Notable news items and price action from the past twenty-four hours along with our fundamental view on select names.
- RUTH reported EPS of $0.13 and company-owned comparable restaurant sales of +5.2% versus consensus +4.2%.
- SONC reported system-wide same store sales of +4-6% for the first two months of Q3.
- MCD raised prices for large soft-drinks in China by 0.5 yuan (8 cents). PPI in China rose at the fastest pace for 30 years during March.
- COSI reported +3% company-owned comparable sales trends for 3Q. This number constitutes a slowdown in two-year average trends but, as I wrote in a note published this morning, the number is not as bad as it may appear at first glance.
- PNRA declined on accelerating volume.
- BWLD and KONA gained on accelerating volume.
Howard Penney
Managing Director