Investors had modest expectations for the fourth-quarter earnings report from Dunkin' Brands (NASDAQ: DNKN). The fast-food specialist's stock trailed the market in 2019 as the chain put up growth numbers that trailed peers like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX).
Yet on Thursday the coffee and snack food giant joined its larger rivals in posting multiyear records in key metrics like comparable-store sales gains. Dunkin' also issued an optimistic 2020 outlook that calls for the good times to continue well into the new year.
Let's take a closer look.