After Thursday’s market close, The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE; Neutral, $29.94) reported adjusted Q3 EPS of -$0.33, better than our forecast of -$0.45, and also better than sell-side consensus (according to Consensus Metrix) of -$0.37.
After today’s market close, Starbucks reported adjusted fiscal Q4 EPS of $0.51, ahead of our $0.33 estimate and sell-side consensus (according to Consensus Metrix) of $0.31. Factors in the EPS beat included: (1) a favorable tax rate (approximately 14.3% actual, vs. our 26.0% forecast), (2) better-than-expected Store Operating Expenses/Company-Operated Retail Sales (51.9% actual vs. our 54.7% forecast), and (3) better-than-anticipated G&A/Revenues (6.0% actual vs. our 6.9% forecast), partially offset by other factors (such as D&A/Revenues of 5.9% actual vs. our 5.3% projection).
Earlier today, Yum Brands reported adjusted Q3 EPS of $1.01, ahead of our $0.83 forecast and sell-side consensus (according to Consensus Metrix) of $0.81. Third-quarter company-owned restaurant margins came to 17.9%, better than our 17.3% estimate and consensus of 16.1%. Taco Bell in particular generated very good restaurant-level margins (27.5% in Q3), although on today’s conference call management commented that over time margins should become more normalized as larger orders may become less of the overall sales mix.