We briefly note the following tidbits regarding McDonald’s (MCD; Buy), privatelyheld Luckin Coffee, The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE; Neutral), and Dunkin’ (owned by Dunkin’ Brands Group [DNKN; Neutral]):
Breaking news! We have learned that Dunkin’ Donuts (owned by Dunkin Brands Group [DNKN; Neutral]) plans to launch quite a few new menu items nationwide in the U.S. on (or about) November 19th. These include the following limited-time-only menu items: a Holiday Spice Bacon sandwich, a White Chocolate Swirl beverage, a Cinnamon Sticky Bun Swirl beverage, a Dear Santa Donut, a Hershey’s Kisses Donut, and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread. In addition, as part of the brand’s “new espresso experience” that it announced this past October 24th, it will introduce an Iced Cappuccino and an Iced Americano, both on a permanent basis. Decaf Espresso Pods (for baristas only) will also be made available, and surely will come in handy as part of this new espresso experience.
Earlier today, Dunkin’ Brands Group (DNKN; Neutral) reported adjusted Q3 EPS of $0.83, well ahead of our $0.72 forecast and sell-side consensus of $0.73, as measured by Consensus Metrix. The company quantifies the Q3 recognized excess tax benefits as helping adjusted Q3 EPS by $0.09. This means that excluding this taxrate help, Q3 EPS beat our estimate by $0.02 and consensus by $0.01. We attribute the outperformance to higher-than-expected Franchise Fees and Royalty Income, helped in part by better-than-expected same-store sales by the Baskin-Robbins U.S., Dunkin’ International, and Baskin-Robbins International business segments.