This Under-the-Radar Stock Is Behind Steak 'n Shake's MAHA-Driven Growth. Should You Buy?

Investors interested in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement have looked at a restaurant chain called Steak 'n Shake with interest. It has adopted the so-called MAHA guidelines on ingredients in its food, resulting in a surge in same-store sales.

A company called Biglari (NYSE:BH) owns the Steak 'n Shake chain. While that presumably paves a path for investors to invest in the restaurant and MAHA, this investment may be speculative at best.

Steak 'n Shake and MAHA

Steak 'n Shake came into focus when it adopted a key part of the MAHA agenda. Instead of frying fries in seed oils, as most of its peers do, the company switched to beef tallow. Restaurants have different ways to win diners, but this choice is nonetheless intriguing, as McDonald's fried its fries in beef tallow until it switched to vegetable oil in 1990.

Steak 'n Shake also did not stop at fries. Other changes included using only grass-fed, grass-finished beef in its burgers; seed-oil-free buns; and milkshakes made with A2 milk products and cane sugar.

Consumers appeared to respond well. When combined with a small number of Western Sizzlin restaurants, same-store sales increased by 19.1% yearly in the third quarter of 2026.

That compares very favorably to McDonald's, whose global comparable sales rose by only 1.5% in the same quarter. If we look only at the U.S., comparable sales fell by 0.2%. Chipotle did not fare much better, with its comparable restaurant sales increasing by just 2.1%.

Biglari's financials

Unfortunately, the company is not specific about the number of locations. In its earnings release, it says it has 426 restaurants, down from 441 restaurants one year ago, as it has closed many of its underperforming locations.

The financials imply that Steak 'n Shake restaurants are the overwhelming majority of its locations. Unfortunately, it does not specify how many of these restaurants are Western Sizzlin locations.

Moreover, Biglari is mainly, but not exclusively, a restaurant business. Restaurants made up 68% of the company's revenue in the first nine months of 2026. However, it also has interests in insurance, oil and gas, and media.

In the first nine months of 2026, revenue rose by 8% to $318 million, while restaurant revenue increased by only 5%. This means Steak 'n Shake's same-store sales growth is not translating to revenue.

Furthermore, though the $26 million in net income for that period climbed by 113%, investment gains drove that growth, further suggesting Steak 'n Shake has only limited effects on its financials.

Investing in Biglari

Given Biglari's financial condition, investors should treat it as a speculative investment if they buy at all.

Admittedly, the MAHA-driven menu upgrade and rapid same-store sales growth make Biglari stock intriguing. Unfortunately, the company is not a pure-play Steak 'n Shake or even restaurants in general.

Additionally, Biglari seems to be closing more Steak 'n Shake restaurants than it opens. At least for now, that negates the positive effects of its rapidly increasing same-store restaurant sales.

Indeed, if Biglari oriented the company around Steak 'n Shake's success, it could become a market-beating holding. However, since the company does not seem to be going that direction, investors should probably either limit purchases of the consumer discretionary stock or avoid it altogether.

Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Biglari and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $320 calls on McDonald's, short December 2026 $38 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill, and short January 2028 $340 calls on McDonald's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.