Brinker International Stock Earnings Reports

Brinker reported a strong Q1 FY2026 driven by Chili's: consolidated revenues $1.35B (+18.5%), consolidated comps +18.8%, Chili's comps +21.4% with traffic +13.1%, and adjusted diluted EPS $1.93 vs. $0.95 prior year. Key operational wins at Chili's include successful menu upgrades (ribs +35% sales, ribs profitability +29%), frozen Patrón margaritas selling 2x prior units, improved guest experience metrics (guest-problem metric down to 2.1%), and early rollout of a modern Greenville reimage prototype (4 pilot remodels to be completed by year-end). Brinker is leveraging tokenized guest data to track monthly cohorts and finds both new and regular guests maintain stable trip frequency, supporting confidence in sustainable traffic. Maggiano's is underperforming (comps -6.4%); management has a four‑pillar “Back to Maggiano's” turnaround plan focused on recipes, service, guest-facing repairs, and management ownership. Financials: restaurant operating margin expanded (16.2%, +270 bps YoY) with adjusted EBITDA ~$172.4M (+54%), favorable labor mix, food & beverage costs unfavorable ~60 bps due to mix and commodities, capex $58.6M, and $92M of share repurchases in the quarter. Guidance: company reiterates FY2026 targets but now assumes commodity inflation (inclusive of tariffs) in the mid-single digits; Chili’s expected to normalize to mid-single-digit same-store sales for the balance of the year, and quarter-to-date Chili’s sales are in the high single digits. Management expects Q1 to be the strongest YoY quarter; Maggiano's weakness and tariffs may mute margin expansion for the year (potentially flat to slightly positive vs. prior +30–40 bps expectation). The company is ramping reimage and new-unit planning with a goal to return to positive net unit growth in FY2027.