Q4 2026 Brinker International Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Chili's delivered its 21st consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, with Q4 comps up 6% and a three-year cumulative comp of 50%, significantly outpacing the industry.
- The Big Crispy Chicken Sandwich launch exceeded expectations, with sales per restaurant per day increasing 175% from pre-launch levels and continuing to build, becoming a signature item.
- The company's value leadership, with a per-person average spend $3-$4 below competitors, is driving a sustainable flywheel of traffic growth, margin expansion, and reinvestment.
- Operational improvements, such as simplifying shift line checks (freeing 30 minutes of manager time daily) and upgrading scheduling tools, are enhancing throughput and guest experience.
- Fiscal 2027 guidance includes a strong start with July and August sales accelerating, and the company expects to continue significantly outperforming the industry with mid-single-digit comps and positive traffic.
- Maggiano's continues to underperform, with Q4 comps down 2.5% and traffic down 5.3%, and the turnaround is progressing slower than planned.
- Food and beverage costs increased 80 basis points in Q4 due to 4.4% commodity inflation, including higher beef costs and a temporary spike in tomato prices.
- The company faces ongoing macro headwinds, including pressure on alcohol sales and a challenging consumer environment, which could impact future performance.
- Fiscal 2027 guidance assumes only 20-40 basis points of restaurant margin improvement, reflecting conservative assumptions and inflationary pressures across commodities, labor, and other costs.
- The acquisition of 12 franchise restaurants is expected to have a flat impact on EPS, and the company's unit growth plans remain modest in fiscal 2027, with a ramp-up not expected until fiscal 2028-2029.
Good day and welcome to the Brinker Q4 fiscal 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. The floor will be open for questions and comments following the presentation.
It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Kim Sanders, Vice President of Investor Relations. Ma'am, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Holly, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call. Here with me today are Kevin Hochman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Brinker International and President of Chili's and Micah Ware, Chief Financial Officer. Results for our fourth quarter were released earlier this morning and are available on our website at Brinker.com. As usual, Kevin and Micah will first make prepared comments related to our strategic initiatives and operating performance. Then we will open the call for your questions.
Before beginning our comments, I would like to remind everyone of
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