McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions. The company owns and operates under various structures comprising conventional franchise, developmental license, or affiliate. McDonald's Corporation was founded in 1940 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

McDonald's Corporation

Key Points
Krispy Kreme's stock is down 73% from its annual highs, now trading at a bargain-bin valuation.
A promising McDonald's delivery deal turned out to be much too expensive on a nationwide scale.
Doughnut vendor Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT) used to be hot. Now it's a cautionary tale. As of Aug. 20, the stock has dropped 73% from its yearly peak. It trades at 0.4 times trailing sales and 0.9 times the company's book value.
These ratios are typical of companies in deep financial trouble. But how did Krispy Kreme get to this desperate situation?
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It turns out that a potentially awesome partnership backfired. Even the final act of shutting down that deal left Krispy Kreme scrambling to fight the massive infrastructure costs that came along with it. At this point, Krispy Kreme investors might wish the company had never agreed to that costly McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) contract.
What happened to the McDonald's deal?
Krispy Kreme started shipping doughnuts to McDonald's restaurants in October, 2022. The limited test run in Louisville, Kentucky, saw decent results, inspiring a larger-scale implementation in 2024.
But the nationwide rollout was never completed, as Krispy Kreme pulled the plug on this project in the second quarter of 2025. Management noted that the doughnut delivery program was too expensive on a networkwide scale. Furthermore, it will take several quarters to unwind the attempts to build an effective production and delivery network in support of the McDonald's deal.
What's next for Krispy Kreme?
As a result, Krispy Kreme is reviewing its entire logistics setup in search of more cost-effective solutions. The company is ending hundreds of underperforming delivery contracts, though more than half of the shuttered deals will be replaced with higher-volume routes by the end of 2025.
That may sound like an empty promise, but the partners for these new routes include giant household names such as Walmart, Costco, and Kroger. As long as Krispy Kreme can focus these operations on the most profitable delivery routes, the company might be poised for a long-term turnaround.
But that's a pretty speculative forecast. For now, Krispy Kreme investors are simply disappointed in the failed McDonald's experiment and its financial aftermath.
Should you invest $1,000 in Krispy Kreme right now?
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Is Wall Street So Bearish on Krispy Kreme? There's 1 Key Reason.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG has been witnessing a decline in comparable restaurant sales since the beginning of 2025, mainly due to lower customer transactions. In the first six months of 2025, the company’s comparable restaurant sales declined 2.3% against 9.1% growth in the year-ago period, mainly pressured by a 3.7% downtrend in transactions.
Although higher average checks and menu price increases are battling to keep the comps afloat, it is not proving to be sufficient. To counter this headwind and increase sales unit performance across all its restaurants, the company is engaging in several business initiatives, one of which includes enhancing its loyalty program. Launched in 2019, the Chipotle Rewards loyalty program has been scaling since then, with about 20 million loyalty members as of June 30, 2025.
CMG has been consistently enhancing and diversifying its loyalty program offerings to boost customer engagement and ramp up transactions. To add more people to its loyalty program, the company bolstered its enrollment campaigns and signage, both in restaurants and across the digital platform. It launched a three-month gamified experience with extra points, badges and prizes, named Summer of Extras, as its number of reward members reached milestones. The launch of the Summer of Extras promotion boosted customer engagement and increased transactions between June and July 2025, resulting in digital sign-ups growing 14% year over year. Besides this, for fall 2025, Chipotle has another program scheduled targeting the college population. It aims to keep engaging in sales boosting initiatives to increase customer engagement in its loyalty program and boost their frequency and spend year over year.
Loyalty program offerings, effectively amalgamated with operational efficiency, digital enhancements and marketing innovation, have the potential to boost sales trends and revenue growth in the long term.
Competitive Position of Chipotle
Loyalty programs are one of the most well-known marketing initiatives in the restaurant industry to boost customer engagement and sales trends. Chipotle faces substantial competition when it comes to offering a diversified and engaging loyalty program from key market players like McDonald’s Corporation MCD and Starbucks Corporation SBUX.
The loyalty program of McDonald’s, named MyMcDonald’s Rewards, has garnered more than 12 million sign-ups even before a national marketing push, since its launch in 2021. This boost stands on leveraging the global brand reach and app-exclusive deals, resulting in rapidly expanding engagement. With the increased digital adoption, McDonald’s is optimistic about its loyalty members’ growth trend, with the program already deployed in more than 60 markets, including the United States, Germany, Canada, the UK, Australia and France.
Notably, Starbucks’ loyalty program, Starbucks Rewards, offers tough competition to Chipotle with its nearly 34 million 90-day active U.S. members, driving nearly 60% of domestic transactions, offering a deeply personalized, app-driven ecosystem with payment, ordering and lifestyle perks. The enhanced digital perks are what drive Starbucks’ reward program among its customers. As of June 29, 2025, the U.S. ticket increased 2% as the company reduced discounted transactions by about one-third, reflecting stronger spend without heavy promotions.
CMG Stock’s Price Performance & Valuation Trend
Shares of this operator of quick-casual and fresh Mexican food restaurant chains have trended downward 15.7% in the past three months, underperforming the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry, the broader Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector and the S&P 500 index.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Chipotle stock is currently trading at a premium compared with the industry peers, with a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 4.41, as evidenced by the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
EPS Trend of CMG
For 2025 and 2026, CMG’s earnings estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days at $1.21 and $1.42 per share, respectively. However, the estimated figures reflect 8% and 17.6% year-over-year growth, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Chipotle's Loyalty Base Reaches 20M: Will It Drive Sales Recovery?

