What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after crude oil prices surged past $100 per barrel due to geopolitical conflict, sparking concerns over rising operational costs and a potential decline in consumer spending. 

The spike in oil prices triggered anxiety across the food service industry, which relies heavily on commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for daily operations. Analysts warned that energy supply chains were vulnerable, and any disruption could lead to higher fuel costs for restaurants, squeezing already thin profit margins. At the same time, rising gasoline prices threatened to reduce consumer discretionary spending.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Sit-Down Dining company The Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) fell 4.9%. Is now the time to buy The Cheesecake Factory? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Traditional Fast Food company Arcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Arcos Dorados? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Modern Fast Food company Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) fell 5.2%. Is now the time to buy Sweetgreen? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Sit-Down Dining company BJ's (NASDAQ: BJRI) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy BJ's? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Modern Fast Food company Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Chipotle? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Sweetgreen (SG)

Sweetgreen’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 56 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 3.3% on the news that the release of a U.S. jobs report that was much weaker than anticipated signaled potential challenges for consumer spending. The Labor Department reported an unexpected cut of 92,000 jobs last month, a stark contrast to economists' expectations of 60,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.4%. The restaurant and bar industry was hit particularly hard, shedding nearly 30,000 jobs. This downturn in employment could lead to reduced discretionary spending by consumers, a key driver of revenue for the dining industry. The news compounds existing concerns within the sector, as a recent analysis indicated that 9% of full-service restaurants are considered at risk for closure in 2026, with a significant number of operators reporting unprofitability in the previous year.

Sweetgreen is down 22.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $5.40 per share, it is trading 79.7% below its 52-week high of $26.53 from March 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sweetgreen’s shares at the IPO in November 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $108.99.

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