59 locations, or roughly $4.1 million per location, and estimates that about 2,000 adult nightclubs across North America generate more than $5 billion in annual revenue. Based on those benchmarks, TRWD said a network of 100 participating venues could represent roughly $250 million to more than $400 million in underlying annual venue revenue. The company noted that it would take part in selected portions of those economics through ownership, licensing, and services, and that the revenue it actually recognizes will depend on contract terms, participating businesses, services deployed, and other factors.

Licensing is built to work alongside acquisitions, and the 100-plus venue target stays the same. "Our goal of more than 100 venues has not changed," Read said. "What has changed is the number of paths available to reach it. We can acquire businesses, build licensing relationships, and generate revenue across both at the same time."

TRWD has also filed to change its SIC code to 6719, the code for offices of holding companies, and its longer-term objective is an uplisting to a senior U.S. exchange such as Nasdaq. "We believe we're building a clear path toward seven-figure and ultimately eight-figure annual revenues," Read said. "We laid out the strategy. Now we are executing it."

RCI Hospitality Holdings (Nasdaq: RICK) runs adult nightclubs and Bombshells, a chain of restaurants and sports bars. During its fiscal third quarter, the company operated 56 nightclub locations and 12 Bombshells.

Bombshells has become a growing part of the business. RCI recently reported that Bombshell sales rose 25.9% to $10.8 million in the quarter, with same-store sales up 4.7%. New locations in Denver, Lubbock, and Rowlett contributed $2.5 million in sales. Interim President and CEO Travis Reese pointed to Bombshells' performance as the main driver of the quarter's growth and said a strong sports lineup helped offset some softness earlier in the period tied to geopolitical uncertainty.

On the nightclub side, RCI has been reformatting older venues, and four of those reformatted clubs brought in $4.0 million during the quarter. Total nightclub sales came in at $62.5 million, up 1.0% from a year earlier. Altogether, club and sports bar sales reached $73.3 million, a 4.0% increase, while combined same-store sales were close to flat at down 0.2%.

RCI also declared its 42nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend at $0.08 per share. With Bombshells expanding and more reformatted clubs back in operation, the company is heading into its next quarter with a broader mix of venues than it had a year ago.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) is the world's largest brewer, with brands including Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra sold in markets around the world.

Some of the company's fastest growth is coming from outside traditional beer. In its second quarter results, AB InBev reported that revenue from no-alcohol beer rose 27%, and its Beyond Beer category grew 44%. Its BEES Marketplace, a digital platform for retailers, grew gross merchandise value 50% to $1.2 billion.

The core beer business held up as well. Revenue reached $16.66 billion with organic growth of 5.6%, and revenue per hectoliter rose 4.2% as customers traded up to premium brands. Outside their home markets, Corona revenue grew 17%, Stella Artois grew 19%, and Michelob Ultra grew 21%. Beer volumes rose 1.1%, with record second quarter volumes in Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Normalized EBITDA grew 5.8% to $5.94 billion with a 35.6% margin, and underlying EPS rose 23.4% to $1.21. CEO Michel Doukeris credited investment in the company's megabrands, innovation, and more choices across more occasions for strengthening its brands with consumers. AB InBev gained or held market share in 70% of its markets during the quarter.

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) owns Philip Morris USA, the maker of Marlboro, along with Helix, the company behind on! nicotine pouches.

Helix has become a big focus for Altria as nicotine pouches take up more of the market, making up 59.9% of the U.S. oral tobacco category in the second quarter, up 8.1 points from a year earlier. The company recently reported that on! PLUS is now in 120,000 stores nationwide, with more line extensions planned and new flavors set to launch in the fourth quarter. In cigarettes, Philip Morris USA is working both ends of the market, with Marlboro Cowboy Cut drawing strong interest from premium smokers, and the discount brand Basic is gaining traction.

For the second quarter, Altria reported net revenues of $6.1 billion, about flat with the prior year, and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.48, up 2.8%. The first half adjusted diluted EPS rose 4.9% to $2.80. CEO Sal Mancuso said the company's first-half performance gave it the confidence to narrow its full-year 2026 guidance to a range of $5.61 to $5.72 per share, which would be 3.5% to 5.5% growth over 2025.

Altria returned nearly $3.9 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in the first half, including 5.3 million shares repurchased at an average price of $62.78. With more pouches on shelves and new flavors in the pipeline, Altria continues to build out its smoke-free lineup.

Disclaimers: RazorPitch Inc. "RazorPitch" is not operated by a licensed broker, a dealer, or a registered investment adviser. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investment advice. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides investors a safe harbor in regard to forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions, or future events or performances are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward-looking statements in this action may be identified through the use of words such as projects, foresee, expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, understands, or that by statements indicating certain actions & quote; may, could, or might occur. Understand there is no guarantee past performance will be indicative of future results. Investing in micro-cap and growth securities is highly speculative and carries an extremely high degree of risk. It is possible that an investor's investment may be lost or impaired due to the speculative nature of the companies profiled. RazorPitch has been retained and compensated by Tradewinds Universal to assist in the production and distribution of content related to TRWD. RazorPitch is responsible for the production and distribution of this content. It should be expressly understood that under no circumstances does any information published herein represent a recommendation to buy or sell a security. This content is for informational purposes only; you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by RazorPitch or any third-party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments. All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in this article constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the article constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. RazorPitch is not a fiduciary by virtue of any persons use of or access to this content. 

About RazorPitch

RazorPitch is an investor relations and investor marketing firm specializing in Non-Traditional Investor Relations for public companies. RazorPitch complements traditional IR with digital-first investor visibility, retail investor engagement, and ongoing investor communications.

razorpitch.com

Contact