Key Points
These companies have strong businesses with plenty of room to keep growing.
They all well-known names with highly recognizable, strong brands.
These are low-risk stocks suitable for long-term investing.
If you want to invest in a safe, dividend growth stock you can feel comfortable owning for the long haul, it's important to consider more than just ratios telling you whether the payout is safe and if there's room for dividend increases. It's also important to consider factors such as the strength of the company's brand and its long-term growth prospects.
It can be incredibly difficult to project how a business might do 10-plus years down the road. But you can reduce the overall risk of investing in a dividend growth stock by selecting one that has an incredible business model, and which has plenty of runway to grow bigger and become more valuable in the future.
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Three dividend growth stocks that fit these criteria and can be excellent income-generating investments for years include Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD).
1. Coca-Cola
In February, Coca-Cola announced that it would be increasing its dividend for a 63rd consecutive year. The stock is a Dividend King, which is a collection of dividend growth stocks with streaks spanning at least 50 years. Even in that exclusive club, Coca-Cola has set itself apart with one of the longest streaks.
Coca-Cola's iconic brand puts it in a tremendously strong position for the long haul, as consumers often seek out its products. And even as demand has been shifting to healthier options over the years, Coca-Cola has adapted. Its popular Coke Zero products are a great example of that. Plus, Coca-Cola has diversified through acquisitions, with the business now encompassing over 200 brands.
At 2.9%, it already offers a great dividend yield today. With strong profit margins of around 26% of revenue, the business continuing to grow steadily in recent years, and a lot of resources at its disposal to help grow its operations in the future, Coca-Cola is a no-brainer income stock to hang on to for the long haul.
2. Walmart
Retail giant Walmart is another example of an unstoppable dividend stock to own. This year, it raised its dividend by an impressive rate of 13%. And the increase marked the 52nd straight year when it has raised its payout.
Walmart is a growth beast with loads of potential to become larger and more profitable in the future. It has been expanding online, and its acquisition of TV-maker Vizio last year can accelerate its ad business. And what astounds me is that Walmart, as big as it is, operates stores and clubs in just 19 countries. Internationally, there's a ton of growth potential for the business to tap into in the long run.
For a behemoth such as Walmart, which has generated $685 billion in sales over the past four quarters, it looks unstoppable, especially as it expands into new opportunities and possibly more markets. Although its yield is modest at less than 1%, with continued increases, this can prove to be an excellent dividend-generating investment to hang on to for years to come.
3. McDonald's
Another iconic brand that consumers will be familiar with is McDonald's. The company's golden arches are usually cleverly positioned high enough so that travelers can easily spot them from far away. It has a vast global presence, with around 38,000 restaurants spanning well over 100 countries and territories. The fast food chain tweaks its menu to adapt to local cultures, and that flexibility allows the business to succeed and cater to a wide range of customers.
And with many value options, eating at a McDonald's can often be a relatively cheap option for consumers to consider, whether they're traveling or just want a quick meal. The versatility of its operations is what makes it likely that McDonald's will continue to be a top fast food chain for years to come.
The company's 32% profit margins over the past year are impressive and highlight why McDonald's can be an excellent investment to hang on to. Even if it needs to reduce prices to lure in more customers, it can afford to do so while still maintaining a high level of profitability.
At 2.3%, the stock offers investors a decent yield, and McDonald's has been increasing its payout for 48 consecutive years.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

