STORY: Several U.S. restaurant chains including Domino's and Wingstop have reported declining sales growth in the latest quarter.
The slowdown suggests that high gas prices, driven by the war in Iran, are weighing on consumers ... forcing them to cut back on spending.
U.S. gas prices have risen to an average of $4.43 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. That's a nearly 40% increase since this time last year.
And there's no end in sight to the pain at the pump.
Wingstop, a chicken-wing chain that pitches itself on affordability, reported an outright quarterly sales decline of 8.7% due in part to higher gas prices.
Its CEO also told investors to expect shrinking sales *over the year* in part because of expectations that prices at the pump will remain elevated.
Analysts expect other restaurant chains will show declining sales growth in upcoming earnings reports, including from Shake Shack and Jack in the Box.
Even chains that did well in the latest quarter - like Chipotle - are staying cautious.
It maintained an outlook of flat growth over the year, which it attributed in part to uncertainty over the war and gas prices.
According to LSEG data, nearly twice as many analysts are cutting than raising profit forecasts for restaurant chains ... in the next quarter.
