Quote from agmccall:
I sure am glad that all these Gurus and Wall Street Wizards are telling me we are in a recession, because I would not know otherwise.
I tried to go out and eat this past weekend and everywhere I went there was a 1-2 hour wait. I can't wait til every body else gets the news so I won't have to wait at restaurants. The Mall Parking lot was also jammed, Don't these idiots know there is a recession.
I have not seen one news report about the long lines at the food pantry and the unemployment gone rampant. I think All U.S. companies should be forced to lay-off at least 25% of their workforce so we can have a respectable recession. Right now it seems like people just don't want to join in.
WTF are you talking about?
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080425/cheesecake_factory_mover.html?.v=2
Cheesecake Factory drops, analysts mixed on consumer impact
Friday April 25, 7:13 pm ET
Cheesecake Factory falls, analysts mixed on impact tightened consumer spending is having
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cheesecake Factory Inc.'s stock tumbled Friday as analysts were mixed on the impact tightened consumer spending was having on the casual dining chain.
Late Thursday the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based company reported its first-quarter profit fell 22 percent to $14.3 million, or 21 cents per share, on increased costs and a drop in same-store sales, but the results met the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Cheesecake Factory also said its guest traffic levels were below normal levels. Many casual dining restaurants have seen traffic decline due to a slowdown in consumer spending. Consumers are cutting back on discretionary purchases like a dinner out due to recession fears, rising gas and food prices and the continued housing downturn.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steve West said he's started to notice that Cheesecake Factory's operating results are feeling pressure from the consumer spending clampdown.
"The consumer resiliency Cheesecake Factory once showed, in relation to other casual dining concepts, has finally given way," he wrote in an analyst note.
Unlike some other analysts, West said he does not foresee a rebound in the second half of the year, instead predicting Cheesecake Factory will face "another year of negative traffic and same-store sales."
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
West lowered his 2008 earnings-per-share estimate to $1.13 from $1.18 and trimmed his 2009 forecast to $1.28 from $1.35.
Greg Ruedy of Stephens Inc. was more optimistic about the company, saying he was pleased with its cost control efforts and off-site sales initiatives such as catering and its new home delivery service.
"We continue to view Cheesecake Factory as the concept best positioned to weather the ensuing difficulties of a slowing economy," the analyst wrote.
Shares of Cheesecake Factory fell 40 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at $21.17. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $17.24 and $29.78.