3 Dividend Growth Stocks With Unstoppable Businesses to Buy and Hold Forever

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Vistra Corp (Symbol: VST), where a total volume of 23,142 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 2.3 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 47.1% of VST's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.9 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $185 strike call option expiring November 21, 2025, with 1,582 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 158,200 underlying shares of VST. Below is a chart showing VST's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $185 strike highlighted in orange:
McDonald's Corp (Symbol: MCD) options are showing a volume of 16,026 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 44.9% of MCD's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $320 strike call option expiring September 19, 2025, with 1,984 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 198,400 underlying shares of MCD. Below is a chart showing MCD's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $320 strike highlighted in orange:
And GMS Inc (Symbol: GMS) options are showing a volume of 4,603 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 460,300 underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 44.9% of GMS's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.0 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $110 strike call option expiring January 16, 2026, with 4,520 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 452,000 underlying shares of GMS. Below is a chart showing GMS's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $110 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for VST options, MCD options, or GMS options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding ZCAR
Funds Holding YPRO
MSEX Stock Predictions
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Notable Wednesday Option Activity: VST, MCD, GMS

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG have declined 17.6% in the past month compared with the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry’s 1.6% drop. Over the same timeframe, the stock has underperformed the S&P 500’s growth of 1.9%.
Investor sentiment surrounding Chipotle has been weighed down by a soft second-quarter performance, weaker comparable sales and concerns over consumer trade-down trends.
CMG One-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a technical perspective, CMG stock is currently trading below its 50-day moving average, signaling a bearish trend.
CMG Stock Trades Below 50-Day Moving Average
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
While the company remains fundamentally strong with a long growth runway, near-term margin pressures and cautious guidance have raised doubts about whether now is the right time to buy CMG stock. Let us take a closer look.
What’s Pressuring CMG Stock?
Investor sentiment around Chipotle has been rattled by a confluence of macroeconomic headwinds, shifting consumer behavior and intensifying competition in the fast-casual dining sector. Management described the second quarter as facing one of the most difficult operating backdrops in recent history, with pressures from extraordinary year-over-year comparisons, softening confidence among low-income consumers and increased sensitivity to price. This dynamic contributed to a 4% decline in comparable sales.
Although traffic trends improved in June and July following intensified marketing efforts and promotional activity, management acknowledged that macro headwinds — such as promotional activity across the QSR industry and consumers trading down — remain persistent. These factors have not only impacted short-term traffic but also necessitated a reevaluation of Chipotle’s value communication strategy. For 2025, management anticipates comparable sales to remain roughly flat, down from the earlier projection of low-single-digit growth.
Rising input costs have further weighed on CMG’s profitability. The company expects its cost of sales to rise to the high-29% range in the third quarter of 2025. This increase reflects a 60-basis point impact from the conclusion of its Chipotle Honey Chicken limited-time offering (LTO) and an additional 40 basis points due to tariffs. Tariff-related headwinds are projected to contribute a consistent 50-basis point drag going forward, in line with previous estimates and excluding goods covered under the USMCA exemption for Mexican and Canadian imports. The company anticipates core commodity inflation to remain in the low single-digit range through the rest of the year, excluding the effects of LTOs, tariffs and cost efficiency gains.
Competition is complicating the picture. Management noted that lower-income consumers are increasingly seeking value at lower price points, such as bundled meal deals offered by quick-service rivals. Although Chipotle emphasized that its entrées are priced at a 20%-30% discount to comparable fast-casual meals, executives admitted the brand is not currently getting full credit from consumers for that value proposition. This disconnect has made it harder to drive consistent transaction growth, particularly among lower-frequency customers.
Can Chipotle Overcome the Headwinds?
Despite the recent sell-off, Chipotle remains fundamentally strong, with several levers to drive long-term growth. Management has emphasized that comps turned positive in June and early July, helped by the rollout of targeted marketing campaigns and new menu innovations. Programs like the “Summer of Extras” rewards initiative attracted millions of participants, while limited-time items such as Chipotle Honey Chicken and Adobo Ranch boosted transaction volumes and customer engagement.
Expansion remains a key growth engine. Chipotle opened 61 new restaurants in the second quarter of 2025, with the majority featuring its popular Chipotlane format. International markets are also showing promise: Canada has nearly tripled sales in five years, Europe is seeing improved economics, and Middle East locations are outperforming U.S. averages. With plans to open 315 to 345 restaurants in North America this year and a long-term target of 7,000 units, Chipotle is laying the foundation for sustained growth. Management remains confident these operational, digital and expansion initiatives will support a return to mid-single-digit comparable sales growth and help push average unit volumes beyond $4 million.
On the digital front, Chipotle continues to enhance its app and loyalty ecosystem to boost engagement. Recent updates allow for more personalized rewards, reminders and menu suggestions, and about 20 million members have been active or made a transaction in the past year. The company has also leaned into gamification with its “Summer of Extras” program, which offered bonus points, badges and prizes to loyalty members. The promotion significantly lifted participation, spending and visit frequency, and management plans to build on this momentum with a college-focused loyalty campaign this fall.
The company is also preparing to test a catering platform this fall, an area that currently accounts for 1-2% of sales compared with 5-10% for peers, suggesting a sizable runway for incremental revenues. These factors provide investors with reason to remain optimistic about CMG’s ability to regain momentum over the longer term.
CMG Stock Valuation Insights
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Chipotle’s fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has remained unchanged at $1.21. Over the same time frame, estimates for industry players, including Brinker International, Inc. EAT, McDonald's Corporation MCD and The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated CAKE, have increased 5.4%, 0.7% and 2.7%, respectively.
CMG Earnings Estimate Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Chipotle stock is currently trading at a premium. CMG is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 32.17, well above the industry average of 25.01, reflecting an attractive investment opportunity. Other industry players, such as Brinker, McDonald's and Cheesecake Factory, have P/E ratios of 15, 23.96 and 15.43, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Our Thoughts on CMG Stock
Chipotle’s long-term growth story remains intact, supported by aggressive unit expansion, international momentum, and ongoing investments in digital engagement and operational efficiency. However, near-term headwinds from flat comparable sales guidance, tariff-driven cost pressures and heightened competition in the value-driven QSR space warrant caution. At a premium valuation, much of the optimism around its future growth is already reflected in the stock.
Key factors to watch include Chipotle’s ability to strengthen its value perception, sustain traffic gains from loyalty programs and offset inflationary pressures on margins. We recommend waiting for greater clarity on comparable sales recovery before adding new positions. For existing shareholders, maintaining exposure may be sensible, given Chipotle’s long runway and proven execution, but near-term volatility is likely to persist.
Chipotle currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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CMG Stock Slips 18% in a Month: Should You Act Now or Hold Steady?

