Brinker International Inc (NYSE:EAT) reported fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday before the market opened, topping Wall Street expectations.
The company announced quarterly earnings of $1.93 per share, beating analysts' estimate of $1.77, as strong restaurant traffic and pricing helped profit more than double from $0.95 a year earlier.
Revenue rose 18.4% to $1.35 billion from $1.14 billion in the same period a year ago, slightly ahead of the $1.33 billion analysts had expected.
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Adjusted EBITDA rose to $172.4 million in the first quarter, up from $111.6 million a year earlier.
Brinker's overall comparable restaurant sales increased 18.8%, driven by a 21.4% jump at Chili's; however, Maggiano's saw a 6.4% decline.
Segment Performance
The company's first-quarter results were driven by strong performance at its flagship Chili's brand, which generated $1.25 billion in revenue. The segment's adjusted operating margin improved to 17.3%.
Chili's franchisees generated sales of approximately $269.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, up from $225.7 million a year earlier.
Company sales rose in the quarter, driven by strong comparable restaurant performance. Higher guest traffic, improved sales mix, and menu pricing contributed to the overall increase
Maggiano's revenue stood at $99.5 million, with an adjusted operating margin of 2.4%. Company sales declined in the quarter, primarily due to unfavourable comparable-restaurant sales resulting from lower guest traffic.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $33.6 million at the end of the quarter.
Brinker repurchased $92.0 million of the company’s common stock this quarter.
Brinker's effective tax rate fell to 7.5% in the first quarter, mainly due to FICA tip credits and tax benefits from stock-based compensation, while the adjusted rate stood at 18.5%.
Company Outlook
The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance at $9.90 to $10.50 per share, broadly in line with the $10.39 analyst estimate. The company also maintained its sales forecast of $5.60 billion to $5.70 billion, which was below Wall Street expectations of $5.72 billion.
Brinker expects capital expenditures of $270 million to $290 million for fiscal 2026 and weighted-average shares of 45 million to 46 million.
Brinker International will host its fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings conference call on January 28, 2026.
CEO Commentary
“Chili’s continues to deliver industry-leading results with first-quarter sales of +21% and traffic of +13%, against a tough macro environment,” stated Kevin Hochman, president & CEO of Brinker International. “Our consistent investments in food, service, and atmosphere, combined with strong plans, give us confidence we can build on this growth and successfully lap the high sales comparisons in Q2 & Q3.”
Price Action: EAT shares were trading 5.04% lower at $118 premarket at last check on Wednesday.
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