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:

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is the #1 top restaurant stock out of 53 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 Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, 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 -58.59% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 5 percentage points.

Chagee Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $13.00, an upside of 1.96% from Chagee Holdings's current stock price of $12.75.

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

Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) 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 +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 15 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 29.

ARCO passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Arcos Dorados Holdings has seen its stock return 18.54% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 82 percentage points.

El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) 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 +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 4 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 29.

LOCO passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. El Pollo Loco Holdings has seen its stock return 36.7% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 100 percentage points.

El Pollo Loco Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $15.10, an upside of 6.11% from El Pollo Loco Holdings's current stock price of $14.23.

El Pollo Loco Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering El Pollo Loco Holdings, 60% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 40% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 21 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 7.77%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.98%. 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 71.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) has an annual dividend yield of 7.22%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.98%.

Chagee Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 18.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) has an annual dividend yield of 5.79%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 2.98%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Papa Johns International's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio of 219% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Restaurant stocks were down -2.2% in the last day, and down -1.08% over the last week. Shake Shack was the among the top losers in the restaurants industry, dropping -8.37% yesterday.

Shake Shack shares are trading lower after the company cut its Q2 guidance.

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 -31.78% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 32 percentage points.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) 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.

Brinker International 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.

Brinker International's stock has dropped -21.44% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 42 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 18.54% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 82 percentage points.

34.38% of restaurant stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect restaurant stocks to rise by 27.33% over the next year.

0% of restaurant stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 8.11% of restaurant stocks are rated B (Buy), 64.86% are rated C (Hold), 18.92% are rated D (Sell), and 8.11% are rated F (Strong Sell).