For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 20, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Robinhood Markets HOOD as the Bull of the Day and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company GT as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Starbucks Corp. SBUX, McDonald’s MCD and Dutch Bros Coffee BROS.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.
Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock Robinhood Markets has risen to become the foremost financial services platform for retail investors. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the startup first rose to prominence by being the first mainstream broker to offer commission-free equity trading.
The platform has grown its user base considerably by “democratizing” finance through its commission-free trading and zero account minimum model. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinhood’s business exploded amid a red-hot market and many millennials working from home. However, behind its co-founder and CEO, Vlad Tenev, Robinhood has leveraged that success to diversify and grown its business beyond equity markets into credit and crypto markets.
Robinhood Benefits from Active Markets
Robinhood benefits dramatically in active markets. For instance, the trading volumes surged after the COVID-19 crash and subsequent bull market. Now, a similar roadmap is in store for the stock after the tariff-induced crash and robust bull market rebound of 2025.
Increased retail participation over the past few years has led to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.7% in the company’s transaction-based revenue segment. Meanwhile, annual revenue doubled from 2022 to 2024. In addition, the company turned profitable in 2024 for the first time and never looked back.
Robinhood also tends to beat Wall Street estimates. For example, the company has beaten Zacks Consensus Analyst Estimates in nine of the past ten quarters and surpassed those estimates by a healthy 19.46% margin in the past four.
HOOD: A Plethora of New Growth Avenues
CEO Vlad Tenev has built a career around democratizing finance, driving innovation, and embracing technology. With the massive success of the company’s core business, Tenev has been able to continuously deliver a plethora of new growth avenues, including:
· Prediction Markets: Users can bet on anything from economics to sports to politics to pop culture.
· Crypto Trading: Robinhood has dove headfirst into the crypto space. The company offers crypto trading and is looking to ‘tokenize’ crypto assets.
· Robinhood Gold: A premium Robinhood subscription with perks like higher interest, larger instant deposits, and research reports.
Wall Street is Becoming More Bullish on HOOD
Wall Street analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research anticipate that the company’s impressive fundamental performance will continue, with several analysts boosting their rating on the company over the past few months.
Bottom Line
Robinhood’s journey from a startup to a leading financial platform is a testament to its disruptive business model and strategic evolution. By continuously innovating, the company has successfully diversified its revenue streams beyond commission-free trading.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is one of the largest tire manufacturing companies in the world. In addition to its massive consumer tire business, the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company produces other rubber-related chemicals and specialty tires for off-road, aviation, and racing applications.
Goodyear Tire employs nearly 70,000 people and derives the majority of its revenue (~60%) from North America. However, it develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells tires throughout the Americas, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.
Tariffs to Increase Costs
Though roughly half of Goodyear’s business is in North America, the Trump administration’s tariff policy is hurting the company. The company faces tariffs on consumer tires, imported raw materials, and commercial tariffs. Altogether, Goodyear estimates that these tariffs will result in an annual cost of around $350 million. Raw material costs are expected to rise by approximately $50 million in the third quarter, and they are seen as ballooning to a $180 million headwind in the fourth quarter.
Goodyear Costs Are Rising
Goodyear is in the process of retooling and making necessary technology changes that will lead to 2025 CAPEX spending of ~$900 million. The increased spending, a result of more complex tire designs, is leading to decreasing cash flows.
