Everyone enjoys a great meal.
I love spending occasionally on restaurant meals and nice cafes.
But did you know that an investment in food and beverage (F&B) can deliver good returns for your portfolio?
There are attractive growth stocks in the F&B arena that can deliver tantalising returns for your portfolio.
All you need to do is keep the faith and hold them for the long term to realise the capital appreciation as the business grows its profits and cash flows.
Here are five such US stocks that you may consider adding to your growth stocks buy watchlist.
BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI)
BJ’s Restaurants features classic American dishes along with craft beer.
The company was founded in 1978 and now owns and operates more than 215 restaurants in 31 states.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025) crept up 3.2% year on year to US$348 million.
Operating profit surged 81% year on year to US$15 million while net profit stood at US$13.5 million, up nearly 75% year on year.
Comparable restaurant sales increased by 1.4% year on year for the quarter.
For 2025, management expects comparable restaurant sales growth of between 2% to 3%.
Restaurant-level operating profit is projected to be between US$210 million to US$219 million.
For 1Q 2025, BJ’s Restaurants repurchased and cancelled around 404,000 shares and as of 1 April 2025 for around US$14.1 million, it still has around US$72 million remaining under its share repurchase authorisation.
Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE)
The Cheesecake Factory produces quality cheesecakes and baked products, and the company owns and operates 358 restaurants throughout the US and Canada under brands such as The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia, and Flower Child.
The company also has 33 restaurants abroad operating under licencing agreements.
For 1Q 2025, Cheesecake Factory generated US$927.1 million of revenue, up 4% year on year.
Operating profit climbed 32.2% year on year to US$52 million, but net profit was impacted by a US$15.9 million charge for loss on debt extinguishment.
Excluding this one-off item, the company’s net profit would have surged 47.2% year on year.
The cake manufacturer also churned out a positive free cash flow of US$36.1 million for the quarter, up 21.8% year on year.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.27 was declared and paid, similar to a year ago.
During the quarter, the Cheesecake Factory opened eight new restaurants and another three were opened after the quarter.
In total, the company expects to open as many as 25 new restaurants in 2025.
Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ: SFD)
Smithfield Foods provides packaged meats and fresh pork and employs around 34,000 people in the US and 2,500 in Mexico.
The company’s products are marketed under popular brands such as Smithfield, Eckrich, and Nathan’s Famous.
For 1Q 2025, Smithfield reported a 9.5% year-on-year growth in revenue to US$3.8 billion.
Operating profit nearly doubled year on year to US$321 million while net profit jumped 43.6% year on year to US$224 million.
The rise in revenue came mainly from higher sales of fresh pork and hog production.
The company also paid out a quarterly dividend of US$0.25 per share.
For 2025, Smithfield expects sales to increase in the low-to-mid single-digit percentage range.
The company intends to improve its product mix and achieve volume growth.
Over in the hog production division, management is targeting a best-in-class cost structure through procurement and nutrition savings.
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN)
Tyson Foods is a protein supplier with a portfolio of brands including Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Wright, and State Fair.
The company employs around 138,000 employees as of September 2024.
Tyson Foods reported a solid set of earnings for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 30 March 2025.
Revenue inched up 1.2% year on year to US$26.7 million while operating profit climbed 25.2% year on year to US$680 million.
Net profit stood at US$366 million, up 45.2% year on year.
The protein producer also generated a positive free cash flow of US$382 million for the quarter.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.45 was declared, higher than the prior year’s US$0.441.
For FY2025, the US Department of Agriculture estimates that domestic protein production (of beef, chicken, pork and turkey) will increase by around 1% year on year.
Tyson Foods expects FY2025’s revenue to be flat to an increase of 1% year on year.
Free cash flow is expected to be in the range of US$1 billion to US$1.6 billion.
Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN)
Wendy’s owns a chain of restaurants serving burgers, sandwiches, and desserts.
The company was founded in 1969 and owns more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide.
Revenue for 1Q 2025 rose 2.2% year on year to US$534.7 million.
Operating profit, however, dipped 2.4% year on year to US$81.2 million.
Net profit increased by 7% year on year to US$42 million despite the booking of reorganisation costs and impairment expenses.
The restaurant chain also generated US$82.6 million of free cash flow for the quarter.
The company added 68 net new restaurants for the quarter and is on track to see new restaurant growth of 2% to 3% for 2025.
Wendy’s also expects to generate between US$250 million to US$270 million of free cash flow for this year.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
