What I find very interesting is the breakdown when Pew digs into the results. I'm not going to go through all of them right now (just follow the link to the article and check out the religion, lifestyle pace, and education sections especially - they are very interesting), but I want to look at two of the demographic breakdowns. The first is by income, where I found no surprise that MCD edged out SBUX in the under $30,000 demographic and the $30,000 - $49,000. I was a bit surprised by the $50,000 to $75,000 group, which leaned toward MCD as well. The Research Center notes that this is no surprise, as SBUX is seen as an indulgence - which makes sense. I wonder if this demographic breakdown was like this five years ago.

The next demographic that interests me is the regional breakdown. As the study notes, perhaps it is loyalty, but the West is the only region that would rather have a SBUX nearby than MCD. I would bet that as the economic downturn continues, this loyalty will be thrown out the window for the almighty buck.

Anyone who has read my work in the past knows that I prefer MCD stock to SBUX, but that doesn't mean MCD is without problems. The stock has pulled back to support at the $54 level after enjoying a run ending in the $64 region. Right now some may MCD bulls may be grimacing thanks to a potential bearish cross between the burgermeister's 10- and 20-week moving averages. If this pattern comes to fruition, it could signal an impending downtrend. However, history suggests that such periods of weakness are short lived and could precede another prosperous period for Ronald and the gang.