Shares of many restaurant chains rose Tuesday, as an analyst said the industry will withstand damage from Hurricane Gustav, which mostly spared New Orleans and southern Louisiana.

Shares of restaurant chains fell Tuesday after Olive Garden operator Darden Restaurants Inc. offered a softer-than-expected first-quarter profit outlook.

Yum Brands, parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, on Wednesday posted a 5 percent rise in quarterly profit, but shares fell more than 5 percent as rising commodity prices ate into restaurant margins in the United States and China.

Wall Street is bracing for a big round of second-quarter earnings reports that few expect to deliver good news for the state of corporate America.

Two fast food companies are putting tomatoes back on the menu now that federal health officials have identified tomato crops that are safe from a salmonella scare.

Yum Brands shares jumped Tuesday as the fast-food company beat earnings forecasts by two cents a share and slightly raised its profit outlook for the full year.

Stocks slid Tuesday in response to disappointing earnings announcements, but that doesn’t mean investors portfolios have to take a hit.  CNBC asked market experts how investors could protect their portfolios and their profits, and here are some of their suggestions.