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Restaurant Recovery: Not This Year, Not Next

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:23:16 EST

By Christina Cheddar Berk, News Editor at CNBC.com NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Darden Restaurants cut its fiscal 2012 earnings and sales forecast Tuesday, hurt as deep discounts at its Olive Garden chain failed to bring in new guests.

But Darden, which also operates Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse, isn't the only restaurant suffering these days.

It's been a rough year all around for restaurant operators, with consumers eating out less often. Market researcher NPD Group said Tuesday it doesn't expects 2012 will be much better. ...

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Annie's Homegrown Cooks Up an IPO

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:36:41 EST

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By Tom Taulli , InvestorPlace Writer

NEW YORK (InvestorPlace) -- More than 20 years ago, Annie Withey wanted to create a new kind of food company -- one that made products with real ingredients, not chemicals. The result was Annie's Homegrown, and the company has been growing quite nicely....

2 Refreshing Stocks for the Holidays

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:36:09 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The holiday season had a healthy start, despite a weak economy. Specifically, liquor stores will see profits boost this season. "A lot of people don't realize that the busiest wine holiday of the year is actually Thanksgiving," said Bruce Long of Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits. "Also, October, November and December are probably the largest three months of the year for anybody in the wine and spirits industry."

The Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (DABC) reported 130% hike in alcohol sales on the eve of Thanksgiving. For the first half of the year, whisky shipments from Scotland soared 19%, after declining in the same period prior year, according to data from the Scotch Whisky Association. Export values rose 22% to $2.9 billion for the first half, outperforming the 10% growth seen in 2010.

DABC expects significant liquor sales during the holiday season. On typical weekdays, statewide liquor and wine sales averaged about $600,000 per day, while Thanksgiving eve sales boomed to more than $2 million, topping $1.6 million recorded previous year. A research report by J.P Morgan shows that sale of wine and constellation wine during October jumped 4.3% and 2%, respectively from the previous month. ...

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Diamond Foods Dragged Down by Doubts

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:14:22 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Diamond Foods were walloped Wednesday as questions about the death of a former director stoked investor fears that a probe of the company's accounting could lead to the restatement of past financial results.

The San Francisco-based snack products company, whose brands include Pop Secret popcorn and Emerald nuts, acknowledged that Joseph Silveira passed away late last week and press reports late Tuesday indicated Silveira may have committed suicide.

The stock closed down 21% at $27.80 on volume of 9.7 million, nearly 10 times the issue's trailing three-month daily average of around 1 million. ...

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Campbell Soup Tops Estimates; Soup Sales Fall 4%

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:15:50 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Campbell Soup's first-quarter sales fell 1% to $2.16 billion because of a decrease in promotional spending and a drop in volume.

The food maker said sales of U.S. simple meals declined 3% from a year ago to $874 million, while U.S. soup sales were down 4%.

Campbell Soup's first-quarter earnings fell to $265 million from $279 million a year ago. ...

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4 Trends Affecting Dunkin' Brands

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:01:04 EST

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

NEW YORK (Trefis) -- Dunkin' Brands is a franchisor of quick service restaurants and operates globally through Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brand names. Dunkin' Donuts offers varied products including coffee, donuts, muffins, bagels, and breakfast sandwiches, among others, whereas Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors.

At present, Dunkin' Donuts' U.S. segment contributes the most to Dunkin's revenues, with approximately 70% share of gross revenues. Going forward, we believe its contribution would decline slightly and Baskin-Robbins International would emerge as the key driver for growth. Dunkin' Brands competes with McDonald's , Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Dairy Queen and Cold Stone Creamery among others. ...

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Fortune Names Starbucks' Schultz as Businessperson of 2011

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:45:57 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, has been named Fortune's Businessperson of the Year for 2011. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

Since returning to Starbucks in 2008, Schultz, Fortune said, has "restored the iconic company he founded and taken it to new heights, posting record revenue and profits. Schultz distinguished himself in another way in 2011, taking steps to raise funds for job creation and to fight political dysfunction in Washington. "

No. 2 on Fortune's list is...

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Starbucks: You Can Still Pee Here

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:07:18 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Rumors that Starbucks' public bathrooms are off-limits are false, according to the coffee company.

The New York Post reported Tuesday that Starbucks is slowly closing its bathrooms to the public. The newspaper said the loos would be for employees only.

But a Starbucks spokesperson said Wednesday the restrooms will remain open. ...

