Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 Sweet & Savory: It’s not surprising that, according to Emarketer and Shopkick, 70% of consumers prefer pre-packaged foods. Additionally, 50% of consumers spend between 11% and 40% of their grocery bill on snacks.

#2 Party Like It's 1999: Small-cap stocks are currently trading at a 22% price-to-earnings discount compared to large-cap stocks—an occurrence that has only happened twice before. When this happened in 1974 and 1999, the S&P 600 index went on to substantially outperform the S&P 500 index.

#3 Fire & Ice: SharkNinja continues to roll out new products in 2025. The NINJA FlexFlame is a 5-in-1 outdoor grill, smoker, roaster, griddle, and pizza maker. For dessert, the NINJA CREAMi product line has expanded to include the NINJA Swirl soft-serve ice cream maker.

#4 Give a Hoot: Free advertising is always valuable, and language-learning app Duolingo excels at engaging its fan base, which adores the company's cartoon owl mascot. In a viral twist, Duo the owl has disappeared from the app, with Duolingo humorously claiming on social media that Duo is dead. According to the company, authorities are investigating a Canadian rapper in connection with the owl’s "death." Last year, Duolingo spent heavily on a Super Bowl ad, but this year, the company found a low-cost way to generate viral buzz during the big game.

#5 Taking the “K” Out of KFC: Restaurant holding company Yum! Brands announced today that it will relocate Kentucky Fried Chicken employees from its Kentucky-based corporate office to the Pizza Hut Global headquarters in Plano, Texas. 

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