Consumer Cyclical

A year ago it would have been difficult to imagine a restaurant stock having a solid 2020. Yet judging by results released early last month, Chipotle (CMG) appears to have managed just that. The Mexican-themed chain posted annual sales of around $6b last year, a 7% rise on 2019 levels. Comparable restaurant sales (“CRS”), which strip out the contribution of new restaurants that are less…

Michigan-based Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) is a stock that is very easy to overlook. I say that for two reasons really. One, selling pizza is obviously a fiercely competitive business. Pizza joints are relatively easy to set up, while consumer switching costs are zilch. As a result, regional and independent chains account for circa 50% of the US pizza market. Two, the stock typically trades at…

I quite like the business model of certain restaurant stocks like Wendy’s (WEN). The fast food firm is essentially a giant rent collector, albeit one in which rent is tied to the sale of hamburgers and fries. Around 95% of its 6,814 restaurants operate on a franchised basis as per the firm’s most recent 10-Q. I guess that makes the Ohio-based company somewhat comparable to…

The last time McDonald’s (MCD) featured on the site was back in January. The Chicago-based fast food giant traded for just over $216 per share back then, and if you just looked at the stock price you’d be forgiven for thinking not much had happened here. Granted, you would have had to have been living in a cave these past eight months or so, but…

Discovery (DISCA) has not done much since I covered it earlier this year. The stock is up circa 20% in that time, though it has badly lagged the wider market. I have the S&P 500 gaining around 55% since that piece was published back in March. On the plus side, the company has largely proved the defensive business I thought it would. The market still…