Lou Whiteman
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
And I think that he has taken some big swings where he's lost some credibility as far as from the investor community.
But I'm going to push back and say, I think that Ray Bans and what they're doing in augmented reality, I don't think that it's the final chapter.
I think we're in the early chapters of that book.
And exactly how that plays out for Meta will be very interesting to watch.
And I think that it's really interesting how he has led that initiative forward.
Well, maybe I should start with who I left off the podium completely because I left them off for the same reason.
I left off Chipotle and Starbucks.
I think that both of these companies are facing some pricing issues that its customers are pushing back.
And when you kind of get into that dilemma, then your margins start taking a hit.
And we're already seeing that play out with Chipotle.
Maybe with Starbucks.
I don't think we have that yet with Chipotle, just based on the average unit volumes that are still very, very strong, among the very best in the restaurant industry.
But I do think that the narrative took a hit as far as what you get for what you pay, and Chipotle is now trying to work through that.
If it's not reality, it's at least customer perception right now, and that's just as important.
I think you got to give Texas Roadhouse here the gold of this group.
If you want a high-quality restaurant business with no drama in your portfolio, I think you go with Texas Roadhouse.
It just consistently quarter in, quarter out.
It's a pretty mature chain at this point, and yet, same-store sales are up, again, 5% or 6% so far this year.