Risk-adjusted performance of three restaurant segments in the USA

This study evaluates the risk-adjusted performance of three restaurant segments between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2004. The Jensen, the Treynor and the Sharpe indexes were adopted as an analytical framework. The findings here are not entirely consistent with those of Kim and Gu (2003) because they show that the quick-service segment outperforms the other two segments. However, using NASDAQ, NYSE and S&P 500 as benchmarks, this study illustrates that the performance of the economy/buffet segment tops the quick-service and full-service segments. It further indicates that the restaurant industry carries too much unsystematic risk, which it needs to reduce.