A Comparative Analysis of 8 US Fast Casual Restaurants

With 2Q15 earnings season over, it is time to look at how restaurants have performed compared to their category peers. Based on whether a restaurant is a full service or limited service, you will find six popular categories of restaurants: fast casual, fast food, casual dining, family dining, pizza, and café restaurants.

In this series, we will delve into a comparative analysis of eight restaurants under the fast casual category. This series will help you get an overview of where fast casual players such as those mentioned in the chart above stand in comparison with their peers. At the end of this series, you will be in a better position to know the best and the worst performers in the segment.

Fast casual restaurants are a hybrid of fast food and casual dining restaurants. Fast casual restaurants offer minimal table service. The menu is limited and moderately priced, somewhere between fast food and casual dining restaurants.

The eight restaurants we will cover in this series are Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Panera Bread (PNRA), Shake Shack (SHAK), Habit Grill (HABT), Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI), Noodles & Co (NDLS), Zoe’s Kitchen (ZOES), and Potbelly (PBPB). While there are many more fast casual restaurants, these are the major restaurants listed in the US stock market. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) holds 1% of Chipotle and 4% of McDonald’s (MCD) as a percentage of its total portfolio.

To learn more about fast casual restaurants and the US restaurant industry, read our series: An in-depth overview of the US restaurant industry.