7 Best Restaurant Stocks to Buy for Growth in 2026

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6. Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK)

On March 6, Matt Curtis of DA Davidson initiated coverage of Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK), assigning a price target of $125 and a Buy rating. This price target reflects an upside of 42.5%. Interestingly, this stance is the opposite of that of Bank of America Securities, which reiterated its Sell rating on the stock the same day, with a price target of $88.

The company reported its Q4 2025 earnings on February 26, growing its topline by 15% and opening 45 new company-operated Shake Shack branches. The management noted that operational improvements have reduced customer wait times from around 7 minutes two years ago to under 6 minutes. Supply chain diversification is also expected to impact the company positively, as the management pointed out:

We accelerated supply chain initiatives focused on diversification and logistics… These structural improvements enhanced our resilience, improved purchasing leverage and helped mitigate inflationary pressure without taking outsized price increases.

The company also highlighted how new items like the Dubai Chocolate Shake, fried pickles, and onion rings were driving customer engagement. Going forward, management expects to open 55 to 60 new company-operated locations.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK) is an operator, owner, and licensor of Shake Shack restaurants (Shacks). The company operates across the United States and the world. Its restaurants offer hot dogs, burgers, shakes, wine, chicken, beer, crinkle-cut fries, frozen custard, and more.

While we acknowledge the potential of SHAK to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SHAK and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Best Restaurant Stocks to Buy for Growth in 2026.

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