GT Suffers from Declining Sales Volumes
This year, Goodyear expects to sell fewer tires year-over-year worldwide because US wholesalers already have sufficient tires in stock. Meanwhile, demand is stagnant overseas, with a stagnant Asia-Pacific economic environment. In addition, Goodyear produced fewer tires in the second quarter, meaning that the company will have a more difficult time spreading its fixed costs, leading to an expected extra $50 million in costs.
GT Suffers from Relative Weakness
GT shares are long-term underperformers. Over the past 5 years, the stock has been down 10%, while the S&P 500 Index has nearly doubled!
Bottom Line
While Goodyear remains a global leader in tire manufacturing, the company faces significant headwinds, including rising tariff costs, declining sales, and relative price weakness.
Additional content:
Will New Beverage Innovation Revive Starbucks' U.S. Comps?
Starbucks Corp. continues to face pressure in its core U.S. market, where comparable sales slipped 2% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Management is clear that turning around domestic performance will require more than operational fixes, it needs a wave of menu innovation to reenergize customers.
CEO Brian Niccol emphasized that the company is building momentum with its “Back to Starbucks” strategy, laying the groundwork for 2026 as the year of innovation. Starbucks is targeting beverages that align with consumer trends in health, customization and premium experiences.
A key launch is protein cold foam, a no-sugar option that adds 15 grams of protein to any cold beverage. Early testing showed strong demand, tapping into Cold Foam’s 23% year-over-year growth. Beyond that, Starbucks is experimenting with coconut water-based tea and coffee drinks, gluten-free and high-protein foods, and a new artisanal baked case to broaden appeal across dayparts.
The innovation push is carefully designed to avoid operational disruption. Starbucks is embedding barista feedback early in product development, ensuring drinks can be executed consistently within service time goals. By layering new beverages onto the newly rolled out Green Apron Service, a standardized operating model focused on speed and hospitality, the company hopes to pair menu excitement with a stronger in-store experience.
With Gen Z and millennial customers already driving engagement, Starbucks sees beverage innovation as a catalyst to restore positive transaction growth in the United States. While execution risks remain, the strategy signals that Starbucks is betting big on new drinks to reignite its sales momentum.
Competitors Raising the Bar in Beverage Innovation
Starbucks’ innovation drive comes as rivals intensify their beverage strategies. McDonald’s, through its McCafé lineup, has been expanding cold and specialty drink options at accessible price points. MCD’s nationwide footprint and value-driven approach allow it to capture customers seeking convenience and affordability, a direct challenge to Starbucks’ premium positioning.
Meanwhile, Dutch Bros Coffee continues to win younger consumers with its vibrant, customizable drinks and energy-based beverages. Its emphasis on drive-thru speed and community-centric brand appeal has fueled rapid expansion, making it a growing disruptor in the specialty beverage space.
With McDonald’s leveraging scale and value, and Dutch Bros resonating with Gen Z, Starbucks’ upcoming beverage innovations, from protein cold foam to artisanal offerings, will need to strike a balance between differentiation and broad appeal to revive U.S. comparable sales.
SBUX’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Starbucks have lost 18.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s decline of 7.6%.
From a valuation standpoint, Starbucks trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.7, below the industry’s average of 3.81.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBUX’s fiscal 2025 EPS implies a decline of 32.6% year over year and the same for 2026 indicates a rise of 22.4%. The EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have declined in the past 30 days.
Starbucks currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index.Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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One under-the-radar chipmaker is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. It specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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Why Investors Have Soured on Restaurant Stocks

