Bessent Takes Shot At Obama, Dines At Cheesecake Factory, As Stock Is Up 120% This Year
A Treasury Secretary's lunch order at a chain restaurant turned a campaign rally joke into a political firestorm, and the restaurant at the center of it all has been quietly outpacing some of the biggest names in tech all year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chose a chain restaurant as the setting for his latest political jab. On Monday, he ate at a Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) near the White House. Afterward he told a Fox Business reporter that former President Barack Obama is “the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader’s tomb,” which appeared to be a reference to the Obama Presidential Center, CNBC reported.
Bessent added: “I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would just tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try.” He said he ordered “what I always have: the French Dip Cheeseburger,” which CNBC said costs $22.95 at the downtown Washington location. In a follow-up post on X, he wrote: “I recommend the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls.”
How an Ohio Rally Joke Started It
On Saturday, Obama spoke at an Ohio campaign rally for gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown. Talking about President Trump, he said, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV!” He went on: “There’s gold everywhere. What’s up with the gold?” and “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Trump Responds as Commentators Split
Trump answered on Monday: “And for you to say it’s a cheesecake factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.”
Commentators split along predictable lines. Republican commentator Matt Whitlock called the comment “Classic Obama snobbery.” Menswear influencer Derek Guy pushed back on the criticism, writing, “This is actually a condescending view of working-class people.” He said his working-class immigrant family went to Red Lobster and The Cheesecake Factory for “fancy nights out.” The back-and-forth comes days before the Nov. 3 midterm election.
A Restaurant Stock Outpacing Big Tech
The stock had a big year well before any of this. As of 10:40 AM ET, shares traded at $109.74, down 0.35% on the day and down 5.54% over the past week. The stock is still up 120.15% year to date and 99.08% over the past year, putting its market value at about $5.46 billion.
Fox Business pointed out that the chain has outperformed big tech this year, and the figures support that. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) was up 10.86% year to date as of this morning, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) was up 16.94%. The same Fox Business segment said viral social media posts have brought a new wave of customers to the chain.
Record Quarter Behind the Run
The most recent results explain much of the rally. In its second-quarter earnings release filed with the SEC, the company reported revenue of $1.03 billion, its first quarter above $1 billion. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.44, beating the $1.18 consensus. Comparable sales at the namesake brand rose 5.8% and traffic grew 2.7%, beating the Black Box Casual Dining Index by 350 basis points. Restaurant-level margin hit 20%, the highest in a decade.
Social media was already helping. On the earnings call, management said the brand’s social references run 2 to 3x the casual-dining average on a per-unit basis. Matthew Clark said viral menu activity “is identifiable. It is measurable and it is supporting the overall trend in the business.” Results across the portfolio were mixed. Flower Child comparable sales rose 13%, while North Italia’s fell 3%.
What Investors Should Track Next
The political attention is likely to fade after the election. Third-quarter results will matter more. Analysts’ consensus calls for EPS of $0.9519. Three things to check in the report: whether traffic at the core brand holds up, whether North Italia’s new value menu and marketing push stop its sales decline, and whether app-driven activity keeps bringing in new guests. After a 120.15% gain, those numbers will show if sales are keeping up with the stock price.
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AJ spent 10 years writing about financial markets at The Motley Fool. His coverage centers on technology stocks and the broader macroeconomic trends, from interest rates to geopolitics, that shape where markets are headed next. AJ is drawn to the stories where big-picture economics and individual companies collide.
