Michael Carter

Domino's Pizza currently competes in a competitive pizza industry with the likes of Yum! Brands' Pizza Hut and Papa John's. Recent earnings from Domino's Pizza suggest that the company benefited from the severe winter weather. However, there are several other reasons why Domino's Pizza will keep delivering in all environments.

McDonald's finally opened its first restaurant in Vietnam earlier this month. Yum! Brands, Burger King, and several other international chains have been in Vietnam for years. How successful can Vietnam be for McDonald's and what can shareholders realistically expect?

Potbelly's recent earnings disappointed shareholders, further pressuring the stock closer towards 52-week lows. Similar to Panera Bread and even McDonald's, Potbelly cited bad weather as one of the main reasons for their sluggish quarter. The real question is whether or not shareholders should have more patience with Potbelly.

Chipotle's shares hit all-time highs after earnings were reported. However, could higher menu prices at Chipotle be too high for customers?

Whole Foods Market recently reported earnings that disappointed shareholders. Despite the growing sales of natural and organic foods, Whole Foods Market is facing stiff competition from other pure natural and organic plays like Sprouts Farmers Market and The Fresh Market, as well as supermarket-chain giant Kroger. In the end, Whole Foods Market may have a big problem on the horizon.

Starbucks, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, McDonald's, and Dunkin Brands Group are all great options to capitalize on coffee's rising popularity worldwide. However, despite improvements and potential game changers from industry competitors, Starbucks still offers the best coffee investment for these five key reasons.

This past week Amazon.com stated that it has considered raising Prime membership costs upwards to $119 a year. Does this give an opportunity for brick & mortar retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy to gain customers from Amazon.com? Who really benefits in the end if Amazon.com increases their Prime membership costs?

Recent earnings for McDonald's disappointed the market yet again. This occurred even though industry peers like Wendy's and Sonic beat expectations for their last few quarters. Before McDonald's can beat expectations, it first needs to address its biggest problem of all.

The rise of fast-casual restaurants and a weak economy have been used as reasons for the recent struggles of fast-food chains like McDonald's. However, Yum! Brands' Pizza Hut and Domino's, among many other pizza chains, may also be negatively affecting McDonald's and the rest of the fast-food industry overall.

Steaks of all varieties are becoming luxury items in the wake of rising beef prices, which are approaching multidecade highs. These soaring prices are expected to affect restaurant chains that specialize in steaks, companies like Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, Texas Roadhouse, and Bloomin Brands. However, Del Frisco's steakhouses are less worried about beef prices than the competition is.

As investigators continue to uncover how massive Target's data breach was, there are other issues the discount retailer must address. Growing competition from Wal-Mart and Costco even as online retailers like Amazon.com continue to take away market share from all brick-and-mortar retailers are just some of the bigger concerns facing Target overall.

In the past year, Jack in the Box has seen its stock rise comparably to Chipotle, while industry heavyweights McDonald's and Yum! Brands' stock prices stagnated for much of the same time period. Unlike many of its competitors in the fast-food sector, Jack in the Box is still a growth story and could rise much higher in 2014.

Last week, 2013 third quarter earnings disappointed Bed Bath & Beyond's shareholders. Since the Great Recession, Bed Bath & Beyond has enjoyed success despite competition from online retailers like Amazon.com. However, e-commerce and retailers like Pier 1 Imports and Wal-Mart are not the only bed bugs that threaten Bed Bath & Beyond's future.

With the growing popularity of fast casual restaurant concepts like Chipotle, fast food chains try to hold on to customers with menu innovations and business improvements. McDonald's and Wendy's in particular had very different 2013's, and this showed in their respective stock performances. What should investors pay attention to regarding McDonald's and Wendy's in 2014?

Potbelly is going up against a crowded sandwich industry that includes Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John's, Cosi, and Subway. However, Potbelly is often compared to other fast-casual restaurants like Noodles & Company and Chipotle. Despite Noodles & Company's growth opportunities due to its market niche, Potbelly has far more upside long term.

In recent years, theater operators have relied on technological advancements by companies like IMAX to help drive attendance and revenue. However, the industry has changed since the last time AMC Entertainment was a public company, and betting on AMC Entertainment now goes far beyond movies.

Darden Restaurants recently announced plans to spin-off Red Lobster from Olive Garden and its other restaurant concepts. While Red Lobster has underperformed in recent quarters, the proposed spin-off doesn't address the real problems facing Darden Restaurants as a whole.

Recently, brick-and-mortar retailers have attempted to compete with Amazon.com through price wars. However, this doesn't always result in success as the retailers' margins will take a hit and sometimes they still lose to Amazon.com in the end. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls owner TJX Companies, as well as Pier 1 Imports, offer blueprints for how to beat Amazon.com.

Costco, Sam's Club of Walmart, and BJ's Wholesale represent the membership-only warehouse club industry in the US. Even though retailers overall have issued downbeat outlooks going forward, Costco continues to outperform the retail industry and its peers. However, the real question is the value of a single Costco member.

26.5 billion wing portions, 3 billion pizzas, and millions of burritos will be sold within the United States this year. Given that the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl are approaching while dozens of NCAA football bowl games are on schedule, Buffalo Wild Wings, Domino's Pizza, and Chipotle may be among the best bets on the closing of football season.