Café Culture Revival? 3 Stocks to Watch After Chick-fil-A’s Move

Key Points

• Chick-fil-A’s new Daybright concept aims to revive café culture with a beverage-focused menu featuring smoothies, juices, and specialty coffees.
• McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, and Starbucks could benefit from renewed investor interest in beverage-driven restaurant growth.
• Innovations in coffee, customization, and digital loyalty programs position these restaurant stocks for potential upside in late 2025 and beyond.

Many restaurant stocks have lagged the market as consumers find ways to rein in discretionary spending. However, this sector may get an end-of-the-year boost from an unexpected source.

Chick-fil-A will launch a unique beverage-focused dining concept. Daybright. The chain, which will launch its pilot location in the Atlanta metro area in the next few months, will serve a range of beverages including smoothies, juices, and specialty coffees.

It’s an interesting expansion for Chick-fil-A. Daybright will not have any carryover from the company’s existing menu. But it certainly will emphasize the company’s core principle of doing simple things with an unmatched level of efficiency. If successful, the company could breathe new life into the coffee house or cafe idea.

Investors won’t be able to cash in on Chick-fil-A's recent announcement (it’s a privately held company), but if there’s a halo effect, here are some names that may be in line to grab some investor dollars.

A Discounted Dividend Giant With Beverage Potential

McDonald’s Corp. NYSE: MCD is one company that’s acutely aware of the challenges of breaking from tradition. The company tried a similar stand-alone beverage cafe with its CosMc’s offshoot, which only had a two-year run.

However, McDonald's has become known for its McCafe beverage portfolio, which includes coffee, espresso, and cold drinks. The concept plays well with the company’s app, which offers exclusive promotions for consumers of the company’s franchisees.

MCD stock has been stuck in neutral for much of the year. However, it’s trading at about 25x earnings, which is a discount to its historical average and also about 9% below its consensus price target.

Over any considerable length of time, MCD stock has delivered a strong total return, including its dividend. The 2.39% yield won’t turn many heads, but the company has increased that dividend for 49 consecutive years and is set to become a dividend king later this year. That may explain why analysts are raising their price targets for MCD stock, with Citigroup being the most bullish, raising its target to $381 from $373.

Leveraging Taco Bell’s Beverage Edge and AI Personalization

Yum! Brands Inc. NYSE: YUM, parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, continues to benefit from its strong brand partnerships and digital strategy. Taco Bell, in particular, has leveraged its long-standing relationship with PepsiCo to create menu exclusives like the Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a fan favorite available only at its restaurants.

This collaboration has helped Yum! Brands connect with millennial and Gen-Z customers who crave novelty and shareable experiences. The company is also using artificial intelligence to personalize promotions and strengthen customer loyalty. Together, these efforts support Taco Bell’s appeal as an affordable indulgence — a key advantage as consumers grow more selective about where they spend.

Even with a significant drop in April, YUM stock is still up over 9% in 2025. The consensus price target suggests there could be 10% more upside for the stock. At 24x forward earnings, the stock is right around its historic average.

A Rebound Story Brewing Under Brian Niccol

Starbucks Corp. NASDAQ: SBUX may be the company that views Daybright as a threat and an opportunity. New chief executive officer (CEO) Brian Niccol certainly doesn’t need any more competition as he tries to lead a turnaround for a company that’s struggling to reconnect with its customers.

However, it’s also an opportunity for the company to remind its customers that it used to have a reputation as sterling as Chick-fil-A. Investors shouldn’t count out Niccol, who turned around Chipotle Mexican Grill's NYSE: CMG fortunes.

Analysts aren’t that enthusiastic about SBUX stock. However, at around $89 per share, it's starting to look attractive. It's down about 10% in 2025, but its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is around 27x, with analysts projecting the next 12 months of earnings clocking in around 22%.