The Value War Is Back on the Menu

Consumers trade down, not out. 5 restaurant stocks to watch as traffic matters more than pricing in 2026  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read Online   Unsubscribe   %20%20%20%20%20%20​ The Value War Is Back on the Menu When budgets tighten, people do not stop eating out. They just get pickier, meaner, and suddenly very loyal to coupons. The winners in 2026 will not be the brands with the fanciest new chicken sandwich. They will be the ones that hold traffic without discounting themselves into a sad, sticky spiral. Watch Closely (Sponsored) Elon Musk: "People will be talking about this moment in 100 years." New documentary reveals how a terrifying force is about to trigger a generational transfer of wealth in America: potentially impoverishing millions while enriching a small group of others.  Prepare now or risk being left behind as this force reshapes everything about our economy, way of life, and finances. Everything you need to get on the right side is detailed here for you. Why To Watch This Theme Theme: The Trade-Down Table, Value Holds While Others Sweat Restaurants are a game of traffic, pricing, and costs. The last few years were a pricing party. Now the party is quieter, and traffic is back to being the bouncer at the door. Here is the chain reaction: Budget pressure rises → customers trade down Trade down → traffic shifts toward value winners Traffic shifts → scale advantages grow Scale advantages → margins stabilize, weaker brands stumble Weaker brands stumble → the strong gain share without trying too hard This theme matters because restaurants are one of the cleanest read-throughs on the consumer. If people are stressed, they still want convenience and small treats. They just demand a better deal and punish brands that feel overpriced. That makes the value leaders more defensive than they look. The other point is operational. Restaurants with scale can absorb volatility better. They can negotiate better supply costs, spread marketing spend, and run tighter operations. When the consumer turns price-sensitive, scale stops being boring and starts being protective. What we want to see to stay bullish Traffic holding up, not just price increases Promos used strategically, not permanently Commodity and labor costs behaving enough to protect margins Digital ordering and loyalty programs driving repeat visits Franchisee health staying solid for franchised models What can ruin the party If input costs spike again, promo intensity turns into a street fight, or the consumer actually cracks hard and overall traffic declines, everybody gets hit. Restaurants can also misread the moment. Some will chase traffic with discounts that destroy margins, then act surprised when the math does math things. McDonald's (MCD) What it does: Global quick-service restaurant leader with a large franchise base and massive scale. Why it fits: McDonald's is the default trade-down winner. When people get price-sensitive, they gravitate toward brands they trust that can deliver value consistently. Scale also helps protect margins even when costs move around. What could go right: Traffic holds up as value messaging stays strong Franchise model supports resilient cash flow International markets add diversification Operational improvements and menu simplification support efficiency What to watch next: Traffic trends, franchisee health, and whether value offers drive repeat visits without forcing constant discounting. Risk: Slower growth profile and heavy expectations. If traffic dips, the market can get impatient fast. Yum Brands (YUM) What it does: Franchised restaurant operator with a portfolio of global brands and significant international exposure. Why it fits: Diversification helps. Different brands can perform better in different environments, and the asset-light model can hold up well when consumers trade down. What could go right: Steady unit growth supports long-term compounding Global footprint provides multiple growth engines Franchise model supports margin resilience Digital and delivery partnerships keep demand convenient What to watch next: Same-store sales trends, net unit growth, and how international demand is tracking. Risk: Currency and geopolitical noise can distort results. Some markets can be choppy. New Leaders (Sponsored) The Market's Leadership Is Quietly Changing With only weeks left in 2025, the market is undergoing a shift. The tech giants that led the rally this year are starting to lose steam, while smaller, overlooked stocks are beginning to attract serious institutional money. This shift happens at the end of nearly every cycle, and those who act early stand to capture the most upside. Want to know which small-cap stocks are primed for a breakout? [Get the Free Report Now] (By clicking the link above, you agree to receive emails