There is a decidedly global flavor to KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants lately. And no, we're not talking about the Chalupa Baja -- this is about a global sales for these franchises and their parent company.

In recent years, operator Yum! Brands (YUM) has been growing at a breakneck pace, now with more than 3,500 locations in China alone and plans to open another 900 restaurants outside the U.S. in 2010. And the next global market that is in its sights is the United Kingdom, with a Taco Bell in Essex set to peddle low-priced burritos by the end of June.

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?

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

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) shares declined despite better-than-expected Q1 results due to profit taking.
• Alcoa Inc. (AA) reported a decline in revenue and earnings in line with expectations, leading to a sell off of shares.
• Bank of America Corp. (BAC) Q1 earnings results beat consensus estimates but shares fell on other news.
• General Electric Co. (GE) posted better-than-expected earnings but said revenue declined in the first quarter.
• Google Inc. (GOOG) Q1 earnings and revenue topped expectations but a surge in expenses sent shares lower.

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.

I've never been to a Sonic (SONC) joint. I'm sure I would love the food; however, I can definitively state that I did not like the company's current earnings report, which was released yesterday after the bell.

For the second quarter, Sonic lost one penny per share. Last year, the business brought in 14 cents per share of positive profit, helped along by a gain of 6 cents attributable to a debt purchase. The current performance was unfortunately below estimates; the market wanted 2 cents of income to show up on the bottom line.

Yum! Brands (YUM), a collection of restaurant chains operating in the same space as McDonald's (MCD) and Burger King (BKC), didn't post the most exciting earnings report last month, but it might not matter. Just recently, shareholders received a couple pieces of good news.

First, UBS offered inspiring comments about the company and the stock last week. Shares were upgraded to buy status, rising from neutral. A higher price target of $44 was issued. The catalyst basically centers on things getting better on a fundamental basis for the restaurant brands; also, China's sales appear to have stabilized.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Yum! Brands (YUM) to buy from neutral, citing valuation, improving momentum and stabilizing China fast-food sales. The firm raised its target to $44 from $38.
• United Technologies (UTX) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Needham upgraded Arris (ARRS) to buy from hold, citing valuation and positive near-term business trends. The firm has a $16 price target on shares.
• Warnaco (WRC) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Aetna (AET) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Nestle (NSRGY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

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.

The contributing editor to UnCommon Wisdom explains, "The Lunar New Year is considered to be a combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all rolled into an elaborate celebration of reflection, gratitude, renewal and hope. It is the single most celebrated holiday in China.

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.

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%.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), whose colleagues include Burger King (BKC) and Yum! Brands (YUM), saw a nice rally on Friday. It closed up over 6%. Volume was very active. The stock is several dollars short of the 52-week high.

According to Benzinga.com, Morgan Stanley upgraded the restaurant chain to overweight status. Furthermore, an attractive prediction on price has been proffered by the firm: $111. Considering that the stock had a value of $91.89 per share at the end of Friday's session, I'd say buying now and riding the company to $111 would represent a decent trade.