Starbucks Corporation SBUX continues to face pressure in its core U.S. market, where comparable sales slipped 2% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Management is clear that turning around domestic performance will require more than operational fixes, it needs a wave of menu innovation to reenergize customers.
CEO Brian Niccol emphasized that the company is building momentum with its “Back to Starbucks” strategy, laying the groundwork for 2026 as the year of innovation. Starbucks is targeting beverages that align with consumer trends in health, customization and premium experiences.
A key launch is protein cold foam, a no-sugar option that adds 15 grams of protein to any cold beverage. Early testing showed strong demand, tapping into Cold Foam’s 23% year-over-year growth. Beyond that, Starbucks is experimenting with coconut water-based tea and coffee drinks, gluten-free and high-protein foods, and a new artisanal baked case to broaden appeal across dayparts.
The innovation push is carefully designed to avoid operational disruption. Starbucks is embedding barista feedback early in product development, ensuring drinks can be executed consistently within service time goals. By layering new beverages onto the newly rolled out Green Apron Service, a standardized operating model focused on speed and hospitality, the company hopes to pair menu excitement with a stronger in-store experience.
With Gen Z and millennial customers already driving engagement, Starbucks sees beverage innovation as a catalyst to restore positive transaction growth in the United States. While execution risks remain, the strategy signals that Starbucks is betting big on new drinks to reignite its sales momentum.
Competitors Raising the Bar in Beverage Innovation
Starbucks’ innovation drive comes as rivals intensify their beverage strategies. McDonald’s MCD, through its McCafé lineup, has been expanding cold and specialty drink options at accessible price points. MCD’s nationwide footprint and value-driven approach allow it to capture customers seeking convenience and affordability, a direct challenge to Starbucks’ premium positioning.
Meanwhile, Dutch Bros Coffee BROS continues to win younger consumers with its vibrant, customizable drinks and energy-based beverages. Its emphasis on drive-thru speed and community-centric brand appeal has fueled rapid expansion, making it a growing disruptor in the specialty beverage space.
With McDonald’s leveraging scale and value, and Dutch Bros resonating with Gen Z, Starbucks’ upcoming beverage innovations, from protein cold foam to artisanal offerings, will need to strike a balance between differentiation and broad appeal to revive U.S. comparable sales.
SBUX’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Starbucks have lost 18.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s decline of 7.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Starbucks trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.7, below the industry’s average of 3.81.
P/S (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBUX’s fiscal 2025 EPS implies a decline of 32.6% year over year and the same for 2026 indicates a rise of 22.4%. The EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have declined in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Starbucks currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Will New Beverage Innovation Revive Starbucks' U.S. Comparable Sales?

