Morgan Stanley Forecasts 5.3% Growth in U.S. Restaurant Sales for 2026
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 20 2026
0mins
Source: seekingalpha
- Sales Growth Forecast: Morgan Stanley's Brian Harbour predicts a slight deceleration in U.S. restaurant sales growth to 5.3% in 2026, yet improved real growth and reduced pricing pressures suggest a positive market outlook.
- Fast Casual Trends: Fast casual and beverage concepts remain popular, with unit growth and proactive measures to enhance value perception setting the stage for a relatively strong year, leading Harbour to maintain a bullish stance on Chipotle and Dutch Bros.
- Shake Shack Upgrade: Harbour upgraded Shake Shack from Equalweight to Overweight, anticipating that under CEO Robert Lynch, changes in marketing, innovation, and supply chain will become firmly established, enhancing operational performance.
- Domino's Downgrade: Conversely, Domino's Pizza was downgraded to Equalweight as Harbour expects ongoing market pressures to challenge the company's performance, making it unlikely to achieve historical growth levels in the coming years.
Analyst Views on BROS
Wall Street analysts forecast BROS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for BROS is 76.64 USD with a low forecast of 63.00 USD and a high forecast of 85.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
13 Analyst Rating
12 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 57.820
Low
63.00
Averages
76.64
High
85.00
Current: 57.820
Low
63.00
Averages
76.64
High
85.00
About BROS
Dutch Bros Inc. is an operator and franchiser of drive-thru shops, which is focused on serving hand-crafted beverages. The Company sells a range of customizable hot, iced and blended beverages. Coffee-based beverages include handcraft espresso shots for both hot and cold custom classic and signature coffee beverages. It also sells proprietary coffee-based Freeze blended beverages and cold brew. Its Private Reserve coffee is a 100% Arabica three-bean blend, roasted by the Company in Grants Pass, Oregon or Melissa, Texas facilities. The Company has two segments: Company-operated shops, and Franchising and other. The Company-operated shops segment includes retail coffee shop sales to end consumers. The Franchising and other segment includes bean and product sales to franchise partners and includes the initial franchise fees, royalties, and marketing fees. It has approximately 1,101 shops, of which over 779 are operated by the Company and 322 are franchised, across 26 states.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
