As the Q1 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the traditional fast food industry, including Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and its peers.
Traditional fast-food restaurants are renowned for their speed and convenience, boasting menus filled with familiar and budget-friendly items. Their reputations for on-the-go consumption make them favored destinations for individuals and families needing a quick meal. This class of restaurants, however, is fighting the perception that their meals are unhealthy and made with inferior ingredients, a battle that's especially relevant today given the consumers increasing focus on health and wellness.
The 12 traditional fast food stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4%.
While some traditional fast food stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 2.3% since the latest earnings results.
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM)
Spun off as an independent company from PepsiCo, Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) is a multinational corporation that owns KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill.
Yum! Brands reported revenues of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and same-store sales estimates.
Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 3.7% since reporting and currently trades at $150.75.
Best Q1: El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO)
With a name that translates into ‘The Crazy Chicken’, El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast food chain known for its citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken recipe that hails from the coastal town of Sinaloa, Mexico.
El Pollo Loco reported revenues of $126.2 million, up 5.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 12.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $15.20.
Is now the time to buy El Pollo Loco? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q1: Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA)
Founded by the eclectic John “Papa John” Schnatter, Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) is a globally recognized pizza delivery and carryout chain known for “better ingredients” and “better pizza”.
Papa John's reported revenues of $478.6 million, down 7.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.
Papa John's delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 5.1% since the results and currently trades at $32.05.
Read our full analysis of Papa John’s results here.
Yum China (NYSE: YUMC)
One of China’s largest restaurant companies, Yum China (NYSE: YUMC) is an independent entity spun off from Yum! Brands in 2016.
Yum China reported revenues of $3.27 billion, up 9.7% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2%. Aside from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ same-store sales estimates.
The stock is down 7.4% since reporting and currently trades at $43.82.
Read our full, actionable report on Yum China here, it’s free.
Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT)
Famous for its Original Glazed doughnuts and parent company of Insomnia Cookies, Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT) is one of the most beloved and well-known fast-food chains in the world.
Krispy Kreme reported revenues of $367 million, down 2.2% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.
The stock is up 4.8% since reporting and currently trades at $3.86.
Read our full, actionable report on Krispy Kreme here, it’s free.
Market Update
Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?
These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.
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