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Sysco to Buy Back 20M Shares, Lifts Dividend

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:49:10 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Sysco, the food distribution company, plans to buyback 20 million common shares and raise its dividend by a penny to 27 cents a share.

A previous repurchase program of 20 million shares from August 2010 has about 5.3 million shares remaining, Sysco said in a statement Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Sysco reported an 8.6% increase in first-quarter sales to $10.6 billion and a 0.6% increase in operating income to $509 million. Earnings of 51 cents a share were below analysts' views of 52 cents. ...

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2 High-Priced Beer Stocks to Avoid

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:31:22 EST

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By Peter Cohan

NEW YORK (InvestorPlace) -- Do people drink less beer during periods of slow economic growth so they can save money, or do they drink more to drown their sorrows? The great thing about this question is that there are two publicly traded companies -- Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors Brewing Company -- whose earnings we can analyze to gain insight into this question. And here's another: Should you invest in either company?...

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KFC Unearths Lost Colonel Sanders Diary

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:09:19 EST

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- In what could go down as the most significant find in the history of fast food literature, KFC says it has stumbled across a dusty, long-lost tome containing a "food autobiography" written by its iconic founder, Colonel Harlan Sanders.

"The original autobiography provides an authentic look into the life of the world's legendary entrepreneur and is centered on his passion for food, hard work and the importance of home-style country cooking," the company said in a press release Thursday. KFC says that it has unearthed a "food autobiography" penned by Colonel Sanders.

According to the release, a 30-year veteran of the company discovered the book accidentally in KFC's "archival storage facility" in Louisville, Ky. The company says that it timed the announcement to coincide with Nov. 11 (11/11/11), a significant date to the company given its famous "11 herbs and spices" recipe. While that timing might lead some cynics to suggest this is nothing more than a publicity stunt, we suppose it's possible that the discovery was made recently and management decided to hold off on the announcement so as to coincide with the momentous date. ...

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Green Mountain Squashed on Revenue Miss

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:00:41 EST

Updated from 4:47 p.m. ET to include background on hedge fund manager David Einhorn's opinion of the company, latest share price.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters tanked in late trades on Wednesday after the K-Cup king missed Wall Street's revenue expectations by a wide margin with its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Despite growing the top line by more than 90% on a year-over-year basis, Waterbury, Vt.-based Green Mountain's revenue total of $711.9 million for the quarter was more than 6% below the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for revenue of $760.5 million. ...

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Monopoly Sends McDonald's Directly to Profits

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:47:06 EST

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By Kyle Woodley

NEW YORK (InvestorPlace) -- Anyone with an office desk drawer full of old "Baltic Avenue" and other game pieces can attest to the lure of McDonald's perennial Monopoly campaign. For almost a quarter of a century, consumers have been guzzling down large fountain drinks and swallowing Big Macs trying to match "Boardwalk" with one of their 12 "Park Place" pieces. Even though the vast majority fail to score the $1 million prize, they're content to win a few free small fries....

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Starbucks Posts Perky Profit but Sees Commodity Cost Hit Next Year

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:42:08 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Starbucks beat Wall Street profit expectations for its fiscal fourth-quarter results by a penny Thursday as revenue came in better than expected but gave a fiscal 2012 outlook with downside to the current consensus as it anticipates a big hit from rising commodity costs.

The coffee retailing giant also said said its board has approved a 31% increase in its quarterly dividend to 17 cents a share from 13 cents, and a new buyback authorization of 20 million common shares.

For the quarter ended Oct. 2, Starbucks reported a non-GAAP profit of $$418.1 million, or 37 cents a share, on revenue of $3.03 billion. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 36 cents a share in the September-ended period on revenue of $2.95 billion. ...

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Kraft Tops Wall Street Profit View, Lifts Outlook Again

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:28:38 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Kraft Foods handily beat Wall Street's expectations for its fiscal third-quarter results and lifted its full-year outlook once again as the Dow component continued to see top-line growth across all of its geographies and consumer acceptance of price increases.

After Wednesday's closing bell, Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft, whose brands include A-1 steak sauce, Maxwell House coffee, and Trident chewing gum, reported earnings of $927 million, or 52 cents a share, on revenue of $13.23 billion. On an operating basis, the company said it earned $1.7 billion in the latest quarter, or 58 cents a share.

The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 55 cents a share in the September-ended period on revenue of $12.83 billion. ...

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