Yum! Brands (YUM), owner of KFC and Taco Bell, operates in the same industry as McDonald's (MCD), Burger King (BKC), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN). All of these stocks are either at or near their respective 52-week highs. How does Yum! Brands look after its first-quarter report?

You've got to take notice of this stock. The one-year chart depicts an equity that consolidated for a while, only to finally break out and head to the upside. And here's some more good news for both traders and investors alike: Wednesday, the shares closed the regular session 1.8% higher from where they started. Then, during the after-hours session, following distribution of the earnings release, the bulls, deciding they wanted to remain in charge, gave the company another boost.

Continue reading Add Yum! Brands to Your Portfolio?

Add Yum! Brands to Your Portfolio? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aol Inc. (AOL) reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit and said its revenue also topped estimates.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) higher Q2 earnings topped analysts' estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its full-year earnings guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) Q4 earnings more than doubled and beat Wall Street expectations, but shares fell.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) shares jumped after it forecast earnings above analysts' expectations, boosted by January sales.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Aol, Burger King, Comcast, Hershey, Kellogg, UPS ...

Earnings Highlights: Aol, Burger King, Comcast, Hershey, Kellogg, UPS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Burger King (BKC), which competes for the attention of fast-food junkies along with McDonald's (MCD), Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN), and Yum! Brands (YUM), didn't do too badly when it came to bottom-line growth in the second quarter. Same-store sales, on the other hand, could have used a little assistance.

Earnings per share calculated out to 37 cents. That was good for a 12% increase. Great to see double-digit appreciation. However, domestic comps went down 3.3%, while total comps were off by 2%. The same-store sales metric is a very important indicator of the overall health of a business that has many locations.

Continue reading Burger King's Second Quarter: Comps Could Be Better

Burger King's Second Quarter: Comps Could Be Better originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sales went down 1%, and earnings per share on an adjusted basis increased 7% to 50 cents. Earnings.com says 48 cents per share was the desired figure. Same-store sales in the United States decreased 8%.

Continue reading Yum! Brands Not Doing Well After Q4 Release

Yum! Brands Not Doing Well After Q4 Release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jack in the Box (JACK) dropped in yesterday's after-hours session upon news of the company's Q4 results. You can't blame the bottom line for the poor stock performance. The fast-food joint earned 70 cents per share from continuing operations versus the 45 cents per share from continuing operations earned in the comparable quarter. Did such a growth rate deserve a nearly 6% cut in share price? Analysts were only looking for 55 cents per share, according to Earnings.com.

Well, Wall Street apparently wasn't satisfied with the outlook, as this Reuters article points out. Traders are obviously more concerned with where Jack in the Box may be heading as opposed to where it's been.

Continue reading Jack in the Box may not be a trade after Q4 report

Jack in the Box may not be a trade after Q4 report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), which competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN) for the right to feed consumers on the go around the world, issued a Q3 report after the bell on Tuesday that was decent in many respects. Earnings per share on an adjusted basis increased over 20% to 70 cents. This performance absolutely embarrassed the analysts, who were looking for a mere 58 cents per share according to our earnings preview.

So, that was one of the decent parts. Actually, I'd say it was a little more than decent. But, unfortunately, the top line didn't grow. Total revenues actually declined 2%.

Continue reading Yum! Brands beats estimates in Q3, but Pizza Hut is not so yummy

Yum! Brands beats estimates in Q3, but Pizza Hut is not so yummy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On the surface, I suppose the market is telling you that Yum! Brands would indeed make a good earnings trade. Not only is the stock up nicely this afternoon, but it isn't too far from a 52-week high.

Continue reading Buy Yum! Brands ahead of earnings?

Buy Yum! Brands ahead of earnings? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), a chain of restaurant trademarks that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), delivered up a nice hot serving of earnings on Tuesday after the bell.

For the second quarter, net sales dropped 7%. Earnings on an adjusted basis increased 10% to 50 cents per share. This was actually much better than analysts' expectations. Wall Street was only counting on 43 cents per share, according to Bloomberg. However, the market is always looking forward, so there was a bit of bad news in terms of guidance pertaining to same-store sales.

Continue reading Yum! Brands: Was the Q2 report hot enough for the market's taste?

Yum! Brands: Was the Q2 report hot enough for the market's taste? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sonic said it earned an adjusted 24 cents per share. This article reported expectations as being $0.20 per share, so management beat the bottom line by a nice amount. We'll throw that result on the positive side of the line.

Continue reading Sonic beats Wall Street, but sales are sagging

Sonic beats Wall Street, but sales are sagging originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Burger King (NYSE: BKC), a fast-food joint that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), issued its Q3 report on Wednesday. The top line didn't do much, rising only 1% in the face of difficulties with currency translations. Earnings came in at 34 cents per share. That was one penny better than Wall Street's expectations, according to Reuters.

It's always good to beat the earnings call. But Burger King didn't get much mileage out of that victory. The stock actually sold off 3% on the news, closing yesterday at a fresh 52-week low of $16.55. The big catalyst was the conservative fiscal-year guidance.

Continue reading Burger King beats expectations, but will swine flu affect the fiscal year?

Burger King beats expectations, but will swine flu affect the fiscal year? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After the closing bell last night, fast-food restaurant operator YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) stepped into the earnings spotlight, reporting a first-quarter profit that dropped 14% compared to a year ago.

Nevertheless, the company's earnings of 46 cents per share topped the consensus estimate of 40 cents per share. The company's sales dropped by 8% to $2.2 billion, which was worse than Wall Street's expected $2.35 billion.

