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 +32.52% 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:

Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) is the #1 top restaurant stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 17 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 27.

ARCO passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Arcos Dorados Holdings has seen its stock return 3.43% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 12 percentage points.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) is the #2 top restaurant stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) has a Due Diligence Score of 45, which is 18 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 27.

EAT passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Brinker International has seen its stock return 9.85% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 18 percentage points.

Brinker International has an average 1 year price target of $174.53, an upside of 10.69% from Brinker International's current stock price of $157.68.

Brinker International stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 15 analysts covering Brinker International, 53.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 13.33% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) is the #3 top restaurant stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 19 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 27.

CAKE passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Cheesecake Factory has seen its stock return 23.59% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 32 percentage points.

Cheesecake Factory has an average 1 year price target of $57.85, a downside of -2.47% from Cheesecake Factory's current stock price of $59.31.

Cheesecake Factory stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Cheesecake Factory, 23.08% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 38.46% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 23.08% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 20 restaurant stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 restaurant stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) has an annual dividend yield of 8.05%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.86%. Wendy's Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two 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 82.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) has an annual dividend yield of 7.61%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.86%.

Nathans Famous (NASDAQ:NATH) has an annual dividend yield of 4.81%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.86%. Nathans Famous's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one 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 35.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Restaurant stocks were down -0.76% in the last day, and up 2.81% over the last week.

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

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:

Dine Brands Global (NYSE:DIN) is the 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.

Dine Brands Global 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.

Dine Brands Global's stock has gained 41.74% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 50 percentage points.

Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) is the second 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.

Wendy's Co 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.

Wendy's Co's stock has dropped -43.97% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -36 percentage points.

Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) 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.

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 3.43% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 12 percentage points.

51.52% of restaurant stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect restaurant stocks to rise by 10.46% over the next year.

0% of restaurant stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 5.13% of restaurant stocks are rated B (Buy), 66.67% are rated C (Hold), 12.82% are rated D (Sell), and 15.38% are rated F (Strong Sell).