sales and profits

Financing

Earnings roundup: Black Rifle Coffee, Steak 'n Shake, Bombshells

The second quarter was apparently no kinder to smaller cap public restaurant companies than it was to the big players. Here's a look at three with decidedly mixed results.

Financing

First Watch sees fewer visits but little trading down

Meanwhile, its aggressive expansion plan remains in place, with 130 development projects underway.

Sales fell even though prices increased 5%, so the family-dining chain is bringing back its old $2/$4/$6/$8 tiered menu. Franchisees also closed 15 units last quarter.

Several restaurant chains, notably Starbucks, are navigating weak spending and increasing competition in the fast-growing market. But they remain bullish on its future.

A look beyond the most recent results for big restaurant brands shows customers cutting back nearly across the board.

When lower-income diners are feeling budget strain, the fast-casual Portillo's feels it most in the drive-thru. To address that, the restaurant chain is working to get orders through car windows faster.

Management at the daytime dining chain said it will focus instead on bringing back strong customer lures from the past.

Traffic slumped, but the family-dining stalwart offered a few aha moments in its recount of what happened.

Technomic Top 500: Chain restaurants continued to record strong growth last year, but mostly without higher traffic. And there were wide variations in performance throughout the ranking.

Average unit volume for the cookie chain declined 37% last year even as location count grew 41%. Per-store profits were cut by 58%.

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