Restaurant company valuations took a big hit on Wall Street in 2025

Fatburger owner Fat Brands was the year’s worst-performing stock, but it had plenty of company. | Photo: Shutterstock.

Negativity dominated the restaurant company headlines last year, of which you are likely aware if you’re reading this column. Weak traffic continued for a third straight year. Customers pushed back on prices. Nearly a third of visits involved some sort of deal. Restaurants closed stores, replaced CEOs and upended strategies. 

That was reflected in the valuations of publicly traded restaurant chains. Restaurant stocks fell about 7% last year, based on an index of 20 top restaurant chain stocks. But that probably hides the real damage: The median restaurant company stock was down 16%, according to Restaurant Business calculations. 

Nobody was immune. Fast-food company stocks performed best, with the median stock down 7%, but that was like winning a baking competition in which everybody forgot the flour.

The weak industry performance was particularly notable given the performance of stocks overall. The S&P 500 finished the year up 16%, its third straight double-digit gain.

Only 13 companies that were publicly traded for the full year finished in positive territory, 14 including Potbelly, which was rescued from the public company brutality in a take-private deal by RaceTrac.

The top performing company was Biglari Holdings (up 31%), the owner of Steak n Shake, whose account on the social media platform X boasted had its best same-store sales year in its history. 

The burger chain latched onto the MAGA-sphere by talking up its use of beef tallow for its fries, getting a big boost from the Trump Administration in the process. It also started accepting Bitcoin payments, all of which helped generate attention for the first time in years.

Two other strong performers include Rave Restaurant Group, the owner of Pizza Inn, whose stock finished up 27%, and Noodles & Company, whose stock was up 22%. Both companies generated surprising sales results. 

But for the most part, stocks were hit hard, none more so than Fat Brands, the restaurant chain collector that warned last year it was at risk for bankruptcy after the trustee on its securitized financing demanded full payment on its debt. Its stock lost 94% of its value. 

Investors asked existential questions about plenty of other restaurant companies last year. 

Sweetgreen’s stock plunged 79% amid a brutal sales slide. Profit challenges led investors to hammer Krispy Kreme’s stock, which fell 59%. Jack in the Box’s sales were hit hard, too, and its stock fell 54%.

Restaurant companies and sectors that in the past had been a safe haven for consumer investors instead were nightmarish. Fast-casual chain stocks fell 38% last year. Sweetgreen, Portillo’s, Cava, Chipotle and Shake Shack all fell more than 37% in 2025 as investors punished companies over weakening sales. 

Chipotle was the year’s biggest surprise, and not in a good way. Its 39% stock decline was the company’s worst performance in a decade. 

The company had thrived for decades, seemingly untouchable by the worries of its industry rivals. But customers slowed their visits to the chain’s restaurants, and investors questioned whether that longtime, largely worry-free run was over. 

Performances among other large-cap names were a mixed bag. Yum Brands’ stock finished the year up 13% as KFC showed some promise and the company decided to sell Pizza Hut. McDonald’s, which has seen improving results after a tough couple of years, finished up 5%, as did Restaurant Brands International, the owner of Burger King.

Starbucks, on the other hand, finished down 7% as the company’s sales challenges extended well into its second year. And Wendy’s stock fell 49% amid its own sales and management challenges. But at least those chains had plenty of company.