Item 1A. Risk Factors
The risk factors set forth below should be carefully considered. The risks described below are those that we believe could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, however, they are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or those we currently view to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Food safety and food-borne illness concerns in our restaurants or throughout the industry or supply chain may have an adverse effect on our business by reducing demand and increasing costs.
Regardless of the source or cause, any report of food-borne illnesses and other food safety issues, whether at one of our restaurants or in the industry or supply chain, generally could have a negative impact on our traffic and sales and adversely affect the reputation of our brands. Food safety issues could be caused by suppliers or distributors and, as a result, be out of our control and this risk may be exacerbated by current supply chain issues, which could delay deliveries and necessitate alternative sourcing on short notice. Health concerns or outbreaks of disease in a food product could also reduce demand for particular menu offerings. Even instances of food-borne illness, food tampering or food contamination occurring solely at restaurants of other companies could result in negative publicity about the food service industry generally and adversely impact our sales. There is also the risk of allergen cross contamination in our restaurants despite precautionary measures to minimize the risk. Social media has dramatically increased the rate at which negative publicity, including as it relates to food-borne illnesses, can be disseminated before there is any meaningful opportunity to respond or address an issue. The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, resulting in higher costs and lower margins.
We are subject to various federal and state employment and labor laws and regulations.
We and our vendors are subject to various employment and labor laws and regulations governing relationships with employees throughout the world and changes to laws and regulations may affect operating costs. These laws and regulations relate to matters including employment discrimination, pay transparency, minimum wage requirements, scheduling, overtime, tip credits, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, working conditions, immigration status, tax reporting and other wage and benefit requirements. Any significant additional government regulations and new laws governing relationships with employees, including minimum wage increases, regulations relating to union organizing rights and activities, the employment status of third-party delivery drivers, mandated benefits or other requirements that impose additional obligations on us, could increase our costs and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
As a significant number of our food service and preparation personnel are paid at rates related to the applicable minimum wage, federal, state and local proposals related to minimum wage requirements or similar matters could, to the extent implemented, materially increase our labor and other costs. As minimum wage increases continue to be implemented in states in which we operate, we expect our labor costs will continue to increase. In addition, there have been in the past, and may be in the future, legislative efforts to significantly increase the federal minimum wage, which, if implemented, would materially increase our labor and other costs. Our distributors and suppliers could also be affected by higher minimum wage, benefit standards and compliance costs, which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us. In addition, several U.S. jurisdictions have implemented fair workweek or “secure scheduling” legislation, which impose complex requirements related to scheduling for certain restaurant and retail employees, and additional jurisdictions are considering similar legislation. Several jurisdictions also have implemented sick pay/paid time off legislation, which requires employers to provide paid time off to employees, and “just cause” termination legislation, which restricts companies’ abilities to terminate employees unless they can prove “just cause” or a “bona fide economic reason” for the termination. We also rely on our employees to accurately disclose the full amount of their tip income, and we base our FICA tax reporting on the disclosures provided to us by such tipped employees. Inaccurate employee FICA tax reporting could subject us to monetary liabilities, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Failure to recruit, train and retain high-quality leadership, restaurant-level management and hourly team members may inhibit our ability to operate and grow successfully.
Our success will continue to depend, to a significant extent, on our leadership team and other key management personnel. The tight labor market in the United States has further strained and could continue to strain our ability to keep our restaurants fully staffed. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficiently experienced and capable management personnel, our business and financial results may suffer.
Our restaurant-level management and team members are largely responsible for the quality of our service. Our guests may be dissatisfied and our sales may decline if we fail to recruit, train and retain managers and team members that effectively implement our business strategy and provide high-quality guest service. There is active competition for quality management personnel and hourly team members, and such competition could require us to pay higher wages or incur higher costs for retaining and incentivizing our management personnel and hourly team members. If we experience high turnover, we may experience higher labor costs and have a shortage of adequate management personnel required for future growth. A shortage of team members also could cause our restaurants to operate with reduced staff, which could adversely affect our ability to provide high-quality guest service.
Challenging economic, political and social conditions may have a negative effect on our business and financial results.
