Outback Steakhouse International's stock price as of closing on July 15, 2004 is $40.80. The 52-weeek high was $50.55 and the low was $35.52. According to the hot list found on Reuters.com, restaurants are the 7th hottest industry in the stock market based on the biggest gains. Within the companies I studied in Topical Analysis 1, Outback Steakhouse International was 5th out of the six, and 17th overall in the industry. The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was 6th, California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI) was 9th, P.F. Chang's China Bistro (PFCB) was 12th, Applebee's (APPB) was 13th, and Brinker International (EAT) was 32nd.
             I would consider Outback Steakhouse International to be a poor investment for a stockholder. Although Retuers considers restaurants to be a hot market, there are 16 companies that performed better than Outback Steakhouse International.
             The betas for the six companies I studied are as follows:
             California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI) .29
             P.F. Chang's China Bistro (PFCB) .7
             Outback Steakhouse International (OSI) .77
             The betas of these firms are all less than or equal to 1, which indicates they are slow to respond to changes in the market (less volatile). This coincides with the earlier theory about restaurants and economy. Often, economists say that the economy is improving before the middle-class feels the upswing. Therefore, the industry is slow to respond to changes in the market. Differences within the industry could be due to pricing, presence of alcohol, and specialty cuisine versus "American" cuisine options.
             Outback Steakhouse International does not have any bond issues. Their long-term debt is financed
             . . . [by] an uncollateralized revolving line of credit which permits borrowing up to a maximum of $125,000,00
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