Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) was wallowing in red ink Friday morning, after the fast-food firm confessed to a third-quarter loss and warned that its full-year earnings would arrive at the low end of its previously forecast range. Even more troubling, the restaurateur said it's not yet prepared to offer financial guidance for 2011.

For the recently concluded quarter, Wendy's swallowed a net loss of $900,000 -- which translates to a negligible per-share deficit -- down from its year-ago profit of $14.69 million, or 3 cents per share. Revenue for the period slipped 4.7% to $861.2 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were anticipating a profit of 4 cents per share on $882.6 million in revenue.

Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) issued its second-quarter earnings on Thursday. The fast-food entity beat expectations. But, as far as I'm concerned, it wasn't any big deal. In fact, the market sort of agreed with me. By the end of the trading session, shares were off by a mere penny, settling out at a price of $4.14. Volume wasn't that interesting, either.

According to Briefing.com, net profit of 6 cents per share went beyond the estimate by a penny. However, same-store sales at both the Wendy's and Arby's declined. System-wide comps in North America contracted 1.7% for the former and 7.4% for the latter.

McDonald's Corporation (MCD) was down roughly 2% as I began composing this piece during the afternoon session. I hope investors weren't paying attention to the bears who were in control of the fast-food giant's shares. To me, the stock seems to be in good shape, and in the kind of trading climate we're in, it could be a useful instrument for the cautious player.

I'm seeing a quote of around $70 go by on my screen. Not bad in the least, considering that the 52-week high is $71.84. It shows the kind of resilience the stock possesses. Indeed, considering how many equities have pulled back from their 52-week highs, you've got to enjoy this element of the story.

I'm not a fan of Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN). It just doesn't seem as safe as stocks like Burger King (BKC), McDonald's (MCD), or Yum! Brands (YUM). Of course, I'm certain I did nothing more than state the obvious.

As a low-priced equity, Wendy's/Arby's Group always possesses the risk of volatility. Today, the shares are off by over 3% in afternoon trading; at the time of this writing, I saw a share price of $4.93. Hey, it's better than the day low of $4.86. The company had reported earnings results for the first quarter Thursday morning. Do the numbers make the company look more or less attractive?

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.

Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) is a stock that really isn't for most investors (in my opinion). It's not what I would call a quality name. If you want to play the fast-food sector, you'd be better off with McDonald's (MCD) or Yum! Brands (YUM).

Burger King (BKC), although not my favorite member of the list, might also be a more attractive selection than Wendy's/Arby's Group. I don't mean to be down on the fast-food entity, but it just isn't in the same league as those other investment ideas. Plus, a look at the fourth-quarter report shows that management has quite a bit of work to do.

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.

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%.

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%.

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.

If you're trying to get your head around some stock strategies for the upcoming fall trading season, you might want to consider dividend yields. Volatility could increase since we've had such a run-up in many equities, so thinking about payouts is probably advisable.

I was looking around for some higher-yielding blue chips and became interested in McDonald's (NYSE: MCD). As of last Friday's closing price, McDonald's yields almost 3.6% on an annual basis. It pays out 50 cents per share per quarter according to its corporate website.

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.

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.

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.