Challenging economic, political and social conditions may negatively impact consumer spending and thus cause a challenging sales environment in the casual dining sector and a decline in our financial results. For example, international, domestic and regional economic conditions, continued economic downturn or recession, or slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, unemployment levels, consumer income levels, financial market volatility, credit conditions and availability, consumer debt levels, inflation, increased energy prices, weakness in the housing market, stock market performance, rising interests rates, tariffs and trade barriers, pandemics or public health concerns, population growth, changes in government and central bank monetary policies, social unrest and governmental, political and budget matters may have a negative effect on consumer confidence and discretionary spending, which the restaurant industry depends upon. Further, it is difficult to predict what impact, if any, the U.S. presidential and congressional elections and their outcomes could have on consumer confidence and discretionary spending. In addition, the effects on the global economy from the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, particularly if they escalate or broaden, are uncertain. Terrorist attacks, heightened security requirements, attacks of critical infrastructure, protests, demonstrations, riots, civil disturbance, disobedience, insurrection, customer intimidation, mass shootings or social and other political unrest, such as those seen in recent years, have and may continue to result in restrictions, curfews or other actions and give rise to significant changes in regional and global economic conditions. If such events or disruptions persist for a prolonged period of time, our overall business and results of operations may be adversely affected.
In addition, it is difficult to predict what impact, if any, changes in federal policy, including tax, economic and monetary policies, will have on our industry, the economy as a whole, consumer confidence and discretionary spending. As a result, the nature, timing and impact on our business of potential changes to the current legal and regulatory frameworks are uncertain.
A decline in economic, political or social conditions or negative developments with respect to any of the other factors mentioned above, or a perception that such decline or negative developments are imminent, generally or in particular markets in which we operate, and our consumers’ reactions to these trends could result in increased pressure with respect to our pricing, traffic levels, commodity and other costs and the continuation of our innovation and productivity initiatives, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations. Further, poor economic conditions may force nearby businesses to shut down, which could cause our restaurant locations to be less attractive.
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The restaurant industry is highly competitive and consumer options for other prepared food offerings continue to expand. Our inability to compete effectively could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
A substantial number of restaurant operators compete directly and indirectly with us with respect to price, service, location and food quality, some of which are well-established with significant resources. There is also active competition for management, team members and other personnel, and attractive suitable real estate sites. Consumer tastes, nutritional and dietary trends, traffic patterns and the type, number and location of competing restaurants often affect the restaurant business, and our competitors may react more efficiently, creatively and effectively to those conditions. In addition, our competitors may generate or better implement business strategies that improve the value and relevance of their brands and reputation, relative to ours. For example, our competitors may more successfully implement menu or technology initiatives, such as remote ordering, social media or mobile technology platforms that expedite or enhance the customer experience, or artificial intelligence to develop new customer insights. Further, we face growing competition from quick service and fast-casual restaurants, the supermarket industry and meal kit and food delivery providers, with the improvement of prepared food offerings, “ghost” or “dark” kitchens where meals are prepared at a separate takeaway premises rather than a restaurant, and the trend towards convergence in grocery, deli, delivery, retail and restaurant services. Further, if this competitive environment and the breadth of alternatives results in a decline in casual dining customer traffic, it could make our financial operations dependent on our ability to increase our market share within the hyper-competitive casual dining segment. We believe all of the above factors have increased competitive pressures in the casual dining sector in recent periods and we believe they will continue to present a challenging competitive environment in future periods. If we are unable to continue to compete effectively, our traffic, sales and margins could decline and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Cybersecurity breaches of confidential consumer, personal employee and other material information and other threats to our technological systems may adversely affect our business.
A cyber incident that compromises the information of our consumers or employees, whether affecting our technological systems or those of third-party service providers that we rely on, could result in widespread negative publicity, damage to the reputation of our brands, a loss of consumers, an interruption of our business and legal liabilities.
The majority of our restaurant sales are by credit or debit cards, and we maintain certain personal information regarding our employees and confidential information about our customers, franchisees and suppliers. Although we segment our card data environment and employ a cybersecurity protection program based upon industry frameworks, as well as scan and improve our environment for any vulnerabilities, perform penetration testing and engage third parties to assess effectiveness of our security measures with oversight by our Audit Committee, there are no assurances that such programs will prevent or detect all potential cybersecurity breaches or technological failures.
