Dunkin, Yum report — What to know in markets Thursday
Two big names in the food industry are gearing up to report financial results on Thursday. Dunkin Brands (DNKN) and Yum Brands (YUM) are scheduled to release Q4 earnings ahead of the opening bell.
Wall Street is running on Dunkin. Wells Fargo predicts that the coffee chain will post its best quarterly same-store sales performance since Q3 2016. Analyst Jon Tower explained that Dunkin’s new rebranding, reintroduction of its espresso platform and better industry backdrop are the key drivers behind his big prediction. However, Tower did note that the growing competition in the coffee space will likely weigh on Dunkin.
KeyBanc analyst Eric Gonzalez outlined that he believes 2018 was a foundational year for Dunkin, and he expects that breakfast sales will have boosted the company’s same-store sales in Q4. “Given McDonald's well publicized/accelerating share losses at breakfast and the competitive overlap between the two brands, we wonder to what extent Dunkin' has been a beneficiary of McDonald's struggles,” Gonzalez wrote in a note last week.
Dunkin is expected to report earnings of 61 cents per share on $329.88 million in revenue. Same-store sales are anticipated to have grown 2.9%.
While analysts aren’t quite expecting dismal results from Yum Brands, forecasts aren’t as upbeat as they are for Dunkin. Tower anticipates Yum’s global same-store sales will be slightly better than expected during Q4. Consensus estimates for global same-store sales are for about 2.4% growth. KFC and Taco Bell are expected to have seen the most sales growth during the quarter, while Tower expects Pizza Hut will continue to lag behind.
Analysts are forecasting Yum to report earnings of 97 per share on $1.59 billion in revenue. Same-store sales are estimated to have grown at a 2.5% over the quarter.
Other Thursday earnings: Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), GrubHub (GRUB), Kellogg (K), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Philip Morris (PM), S&P Global (SPGI), Sanofi (SNY), Tapestry (TPR), Twitter (TWTR) before market open; ANGI Homeservices (ANGI), Expedia (EXPE), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC), Lions Gate (LGF-A), and Mattel (MAT).
Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
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