from MarketCrux. You can opt out at any time. – Privacy Policy) Restaurant Brands International (QSR) What it does: Global restaurant platform with multiple major brands, largely franchised. Why it fits: It can benefit if value-focused formats gain traffic, and franchising helps insulate profitability. Execution is the swing factor. When the brands are operating well, the model can look very attractive. What could go right: Better operational consistency supports traffic and sales Franchise economics remain healthy, supporting reinvestment and growth Marketing and product cycles improve customer frequency Cost discipline supports cash flow What to watch next: Same-store sales by brand, franchisee sentiment, and any improvement in brand momentum. Risk: Brand execution. If one or more brands struggle, the whole platform can feel heavier than it should. Wendy's (WEN) What it does: Quick-service burger chain with a mix of company-owned and franchised stores. Why it fits: Wendy's sits in the value battleground. If it holds traffic and executes well on promotions without wrecking margins, it can benefit from trade-down dynamics. It is also the kind of name that can surprise when expectations are low. What could go right: Traffic holds up due to stronger value perception Menu innovation drives frequency without heavy discounting Operational improvements support margin stability Better franchise performance supports growth plans What to watch next: Traffic, promotional intensity, and restaurant-level margin trends. You want smart deals, not endless deals. Risk: If the promo war intensifies, mid-tier brands can get squeezed. There is less room for error. Institutional Buying (Sponsored) Institutions Are Accumulating Large Cap Stocks Quietly While retail investors panic, institutions are quietly loading up on seven large-cap stocks. These companies share three traits: strong cash flow, market dominance, and upcoming catalysts. One stock has raised guidance three times this year but is still undervalued. Another is splitting into two companies, creating long-term value. Don't miss the chance to act before these stocks return to fair value. Click here for your free report. (By clicking this link you agree to receive emails from Trading Tips and our affiliates. You can opt out at any time. - Privacy Policy) Poll: You can only improve ONE for the rest of your life, which are you choosing? Your income Your free time Your job security Your cost of living Domino's (DPZ) What it does: Pizza delivery and carryout leader with a tech-driven model and strong franchise base. Why it fits: Pizza is a classic value meal. Domino's also tends to benefit from efficiency and a strong digital ordering system. If consumers look for cheaper meals that still feel like a treat, pizza can be a sneaky winner. What could go right: Order frequency improves as value meals gain traction Digital and loyalty execution keeps customers sticky Franchise model supports strong cash generation International growth adds a second engine What to watch next: Same-store sales, delivery and carryout mix, and whether promotions are boosting traffic without compressing margins too much. Risk: Competition is always intense in pizza. If discounting becomes the main strategy across the category, profitability can get pressured. Want to make sure you never miss a stock recommendation? Elite Trade Club now offers text alerts — so you get trending stocks and market-moving news sent straight to your phone before the bell. Email's great. Texts are faster. 👉 Click here to get our detailed stock analysis sent to your cell for free! This theme is not about gourmet. It is about math and mood. When consumers get pickier, traffic becomes the scoreboard. The winners are the brands that protect value perception, keep operations tight, and use promos like a scalpel, not a chainsaw. Watch traffic trends, franchisee health, and signs of a promo war. If trade-down dynamics persist into 2026, these five names can keep taking share while weaker players fight over who can offer the cheapest meal without going broke. Best Regards, — Adam Garcia Elite Trade Club   Click here to get our daily newsletter straight to your cell for free. P.S. Just like this newsletter, it's 100% free*, and you can stop at any time by replying STOP.       Legal Stuff: Stocks featured in this newsletter are for entertainment purposes only. You should not base any investment decisions on information contained in my newsletter. Stocks featured in this newsletter may be owned by owners/operators of this website, which could impact our ability to remain unbiased. Please consult a financial advisor before making any trading decisions. 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This "X-Ray View” Shows When Stocks Tend to Rise and Fall

Market cycles that repeat with stunning accuracy...