Our operations and corporate functions rely heavily on information systems, including point-of-sale processing in our restaurants, management of our supply chain, payment of obligations, collection of cash, data warehousing to support analytics, finance and accounting systems, payroll and human resource systems, mobile technologies to enhance the customer experience and other various processes and procedures, some of which are handled by third parties. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. The failure of these systems to operate effectively, system maintenance problems, upgrading or transitioning to new platforms, or any cyber incident relating to these systems could expose our systems or information to cyber threats, result in delays in consumer service, reduced efficiency in our operations or result in negative publicity. Despite our security measures, our technology systems may be vulnerable to damage, disability or failures due to physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, employee error or malfeasance, denial of service, hacking, “phishing” attacks, social engineering, malware, ransomware, viruses, worms and other attacks or disruptive problems, which have increased in sophistication, frequency and duration in recent years. In addition, the rapid
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evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may increase our cybersecurity risks, including generative artificial intelligence augmenting threat actors’ technological sophistication to enhance existing or create new malware. We have been, and will continue to be, the target of attempted cyber and other security threats, including those common to most industries and those targeting us due to the confidential consumer information we obtain through our electronic processing of credit and debit card transactions. Like other restaurants and retailers, we are also susceptible to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information. A security breach or even a perceived security breach or failure to appropriately respond to a cyber incident could result in litigation or governmental investigation, as well as damage to our reputation and brands.
A claim or investigation resulting from a cyber or other security threat to our systems and data may have a material adverse effect on our business and distract management from running the business. Responses to cybersecurity also have the potential of incurring significant remediation costs, to the extent such costs are not covered by our applicable insurance policies. As cybersecurity risks and applicable laws and regulations evolve, we may incur significant additional costs in technology, third-party services and personnel to maintain systems designed to anticipate and prevent cyber-attacks.
We are subject to a variety of continuously evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection and data security at federal, state and international levels. The California Consumer Privacy Act, for example, became effective January 1, 2020 and provides a private right of action to California residents related to data breaches and imposes disclosure and other requirements on companies with respect to their data collection, use and sharing practices as they relate to California residents. Other states and countries in which we operate have enacted, or are proposing to enact, similar laws or the laws expanding existing privacy rights. New areas of litigation related to privacy rights continue to emerge. Compliance with newly developed laws and regulations, which are subject to change and uncertain interpretations, may cause us to incur substantial costs.
Increased commodity, energy and other costs could decrease our profit margins or cause us to limit or otherwise modify our menus or increase prices, which could adversely affect our business. Further, if our suppliers or distributors are unable to fulfill their obligations under their contracts or we are unable to develop or maintain relationships with these or new suppliers or distributors, if needed, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs.
The performance of our restaurants depends on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in the price and availability of food commodities. Our business also incurs significant costs for energy, utilities, insurance, health care, labor, marketing and real estate over which we have little control. We have experienced and continue to experience the impact of inflation and fluctuations in costs on our operating expenses and anticipate the inflationary conditions will continue in the near future. We are anticipating 3% to 4% commodity inflation for 2024, but there can be no assurance that our expectations will be accurate or that we will be able to efficiently pass through any increased costs in our prices. Increased prices or shortages could affect the cost and quality of the items we buy or require us to raise prices, limit our menu options or implement alternative processes or products. In response, customers may be less willing to patronize our restaurants in favor of our competitors or lower-priced alternatives. Prices may also be affected by supply, market changes, increased competition, changes in laws, shortages or interruptions in supply due to weather, disease or other conditions beyond our control, labor shortages or other reasons. As a result, these events, combined with other more general economic and demographic conditions, could impact our pricing and negatively affect our sales and profit margins.
We depend on frequent deliveries of fresh food products that meet our specifications, and we have a limited number of suppliers and distributors for our major products, such as beef and pork. These factors subject us to the risk that shortages or interruptions in products could adversely affect the availability, quality or cost of products or require us to incur more costs to obtain adequate products if we are unable to manage supply chain risk. During 2023, we purchased: (i) more than 95% of our U.S. beef raw materials from four beef suppliers that represent a significant portion of the total beef marketplace in the U.S. and (ii) more than 80% of our Brazil pork raw materials from four pork suppliers that represent more than 45% of the total pork marketplace in Brazil. Our dependence on a small number of suppliers subjects us to the risks of ingredient shortage, supply interruption, animal disease outbreak, and price volatility. An external disruption or an internal dispute could force us to sever ties with our suppliers, and we
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may not be able to find a suitable replacement in a timely or cost-efficient manner. Beef and pork are a significant cost to us, and we may also incur higher costs to secure adequate suppliers or make substantial changes to our menu offerings, at the risk of material adverse harm to our business. Due to the nature of our industry, we expect to continue to purchase a substantial amount of our beef and pork from a small number of suppliers. Global economic factors continue to place significant pressure on suppliers, making the supply environment more expensive and causing supply chain issues. Supply shortages or disruptions caused by inclement weather, climate change, natural disasters, pandemics, armed conflict, sanctions, financial or solvency issues of our suppliers or distributors, fuel increases or other conditions beyond our control could adversely affect our operations and operating results. In recent years, climate-related issues, including drought and flooding in our key supplier region, have led to volatility in the prices of our ingredients, such as produce and meats. In addition, if any of our suppliers or distributors were unable to fulfill their responsibilities or we were unable to maintain current purchasing terms or ensure service availability and we were unable to locate substitutes in a timely manner, we may encounter supply shortages, lose consumers and experience an increase in costs in seeking alternative supplier or distribution services. The failure to develop and maintain supplier and distributor relationships and any resulting disruptions to the provision of food and other supplies to our restaurant locations could adversely affect our operating results.
Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively manage the accelerated impact of social media could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Social media allows individuals to access a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The availability of information on social media platforms is virtually immediate as is its impact, and users can post information often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Adverse or inaccurate information concerning our Company or concepts may be posted at any time, and such information can quickly reach a wide audience. Social media has also been utilized to target specific companies or brands as a result of a variety of actions or inactions, or perceived actions or inactions, and such campaigns can rapidly accelerate and impact consumer behavior. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction, and it is challenging to monitor, anticipate and promptly respond to such developments. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of its basis or validity, any unfavorable publicity could adversely affect public perception of our brands.
Our failure to use social media responsibly in our marketing efforts may further expose us to these risks. As part of our marketing efforts, we rely on search engine marketing and social media platforms to attract and retain guests. We need to continuously innovate and develop our social media strategies in order to maintain broad appeal with guests and brand relevance. We also continue to invest in other digital marketing initiatives that allow us to reach our guests across multiple digital channels and build their awareness of, engagement with, and loyalty to our brands. These initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues, increased employee engagement or brand recognition. In addition, a variety of risks are associated with the use of social media, including the improper disclosure of proprietary or personal information and negative publicity. The inappropriate use of social media vehicles by our guests or employees could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation.
We face a variety of risks associated with doing business in foreign markets that could have a negative impact on our financial performance.
We have a significant number of restaurants outside of the United States, and we intend to continue our efforts to grow internationally. There is no assurance that international operations will be profitable or international growth will continue. In addition, if we have a significant concentration of restaurants in a foreign market, the impact of any negative local conditions can have a sizable impact on our results.
Our foreign operations are subject to all of the same risks as our U.S. restaurants, as well as additional risks including, among others, international economic, political, social and legal conditions and the possibility of instability and unrest, differing cultures and consumer preferences, diverse government regulations and tax systems, cybersecurity threats, corruption, anti-American sentiment, the ability to source high-quality ingredients and other commodities in a cost-effective manner, uncertain or differing interpretations of rights and obligations in connection
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with international franchise agreements and the collection of ongoing royalties from international franchisees, the availability and costs of land, construction and financing, and the availability of experienced management, appropriate franchisees and operating partners.
Local or regional events or conditions in our international markets could disrupt our business operations and affect our results. In recent years, there were protests in cities throughout the United States as well as globally, including in Hong Kong and Brazil, in connection with civil rights, liberties, and social and governmental reform.
Currency regulations and fluctuations in exchange rates could also affect our performance. We have operations in many foreign countries, including direct investments in restaurants in Brazil, Hong Kong and China, as well as international franchises. As a result, we may experience losses from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates or any hedging arrangements that we enter into to offset such fluctuations, and such losses could adversely affect our overall sales and earnings.
We are subject to governmental regulation of our foreign operations, including antitrust and tax requirements, anti-boycott regulations, import/export/customs regulations and other international trade regulations, the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Any new regulatory or trade initiatives could impact our operations in certain countries. Failure to comply with any such legal requirements could subject us to monetary liabilities and other sanctions, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to adequately address corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results and may damage our reputation.
