Shop Talk

Check out falling stocks of Yum Brands, Coca-Cola and Safeway.

On Wednesday, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC parent Yum Brands posted a 5 percent rise in quarterly profit, but shares fell late on Wednesday and again Thursday morning as rising commodity prices ate into restaurant margins in the United States and China. 

“China margins were weaker than some of us expected,” said Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday before one-time items, helped by the weak dollar.

But its shares fell in early trading after an initial rise. On a conference call, the soft-drink maker’s CEO said he expects the back half of the year to remain challenging in North America and the company is accelerating productivity initiatives.

Safeway was another stock losing ground on Thursday morning.

The supermarket operator reported higher second-quarter results but lowered its full-year same-store sales forecast.

Also in the basket:

Sherwin-Williams posts lower profit

Revlon swings to quarterly profit

(Photo: Reuters)