THE WEEK THAT WAS, ENDING SEPTEMBER 22 – ONLY ONE REPORTING COMPANY – TWO UPGRADES, TWO DOWNGRADES – with relevant transcripts

Restaurant Finance Monitor

COMPANIES PREVIOUSLY REPORTING:

TWO  DOWNGRADES (STARBUCKS TO MARKET PERFORM AND PLANET FITNESS TO NEUTRAL, as long time CEO unexpectedly resigns)

TWO UPGRADES (WINGSTOP TO OUPERFORM AND EUROPEAN WAX CENTER TO OVERWEIGHT)

Otherwise:

Restaurant Brands:Three firms remain positive

Driven Brands:Three firms remain positive.

Starbucks: Other than the One downgrade to Market Perform, one firm remains Neutral

Wingstop: One firm remains Positive,  One Upgrades to Positive, One stays Neutral.

Chipotle: Two firms remain Positive.

McDonald’s: Two firms remain Positive.

Planet Fitness: CEO steps aside, One firms downgrades to Neutral, Two firms stay Positive

Dutch Bros, Brinker & Jack in the Box maintain Neutral ratings at one firm each.

Yum Brands, Yum China & Mister Car Wash maintain Positive ratings at one firm each.

European Wax Center gets Upgrade to Overweight.

COMPANY REPORTING DURING WEEK: ONLY  (Best of Breed) DARDEN: TWO ANALYSTS CONTINUE TO BE NEUTRAL,  OVERWHELMED BY SEVEN POSITIVE FIRMS

Conference call transcripts are below for all companies reporting in prior weeks with ratings changes  (Starbucks, Planet  Fitness, Wingstop, European Wax Center) or initiations (Dutch Bros), or companies reporting in THE WEEK THAT WAS (Darden).

TRANSCRIPTS:

Starbucks (SBUX)

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4622484-starbucks-corporation-sbux-q3-2023-earnings-call-transcript

Planet Fitness (PLNT) – announcement below, regarding “management transition”

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4623391-planet-fitness-inc-plnt-q2-2023-earnings-call-transcript

https://seekingalpha.com/pr/19465291-planet-fitness-announces-leadership-transition

Wingstop (WING)

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4622936-wingstop-inc-wing-q2-2023-earnings-call-transcript

European Wax Center (EWCZ)

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4627947-european-wax-center-inc-ewcz-q2-2023-earnings-call-transcript

Dutch Bros (BROS)

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4625671-dutch-bros-inc-bros-q2-2023-earnings-call-transcript

Darden (DRI)

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4636602-darden-restaurants-inc-dri-q1-2024-earnings-call-transcript

REPORTING IN THEWEEK TO COME:  NOBODY SCHEDULED TO REPORT