I’ve found myself covering Brinker International’s EAT stock quite a bit because of its incredible price performance. And here it is, the iconic operator of Chili’s Bar & Grille and Maggiano’s has now seen its stock skyrocket over +300% in the last year.
Able to crush earnings expectations for its fiscal second quarter on Wednesday, EAT hit new 52-week peaks of $184 a share today.
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Brinker’s Strong Q2 Results
Continuing an impeccable turnaround that has been primarily driven by improved guest experience and favorable menu pricing at Chili’s, Brinker reported Q2 sales of $1.35 billion. Brinker’s top line expanded 26% from $1.07 billion in the prior year quarter while topping Q2 sales estimates of $1.24 billion.
Notably, Brinker stated Chili’s significantly outperformed the industry with same-restaurant sales up 31% versus a year ago. Brinker’s improved operating performance stood out even more with Q2 EPS of $2.80 soaring from $0.99 a share in the comparative quarter and beating expectations of $1.80 by 55%.
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Brinker’s Positive EPS Guidance
Following its pleasant EPS surprise, Brinker now expects fiscal 2025 earnings in the range of $7.50-$8.00 per share which came in well above the current Zacks Consensus of $6.23 or 52% growth. Based on Zacks estimates, Brinker’s bottom line is projected to expand another 14% next year.
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Correlating with the extensive rally in EAT, it’s noteworthy that the trend of positive earnings estimate revisions has been extremely compelling for Brinker with a 58% increase in FY25 EPS projections since January of last year.
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Bottom Line
Following its over-achieving Q2 report, Brinker International stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). With the company’s EPS guidance coming in above the Zacks Consensus, the trend of rising earnings estimate revisions is likely to continue which could lead to even more upside for EAT.
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