Sectors & IndustriesConsumer CyclicalRestaurants

Best Restaurant Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top restaurant stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best restaurant stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best restaurant stocks to buy right now are:

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is the #1 top restaurant stock out of 53 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) has a Due Diligence Score of 51, which is 22 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 29.

CHA passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Chagee Holdings has seen its stock lose -23.13% over the past year, underperforming other restaurant stocks by -8 percentage points.

Chagee Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, a downside of -18.7% from Chagee Holdings's current stock price of $12.30.

Chagee Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Chagee Holdings, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Flanigans Enterprises (NYSEMKT:BDL) is the #2 top restaurant stock out of 53 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Flanigans Enterprises (NYSEMKT:BDL) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Flanigans Enterprises (NYSEMKT:BDL) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 12 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 29.

BDL passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Flanigans Enterprises has seen its stock return 41.64% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 57 percentage points.

Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) is the #3 top restaurant stock out of 53 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: D.

Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) has a Due Diligence Score of 4, which is -25 points lower than the restaurant industry average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NDLS as a "B".

NDLS passed 1 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Noodles & Co has seen its stock return 173.28% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 189 percentage points.

Out of 19 restaurant stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 restaurant stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) has an annual dividend yield of 7.48%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.07%.

Chagee Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 13.2% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) has an annual dividend yield of 7.31%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.07%. Wendy's Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Wendy's Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Wendy's Co's dividend payout ratio of 84.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Nathans Famous (NASDAQ:NATH) has an annual dividend yield of 3.93%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.07%. Nathans Famous's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Nathans Famous's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Nathans Famous's dividend payout ratio of 92.6% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Restaurant stocks were up 0.21% in the last day, and up 6.06% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why restaurant stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued restaurant stocks right now are:

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) is the most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Jack In The Box has a valuation score of 57, which is 29 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Jack In The Box's stock has dropped -30.78% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -15 percentage points.

Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) is the second most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Arcos Dorados Holdings has a valuation score of 43, which is 15 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Arcos Dorados Holdings's stock has gained 12.45% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 28 percentage points.

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is the third most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Chagee Holdings has a valuation score of 71, which is 43 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Chagee Holdings's stock has dropped -23.13% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -8 percentage points.

39.39% of restaurant stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect restaurant stocks to rise by 19.74% over the next year.

2.5% of restaurant stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 7.5% of restaurant stocks are rated B (Buy), 80% are rated C (Hold), 10% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).