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus from certain investors, customers, consumers, employees, state, federal and international governments and agencies, and other stakeholders concerning corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, including practices and disclosures related to environmental stewardship; social responsibility; diversity, equity and inclusion; and workplace rights. Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny relating to their corporate citizenship and sustainability practices. We are also subject to corporate citizenship and sustainability disclosure rules and regulations and institutional investor voting policies that seek this information, making it more accessible for scrutiny. Changing consumer preferences may result in increased demands regarding our products and supply chain and their respective environmental and social impact, including on sustainability. These demands could require additional transparency, due diligence, and reporting and could cause us to incur additional costs or to make changes to our operations to comply with such demands. We may also determine that certain changes are required in anticipation of further evolution of consumer preferences and demands. Increased focus and activism related to corporate citizenship and sustainability may also result in investors reconsidering their investment decisions as a result of their assessment of a company’s corporate citizenship and sustainability practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us to adequately address stakeholder expectations regarding corporate citizenship, including diversity, equity and inclusion, employee health, safety and welfare, and workplace rights, among others, may damage our reputation and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Further, concern over climate change and other environmental sustainability matters, has and may in the future result in new or increased legal and federal and state regulatory requirements to provide extensive disclosure regarding and to reduce or mitigate impacts to the environment, including greenhouse gas emissions, alternative energy policies, water consumption, packaging and waste management, responsible sourcing and other sustainability initiatives. For example, state, federal and international regulations on sustainability matters, including the recently enacted Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act in California and the SEC’s climate change rule proposals, have been or are expected to be implemented that will require reporting and third-party assurance on greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental matters.
If we fail to achieve goals, targets, or objectives we may set with respect to corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, if we do not meet or comply with new regulations or evolving consumer, investor, industry, or stakeholder expectations and standards, including those related to reporting, or if we are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, we may face legal or regulatory actions, the imposition of fines, penalties, or other sanctions, adverse publicity, and decreased demand
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from consumers, or the price of our common stock could decline, any of which could materially harm our reputation or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.
The food service industry is affected by consumer preferences and perceptions. Changes in these preferences and perceptions may lessen the demand for our products, which would reduce sales and harm our business.
Food service businesses are affected by changes in consumer tastes and demographic trends. For instance, if prevailing health or dietary preferences cause consumers to avoid steak and other products we offer in any of our concepts in favor of foods or ingredients that are perceived as healthier or otherwise reflect popular demand, our business and operating results would be harmed. Various factors such as menu labeling rules, nutritional guidelines and academic studies, whether issued by government agencies, research institutions, or advocacy organizations, may impact consumer choice and cause consumers to select foods other than those that are offered by our restaurants. Consumer preference on sourcing, or in response to environmental and animal welfare concerns may also cause some groups of consumers to select foods other than those that are offered by our restaurants. Our business may be negatively impacted by customer preferences regarding third-party delivery apps and services with which we engage, particularly if the availability, performance and reliability of the apps or services adversely impact customer satisfaction. If we are unable to anticipate or successfully respond to changes in consumer preferences, our results of operations could be adversely affected, generally or in particular concepts or markets.
Changes in tax laws, uncertainty in the judicial interpretation of those laws and unanticipated tax liabilities could adversely affect the taxes we pay and our profitability.
We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rate and other taxes in the future could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including changes in the mix of earnings in countries with different statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, an “ownership change” as defined under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws, including the proposed 15% global minimum tax under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) Pillar Two (“Pillar Two”), Global Anti-Base Erosion rules, uncertainty in the interpretation of tax laws, comprehensive tax reform measures or other legislative changes, and the outcome of income tax audits and tax litigation, such as in Brazil. Further, differences in interpretations of Pillar Two and other rules by multiple jurisdictions may cause increased complexities as to compliance and increased audit controversy with tax authorities in jurisdictions where we operate. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and tax litigation could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. These results could have a material effect on our results of operations or cash flows in the period or periods for which these determinations are made. In addition, our effective income tax rate and our results may be impacted by our ability to realize deferred tax benefits, including our FICA tip credit carryforwards, and by any increases or decreases of our valuation allowances applied to our existing deferred tax assets.
Our failure to comply with government regulation related to our restaurant operations, and the costs of compliance or non-compliance, could adversely affect our business.