This "X-Ray View" Shows When Stocks Tend to Rise and Fall VIEW IN BROWSER BY KEITH KAPLAN CEO, TRADESMITH How often do you see a photo that makes your mouth fall open, your pulse race... And makes you question everything you thought you knew? That’s how Nobel Prize-winning biologist James Watson described seeing “Photograph 51” for the first time in January 1953. It was a strange image taken by British chemist Rosalind Franklin with a technique called “X-ray crystallography.” Her X-ray captured a crucial pattern in our DNA that no one had detected before. The DNA strands twisted and crossed into what we now know as “the double helix”: Photo 51 showed for the first time that the DNA forms a double helix. Source: King's College London Archives These scientists weren’t the ones to discover DNA. That was back in 1869. But 80 years went by before Franklin’s X-ray crystallography began to reveal a hidden structure that had been there all along. Turns out, patterns and cycles are pretty much everywhere in nature.  That’s also true of the stock market. You’ve just got to be able to spot them. And much like the DNA double helix – you can’t really do it with the naked eye… You need an X-ray view. That’s what our TradeSmith Seasonality software is designed to do. By analyzing more than 2.2 quintillion data points... across decades of market history... we have found historically reliable windows when specific stocks tend to rise and fall. The patterns I’m talking about have even held up through bull and bear markets, manias and panics, wars, pandemics, and more. And based on these signals, we created rapid-fire trading to pinpoint bullish seasonality windows on 5,000 stocks – to the day. In our backtests, the system’s trades have won with 83% accuracy. The long-term returns were also more than twice that of the broad market: I walked through how this “X-ray view” works during my Prediction 2026 event on Tuesday. I also pointed out some fast-approaching seasonal patterns that every investor should be aware of... some that will hit as soon as Jan. 28. So if you missed it, make sure to catch the replay here. Then read on for three opportunities TradeSmith Seasonality reveals now. Buy the Hidden Green Zones in Stocks When it comes to price cycles in stocks, it’s not really something you’d try to find manually. That’d be an enormous undertaking. You’d have to pull up a one-year chart like this... Line up one-year charts, one after the other, going back a decade or more... And keep track of how that index behaved across thousands of trading windows. Or – you could just type “SPX” (S&P 500) into the TradeSmith Seasonality tool. In a split second, it averages as many years as you want... then, it gives you one, simple seasonality trend line. Best of all, it highlights “green zones,” when the market’s gone up 80% of the time or more. Plus “red zones,” when it’s fallen 80%+ of the time. You can do this for pretty much any stock you want and map out great trades – in advance. In the past 15 years, the S&P 500 has had green zones in late January, in April, and in October. But the absolute best one starts June 29: Between June 29 and July 21, the S&P has gone up in all 15 of the past 15 years, with an average return of 3.2%. And we can find larger short-term returns by training this tool on individual stocks. Some Quick, Bullish Trades for Your Radar Tesla (TSLA), for one, has four of these “green zones” throughout the year. The next one is March 18 through April 6. And in that window, the stock has returned 7.8%, on average, over the last 15 years. Then, TSLA has an especially strong window starting May 20. Buying that day returned an average 12.7% in just one month – through June 22: Those are the optimal patterns to follow our seasonality strategy, trading individual stocks at their absolute best times of year. And our seasonality data on the stock market tells a dramatic story now for 2026. It paints a compelling picture of other companies, too. In honor of Rosalind Franklin, the pioneer who took that crucial photograph of our DNA... Let’s look at a biotech company. Here’s the seasonality “X-ray” of Eli Lilly (LLY). The optimal time to own LLY is also mid-year, although it also offers a nice, quick bullish trade from Feb. 11 to March 5: As you can see, that mid-year green zone begins on June 4 and ends on July 17. It has an 86.7% historical accuracy rate. And over that time, it returned an average gain of 5.6%. And I’m sure you’ll also notice all the other times of year that don’t get these green or red windows. That’s because we aren’t willing to dive in at any random season. We only want to trade the deepest, most predictable cycles. So reliable, they’re like the eternal rhythms of nature and biology. Using TradeSmith's Seasonality tool, we've put this approach to the test across thousands of stocks, major indexes, and even commodities and currencies. Over an 18-year backtest, following seasonal patterns delivered 857% in total returns -- more than twice what the S&P 500 returned over the same stretch. The very worst year in our test was 2007 – and even then, our strategy still turned a profit. And it beat the S&P 500 by over two to one that year. Mark Your Calendar for These Key Dates That’s why, if you missed it, I hope you’ll check out the replay of our Prediction 2026 event. I'll walk you through the seasonal patterns coming up that you need to watch for...why they keep working even when markets get chaotic...and how to put them to work in your own portfolio. As you’ll see, getting your timing right could matter more to your wealth than any stock pick you make this year. And the first date to watch is Jan. 28. If this seasonal pattern plays out as expected, it could unlock one of the best trading setups we've seen in decades. So check out the replay while there’s still time. All the best, Keith Kaplan CEO, TradeSmith In Case You Missed It How to Claim Your Stake in SpaceX with $500 Every week Elon Musk is sending about 60 more satellites into orbit. Tech legend Jeff Brown believes he’s building what will be the world’s first global communications carrier. He predicts this will be Elon’s next trillion-dollar business. And when it goes public, you could cash out with the biggest payout of your life. Click here to get the details and learn how to claim your stake starting with just $500.

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