By Mark Kalinowski
Published on April 15, 2020 at 12:00 AM
The price of block cheese has deteriorated from $1.8375 per pound as of March 23rd to $1.01 per pound as of April 14th. In our coverage list, the largest potential beneficiary of this dynamic is Papa John’s (PZZA; Buy), which owns and operates about 18% of its North American store base (or to look at it another way, Papa John’s owns and operates about 11% of its worldwide store base).
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By Mark Kalinowski
Published on May 12, 2019 at 12:00 AM
Given our latest data-driven checks, we raise our Q2E same-store sales forecast for McDonald’s U.S. by 60 basis points, to +4.6%, placing us 60 basis points above consensus (according to Consensus Metrix data) and also as the second-highest forecast in this regard on the sell-side. We believe McDonald’s continues to benefit for a number of reasons, some of which we pointed to in our May 6th report “April Burger-Sector Sales Trends Compared to March…” — we encourage you to read that report if you have not yet done so.
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By Mark Kalinowski
Published on April 22, 2019 at 12:00 AM
Ahead of Yum Brands’ (YUM; Buy) first-quarter earnings release — scheduled for before the market open on Wednesday, May 1st — we look at a key positive and a key risk surrounding YUM. Most importantly on the positive side of the ledger, based on our data-driven checks, we raise our Q1 same-store sales forecast for Taco Bell by one percentage point, to +5%, as we believe that brand’s momentum, innovation, and differentiation continue to pay off. Promotions during various parts of the first quarter included Steak Rattlesnake Fries, the Steak Rattlesnake Burrito, the return of the Naked Chicken Chalupa, and the return of Nacho Fries. Our Q2E same-store sales forecast is also boosted by one percentage point, to +4%, and that is not a bestcase scenario if the second quarter trends well. We’ll see…
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