A quick look at how the global this time theme is manifested in stock prices of select restaurant companies. The chart below shows the divergence in EBITDA valuations between MCD, YUM CKR and JBX.

Research Edge observations:
All four companies are experiencing declining traffic and margins in their respective U.S. business.
JBX and CKR are California centric companies.
YUM and MCD have strong international operations.
YUM and MCD are returning significant amounts of cash to shareholders.

The premium valuation for YUM and MCD are due to the safety net that investors seek from the global this time theme.

See Keith McCullough macro portal for more on the global this time theme!