At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 155 most recent 13F filings for the 06/30/2025 reporting period, and noticed that McDonald's Corp (Symbol: MCD) was held by 47 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to take a closer look.
Before we proceed, it is important to point out that 13F filings do not tell the whole story, because these funds are only required to disclose their long positions with the SEC, but are not required to disclose their short positions. A fund making a bearish bet against a stock by shorting calls, for example, might also be long some amount of stock as they trade around their overall bearish position. This long component could show up in a 13F filing and everyone might assume the fund is bullish, but this tells only part of the story because the bearish/short side of the position is not seen.
Having given that caveat, we believe that looking at groups of 13F filings can be revealing, especially when comparing one holding period to another. Below, let's take a look at the change in MCD positions, for this latest batch of 13F filers:
In terms of shares owned, we count 25 of the above funds having increased existing MCD positions from 03/31/2025 to 06/30/2025, with 18 having decreased their positions and 2 new positions. Worth noting is that Mane Global Capital Management LP, included in this recent batch of 13F filers, exited MCD common stock as of 06/30/2025.
Looking beyond these particular funds in this one batch of most recent filers, we tallied up the MCD share count in the aggregate among all of the funds which held MCD at the 06/30/2025 reporting period (out of the 5,995 we looked at in total). We then compared that number to the sum total of MCD shares those same funds held back at the 03/31/2025 period, to see how the aggregate share count held by hedge funds has moved for MCD. We found that between these two periods, funds increased their holdings by 14,121,120 shares in the aggregate, from 341,376,245 up to 355,497,365 for a share count increase of approximately 4.14%. The overall top three funds holding MCD on 06/30/2025 were:
We'll keep following the latest 13F filings by hedge fund managers and bring you interesting stories derived from a look at the aggregate information across groups of managers between filing periods. While looking at individual 13F filings can sometimes be misleading due to the long-only nature of the information, the sum total across groups of funds from one reporting period to another can be a lot more revealing and relevant, providing interesting stock ideas that merit further research, like McDonald's Corp (Symbol: MCD).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

See Which Of The Latest 13F Filers Holds MCD

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (Symbol: SUSL) where we have detected an approximate $84.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 8.7% decrease week over week (from 8,650,000 to 7,900,000). Among the largest underlying components of SUSL, in trading today McDonald's Corp (Symbol: MCD) is down about 0.7%, Walt Disney Co. (Symbol: DIS) is off about 0.1%, and Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) is up by about 1.4%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SUSL Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SUSL, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SUSL's low point in its 52 week range is $83.45 per share, with $113.08 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $112.70. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

McDonald's Corporation

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