Shake Shack, Darden, Yum! ‘Top Picks’ for 2025, Says Oppenheimer [Video]

Olive Garden, KFC, and Shake Shack look like particularly appetizing investments in 2025, according to Oppenheimer analysts.

Yum! Brands (YUM), the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell; Darden Restaurants (DRI), the group behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse; and the burger chain Shake Shack (SHAK) nabbed “top pick” distinctions in the investment firm’s 2025 restaurant outlook.

The trio stood out because of promising same-store sales forecasts and, in some cases, new leadership and marketing pushes, Oppenheimer analysts said in a note released Monday. The firm upgraded its ratings on all three companies to “outperform.”

In naming Yum! Brands one of its top picks, Oppenheimer analysts said that the restaurant giant posted declining same-store sales in 2024, but will likely experience a rebound in 2025. They anticipate growth across KFC’s global portfolio and at Taco Bell, which Oppenheimer expects to gain market share. Investing in Yum! Brands now is prudent, given that investor sentiment on …