The List Of Executives Blaming The U.S. Election Grew On Thursday

Many retail executives are attributing their companies' poor performance to the U.S. election. Maybe it's a convenient scapegoat or maybe they are on to something, as the list of CEOs pointing toward the election to justify poor performance just got bigger.

According to Bloomberg, Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ: DNKN)'s CEO Nigel Travis said in an interview that consumers are "rather fed up listening to all the election stuff," and the ongoing uncertainty "is not good for our businesses because franchisees have to invest and they want some certainty to invest."

The executive's comments come at a time when Dunkin' Brands warned investors that its domestic store growth will now fall in the low end of its prior guidance of 430 to 460 net new locations.

Travis' sentiment was shared by BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI), a restaurant operator that focuses mostly on pizza and craft beer.

BJ's CEO Greg Trojan told investors on Thursday during a conference call that the election has created "a nearly unprecedented level of negativity and doubt in the minds of everyday American citizens."

Similar to Dunkin Brands, Trojan's comments come at a time when the company reported an earnings miss and a comparable-sales decline of 3.4 percent in its third-quarter earnings report.

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