Always good to see. Guy has been on the job for about 3 weeks- Dave & Buster's gains after new CEO buy shares Jul. 13, 2022 3:33 PM ETDave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) traded higher on Wednesday after the company disclosed that CEO Christopher Morris bought shares. Morris snapped up 34,400 shares in a series of trades that ranged in price from $29.71 to $31.09. The exec holds a total of 48,206 shares are the new transactions.
Geezuz. PLAY dropped that low?! I hadn't been watching it. I remember I told you it was a good shart at $47ish, but I figured $36 would be the bottom, and even then, the damn thing held $45 forever. Huh. Damn.
Thanks Van. I went into a Wendys yesterday and it was thriving. Optimism emerges on restaurant stocks amid lighter inflation impact, looser labor market Jul. 13, 2022 3:42 PM ET Analysts are optimistic on the prospects for restaurants as the space absorbs commodity inflation and looks toward easing staff shortages. In a hot CPI report printed on Wednesday morning, food away from home was a rare bright spot. While the food at home index rose 12.2% from the prior year, the largest 12-month increase since 1979, food away from home was far less impacted. The latter index rose only 7.7%, with limited service meals rising “only” 7.4% over the same period. While both figures are the largest increases seen in over 40 years, the significantly lower inflation recorded by restaurants suggests some capacity to absorb increased costs. Additionally, there are signals that the inflation impact on key items like chicken breasts, wheat, and more are peaking in the current quarter, per Cowen research. Cowen analyst Andrew Charles indicated that checks with CEOs at multiple fast casual chains suggested that food costs are coming down in the third quarter. “Commodity inflation was acute in 2Q, in particular chicken breast, wheat, packaging & Freight,” he told clients. “Encouragingly, both panelists suggested cautious optimism that commodity costs have peaked, with more meaningful relief expected in the coming months as oil prices have tapered, a leading indicator of soft commodity costs.” Ahead of a busy earnings season, Charles expects this to be a key point that could portend the trajectory of the company’s set to report. Further, the significantly lower inflation among quick service and fast casual restaurants as compared to 8.9% inflation in full-service is likely to aid in a trade-down impact. Charles indicated this is likely a positive for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Shake Shack (SHAK), and Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) as well as quick service restaurants like Yum Brands (YUM), McDonald’s (MCD), and more. The higher level of inflation at casual dining and sit-down service restaurants were pointed to as likely drivers of outperformance at the comparatively cheaper sectors. In another positive for the overall sector, Cowen indicated that lessening labor shortages are “the biggest source for optimism” in their chats with CEOs. While aiding in service, Charles expects the looser labor environment is also likely to aid in normalizing pricing. Shake Shack (SHAK, 4.43%), Sweetgreen (SG, 3.49%), Portillo’s (PTLO, 3.49%), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ, 2.83%), Kura Sushi (KRUS, 4.32%), Wingstop (WING, 2.18%), Jack in the Box (JACK, 2.01%), and Restaurant Brands (QSR, 1.65%) led gains in the space shortly before Wednesday’s close.// I kid you not a HF guy pitched me Wingstop just a week ago. He toldme their price fpor chicken had gone way down.// They sell alot of chicken... Has anyone been top a Wingstop? Are they tasty? Best wings I ever had Manhattan Beach CA Swayzies? Something like that. OMG-!
And while were on the subject lol, that FWRG.... I'll give you credit on it too. It may not have went up, but the damn thing hasn't went down either. FWRG>>> $14
I can't for the life of me figure out why MCD, with all their money, hasn't at least prototyped a 100% employee free store. I mean everything is standardized. Everything. There's no reason robotics couldn't be doing it all.
And I'll go one further. The metaverse. Why do Dollar General and Dollar Tree even have stores? You can walk up and down the aisles virtually if you want to shop. I mean a can of Right Guard is a can of Right Guard. It's not like you're picking out fresh fruit to your liking. All they need is a place to drive up to for order pickup, a ramp in the back for re-stocking, and a side portal for delivery drivers. It can almost be a block building with no windows and minimum employees. One or two to help place reusable plastic containers filled with product in cars. The containers get returned and sent out again and again and again... no more petroleum based wasteful bags. So much labor is wasted stocking shelves, having cashiers, unloading trucks, controlling theft, etc etc. There is no reason systems that are being used in AMZN distribution centers can't be scaled down to work in a 4000 sqf building. Inventory could be arranged and placed on custom designed, cubicle style pallets in a central warehouse that serves multiple states. All standardized. Then just driven to the stores and rolled down ramps, almost like loading bullets into a gun clip. Everything as standardized as an assembly line. And not just dollar stores. You can do it with CVS, Home Depot's, etc. I know you can order online now, but they still have the store. Just start replacing them one at a time. Force it on us whether we like or not. Like everything else. Ahhh... I bet we'll see it in our lifetime. Our kids will for sure.