The company noted that gains in overseas markets were undermined a bit by currency losses and a decline in store traffic in the United States at the company's KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

Continue reading YUM! Brands reports delicious earnings

YUM! Brands reports delicious earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC), the drive-in fast-food joint that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), and Burger King (NYSE: BKC), reported second-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday. You know that video-game character Sonic the Hedgehog? Know how he's fast? Well, Sonic the burger server is unlike Sonic the software character right now when it comes to growing its business.

Continue reading Sonic's food may be served fast, but its earnings growth is anything but

Sonic's food may be served fast, but its earnings growth is anything but originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), a fast-food company that competes with McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Monday. Call me unimpressed.

The chain earned $0.05 per share on an adjusted basis. According to this article, the results matched expectations. I don't begrudge Wendy's/Arby's for doing that in such a tough marketplace. But I do begrudge the weakness in the Arby's brand. Systemwide same-store sales at Wendy's were up 3.7% in Q4, while systemwide comps at Arby's were down a terrible 8.5%. Arby's is having problems attracting people with its current menu portfolio. The value menu at Wendy's, on the other hand, seems to be a strategy that is working. Customers are coming in, ready to get a deal on those delicious, although not-so-healthy, square-shaped burgers. So, if the company wants to improve its situation, it's going to have to get serious about fixing Arby's.

Continue reading Is Wendy's/Arby's Group's stock as healthy as its menu?

Is Wendy's/Arby's Group's stock as healthy as its menu? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading KFC opening up to 300 new British outlets

KFC opening up to 300 new British outlets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Burger King (NYSE: BKC), a famous fast-food joint that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), reported earnings for the fiscal second quarter on Thursday. Net sales decreased 3%, and net income dipped 8% to $0.33 per diluted share. The call was for $0.37 per share.

It's good to be the King, but it's not good to miss your earnings forecast. Yes, we shouldn't always pay attention to the analysts and their game, and it's certainly difficult these days to make forecasts anyway, but it's always nice to see a company at least hit the ballpark in terms of consensus.

The press release cited concerns with currency translations, so that's something for shareholders to keep in mind. But the release also cited something that I think is one of the best elements of the Burger King story: its marketing campaigns. Management was happy to congratulate itself on being highlighted by trade journal Ad Week. I know, it's just corporate bragging in an earnings document, who needs that, right? While that may be true, I do honestly believe that Burger King's TV spots have definitely built a loyal following among the valuable youthful demos, and that the campaigns, which have included that creepy royal mascot, are indeed responsible for growth. And those Whopper Virgins commercials were pretty funny, too.

Continue reading Burger King misses in Q2 -- is stock a buy?

Burger King misses in Q2 -- is stock a buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), whose competitive colleagues include McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC), and Wendy's Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), reported earnings for Q4 and the full fiscal year on Tuesday after the bell.

Net sales increased 4% for the quarter to $3.4 billion, and earnings per share on an adjusted basis went up 5% to $0.46. According to the earnings preview, sales essentially met Wall Street's view, but net income was beat by a penny. For the year, Yum! saw a net sales increase of 8% to $11.3 billion, and its adjusted bottom line increased by 14% to $1.91 per share. Once again, sales were in-line, and earnings beat by the proverbial penny.

Continue reading Yum! Brands had a decent Q4 -- buy the stock now?

Yum! Brands had a decent Q4 -- buy the stock now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The major market indices indicate that a short-term rally is due.

Our internal indicators, chiefly the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) and momentum, are oversold, and the stochastic has issued a short-term buy signal.

Additionally the sentiment indicators, chiefly Investors Intelligence, the American Association of Individual Investors' (AAII) sentiment survey, which has been very bearish for three weeks, and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), tell us that the public is bearish and insiders are bullish.

Even though the trading targets could be as close as Dow 8,500, they could also extend to the top of the three-month trading range at Dow 9,300. This may seem like just more of the same type of sideways trading that we've become used to, but it could also mean that a major market base has formed.

Continue reading Today's technical outlook: Time to go long?

Today's technical outlook: Time to go long? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Taco Bell ordered to pay Chihuahua $42 million

Taco Bell ordered to pay Chihuahua $42 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Healthy eating is message from Taco Bell, KFC parent: Yum, what? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CKE Restaurants (NYSE: CKR), owner of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's brands, reported earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday. The top line fell a little over 4%, coming in at $336.6 million. On a diluted basis, the bottom line cooked up $0.10 per share. That was a penny less than what was earned last year, but the company did manage to meet Wall Street's expectations.

Moving away from total sales and net income, let's look at the all-important same-store sales results. For the third quarter, comps for both CKE brands on a blended basis rose 0.9% according to the earnings release. An earlier press release focusing on same-store sales in November, had comps increasing by 0.3% on a blended basis. Year-to-date, blended comps moved 1.9% higher. When you compare these changes to their respective year-ago periods, you'll see that CKE isn't really doing gangbuster business.

I find neither the earnings numbers nor the sales figures particularly compelling. Management seems to think that the dreadful economic crisis we're facing is mostly responsible. Hey, it certainly isn't helping, and I sympathize with CKE's challenges during the credit crisis. Yet, I'd have to respectfully suggest that management get out there and get some hardcore marketing efforts going. When sales are down, you need to up the ante when it comes to branding and convincing patrons to come through your door. These comps are pretty weak and unattractive. They can be pushed higher with some innovative, creative campaigns.

Continue reading CKE Restaurants' Q3 and comps not as juicy as the burgers

CKE Restaurants' Q3 and comps not as juicy as the burgers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.