Beloved burger chain goes full MAGA, and sales are soaring. Can you make money on the Trump Train? 3 stocks to bet on

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Steak 'n Shake has found an unusual ingredient for its comeback: MAGA.

The Wall Street Journal (1) reports that the nearly century-old Midwestern burger chain has leaned into President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again movement and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again campaign — switching its fries to beef tallow, promoting American ingredients and installing massive American flags at its restaurants.

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Steak 'n Shake's domestic same-store sales increased 11.9% in the second quarter of 2026 (2), according to the quarterly report put out by parent company Biglari Holdings. The Wall Street Journal reports that same-store sales rose 14% in the first half of the year, while average visits per location rose 5.8%.

But that doesn't prove politics alone has caused the turnaround. Steak 'n Shake has also overhauled ingredients and made operational changes, including shrinking its footprint over the course of a year from 417 locations to 399 as of June 30.

The chain's political pivot raises a broader question: Is there money to be made betting on Trump's America?

Investors looking for a MAGA investment can start with the one that actually carries the ticker. The Truth Social America First ETF trades under MAGA on the NYSE Arca (NYSEARCA:MAGA) after the Point Bridge America First ETF was reorganized into the Truth Social fund (3) in July.

The fund tracks the Truth Social America First Index, which uses campaign contribution data (4) to select U.S. companies whose employees and political action committees are highly supportive of Republican candidates and affiliated federal committees.

Political alignment is explicitly part of the screening process. The fund says its index tracks U.S. companies whose employees and PACs are "highly supportive of Republican candidates."

As of Sept. 4, MAGA's net asset value was up 11.49% year to date. Its prospectus also lists annual operating expenses of 0.72% (5), equivalent to about $72 annually on a hypothetical $10,000 investment before accounting for changes in value.