Consumer >> Analyst Interviews >> November 23, 2009

A ‘new Normal’ For Restaurants – Matthew J. Difrisco – Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Matthew J. DiFrisco is a Director and Senior Analyst covering the restaurant sector for Lazard Capital Markets. Prior to joining the company in April 2011, he worked at Oppenheimer as an Executive Director and Senior Analyst covering restaurants for more than three years. Mr. DiFrisco has followed the restaurant sector for the last 11 years, consistently ranking among the top restaurant analysts for earnings accuracy as measured by StarMine and for stock picking by Bloomberg. Mr. DiFrisco has often been quoted with respect to trends in the restaurant industry in various publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other international publications. In addition, he is a frequent guest on CNBC. Mr. DiFrisco began his equity research career in 1997 at Lehman Brothers and later worked as a Senior Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. As a Senior Associate, he was a Member on two Institutional Investor All-America teams, beverages and hard line retail. He received a B.A. in both economics and finance from The Catholic University of America. Profile
TWST: Where are you focusing your attention in the restaurant space these days?

Mr. DiFrisco: With the macro environment that we're living in, we're looking at which brands are going to come out first