THE WEEK THAT WAS, ENDING APRIL 4th – a volatile "macro" week - much quieter in restaurant land - THREE UPGRADES & THREE INIITIATIONS (WITH BUYS)

PREVIOUSLY REPORTING (below): early in the week CAVA Group Initiated as Buy, Shake Shack, First Watch and Wingstop were all UPGRADED TO BUYS – they all were even more attractive by Friday’s close – on Friday Driven Brands and Valvoline (auto aftermarket participants) were initiated as Buys, which makes a lot of sense since “tariff turmoil” is likely going to increase the price of new cars, encouraging longer ownership of current vehicles.

Otherwise:

Kura Sushi: maintained with Neutral ratings at 2 firms.

Yum Brands: maintained with Neutral ratings at 2 firms.

Dutch Bros: maintained with Positive ratings at 2 firms.

Dave & Buster’s: maintained at Hold by 1 firm.

Planet Fitness: maintained at Outperform at 1 firm.

Restaurant Brands, McDonald’s and Chipotle maintained at Buy by 1 firm.

COMPANIES REPORTING DURING WEEK (below): None

Conference call transcripts are below for all companies reporting in prior weeks with ratings changes (Shake Shack, First Watch, Wingstop), Initiations (Driven Brands, Valvoline, CAVA), or companies reporting in THE WEEK THAT WAS: ( none).

TRANSCRIPTS OF CONFERENCE CALLS AND PRESENTATIONS

Shake Shack (SHAK)

Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

First Watch (FRWG)

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (FWRG) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. 2024 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (NASDAQ _ FWRG) _ Seeking Alpha

Wingstop (WING)

Wingstop Inc. (WING) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

Driven Brands (DRVN)

Driven Brands Holdings, Inc. (DRVN) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

Valvoline (VVV)

Valvoline Inc. (VVV) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha