Burger King Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BKC), which competes with Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), and, of course, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), reported earnings today for the first fiscal quarter. The statistics show that, well, it kind of is good to be the king. I won't say these are the biggest growth numbers I've ever seen, but I thought they showed that the fast-food entity is doing well serving its core customers.

Revenues jumped 12%. On a global basis, comps jumped 3.6%, which management points out is the 19th time in a row that global comps were in positive-growth territory. I know, that's the kind of managerial cheerleading that an investor must be careful about, but I think it's a cool fact in this case. Domestically, comps advanced 3%, and, well, it's the 18th time in a row for that metric, if you care. Adjusted net income came in at $0.38 per share, a 9% increase. This is where the creepy Burger King mascot sheds a tear, because that was one penny below the expectations of the analyst wizards who populate the kingdom of Wall Street (according to Melly Alazraki's Before the Bell article from earlier today).

Although Burger King didn't please the analyst community, I thought this was a good quarter. The release said that the company purchased some stock and paid a dividend, all of which was covered by cash generated from operations. Management seems to be amply aware of the stresses that the economy is going to put on its patrons and is studying pricing strategies. That's the problem for every purveyor of foodstuffs. People aren't so keen about paying up for stuff these days, so how do you get them to do it? Costs and currency fluctuations are affecting many companies, and they won't have an easy go of it as the recession continues its march of pain (even with the recent upward moves in the stock market, I'm not that bullish just yet). So, even though I like Burger King's Q1, and even though I think it's a great marketer of its menu items (the youth really dig that creepy Burger King character), I'll concede that the stock could be volatile in the coming months. Long-term, though, it should be a good investment.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), which competes with Burger King (NYSE: BKC), Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), will be reporting earnings for the third quarter tomorrow. I have a feeling many shareholders will be resting easy this week. I don't think McDonald's will have a big earnings miss.

According to Earnings.com, Mickey D's should earn 97 cents per share. If management can meet those expectations, that's earnings growth of about 17%. That's tasty in this market. Here's the kicker: McDonald's beat earnings estimates the last two quarters by wide margins. Will the company do the same thing this week? I think there's a decent chance it will. Even though there's a bear market going on, gas prices have been dropping, and you figure that has to be good for the drive-thru. Plus, there's that affordable-menu option that has driven a lot of brand equity over the last several years for the fast-food giant. I'm sure many patrons appreciate that in a tough period.

Besides earnings, investors will focus on same-store sales. That metric is one of the best indicators of a company that is made up of many locations. It's really no different than retailing. I'll be interested to see how the domestic market is faring compared to the international markets. Another thing I'll be interested in seeing is how inflation is affecting Ronald and his empire. We all know that Ronnie is a clown who likes to bestow happiness among all his customers, but reality likes to ruin parades every now and then. In this case, McDonald's has to keep a constant eye on the issue of pricing.

Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) reported earnings for the third quarter after the bell on Tuesday. Revenue went up 11% to $2.8 billion. Earnings per share rose 16% to $0.58. Global comps increased 3%.

You know, those numbers are not bad at all. As we await earnings reports, I'm sure that you, like me, are nervous. I mean, we're in the middle of a global economic slowdown fueled by a financial-system collapse, so the data this quarter is going to be particularly telling. The fact that Yum! has double-digit growth to its credit is pretty cool to see.

No, that doesn't mean I'm a bull on the markets all of a sudden, but it does show that people are still stopping by Pizza Huts and KFCs. Guess people won't give those guilty pleasures up during the monetary apocalypse, huh? And let's look at Yum!'s cash flow. While net cash from operating activities year-to-date was pretty much flat at $1.1 billion, it was more than enough to cover the capital spending and dividend obligation. As you can imagine, management highlighted the nice cash-flow generation of Yum!'s business. During a market crisis, it's the thing to do.

According to this source, Yum! beat by four pennies. Shareholders will be pleased by that, and perhaps the shareholders of Burger King (NYSE: BKC), Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) can take Yum!'s performance as a good omen for their companies. I can't say that Yum! Brands is going to rocket from here based on the earnings news. But I can say that long-term investors with a lot of patience should have a winner on their hands based on the brand equity of the company and its cash-flow-generating abilities.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.