We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws affecting our business. Each of our restaurants is subject to licensing and regulation by a number of governmental authorities, which may include, among others, alcoholic beverage control, food safety, nutritional menu labeling, health care, sanitation, hazardous material, building, zoning, land use, traffic, environmental and fire agencies in the state, municipality or country in which the restaurant is located. Our suppliers are also subject to regulation in some of these areas. Any difficulties or inabilities to retain or renew licenses, or increased compliance costs due to changed regulations, could adversely affect operations at existing restaurants. Additionally, difficulties in obtaining or failing to obtain the required licenses or approvals could delay or prevent the development of new restaurants. We are subject to various U.S. federal, state and international laws and regulations related to the offer and sale of franchises. Failure to comply with these laws could adversely affect the results we generate from franchises or otherwise impose costs on us. Alcoholic beverage sales represent 11% of our consolidated restaurant sales and are subject to extensive state and local licensing and other regulations. The failure of a restaurant to obtain or retain a liquor license would adversely affect that restaurant’s operations. In addition, we are subject to “dram shop” statutes in certain states. These statutes generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. We may also incur costs of and challenges in
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ensuring compliance with measures implemented in response to a widespread illness or a pandemic, such as requirements for physical barriers or other preventative measures in restaurants or vaccination or testing requirements for our employees, which can vary by the location of the restaurant and may continue to change. We are subject to laws relating to information security, cashless payments and consumer credit, protection and fraud. Compliance with these laws and regulations can be costly, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws or any breach of our systems could harm our reputation or lead to litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
Risks associated with our remodeling, relocation and expansion plans may have adverse effects on our operating results.
As part of our business strategy, we intend to continue to remodel, relocate and expand our current portfolio of restaurants. Our 2024 development schedule calls for the construction of approximately 40 to 45 new system-wide locations, with approximately half in Brazil. A variety of factors could cause the actual results and outcome of those plans to differ from the anticipated results, including among other things, the selection of suitable locations for new or relocated restaurants, the availability and terms on which we can lease attractive sites for new or relocated restaurants, availability and terms of funding, recruiting, training and retaining skilled management and restaurant employees, construction or other delays, the availability of construction materials or restaurant equipment, construction and renovation costs and consumer tastes and acceptance of our restaurant concepts and awareness of our brands in new regions. Governmental regulations or other health guidelines concerning the operations of restaurants, including due to public health emergencies, may also cause disruptions in our plans.
It is difficult to estimate the performance of newly opened restaurants and whether they may attract customers away from other restaurants we own. If new or existing restaurants do not meet targeted performance, it could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, including any impairment losses that we may be required to recognize.
Some of the challenges described above could be more significant in international markets in which we have more limited experience, either generally or with a particular brand. Those markets are likely to have different competitive conditions, consumer tastes, discretionary spending patterns and brand awareness, which may cause our new restaurants to be less successful than restaurants in our existing markets or make it more difficult to estimate the performance of new restaurants.
In addition, in an effort to increase same-restaurant sales and improve our operating performance, we continue to make improvements to our facilities through remodels and relocations and close underperforming restaurants. We incur significant lease termination or continuation expenses and asset impairment and other charges when we close or relocate a restaurant. If the expenses associated with remodels, relocations or closures are higher than anticipated, we cannot find suitable locations or remodeled or relocated restaurants do not perform as expected, these initiatives may not yield the desired return on investment, which could have a negative effect on our operating results.
Failure to achieve projected cost savings from our efficiency initiatives could adversely affect our results of operations and eliminate potential funding for growth opportunities.
In recent years, we have identified strategies and taken steps to reduce operating costs and free up resources to reinvest in our business. These strategies include improved supply chain management, implementing labor scheduling tools, improvements in kitchen equipment and integrating restaurant information systems across our brands. We continue to evaluate and implement further cost-saving initiatives. However, the ability to reduce our operating costs through these initiatives is subject to risks and uncertainties, such as our ability to obtain improved supply pricing and the reliability of any new suppliers or technology, and we cannot assure that these activities, or any other activities that we may undertake in the future, will achieve the desired cost savings and efficiencies. In addition, these measures may not be sustainable or may be detrimental to continued operations. Failure to achieve such desired savings or other negative effects from cost-saving measures could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and curtail investment in growth opportunities.
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Our success depends substantially on the value of our brands and our ability to execute innovative marketing and consumer relationship initiatives to maintain brand relevance and drive profitable sales growth.
Our success depends on our ability to preserve and grow our brands. Our brand value and reputation are especially important to differentiate our concepts in the highly competitive casual dining sector to achieve sustainable same-restaurant sales growth and warrant new unit growth. Brand value and reputation are based in large part on consumer perceptions, which are driven by both our actions and by actions beyond our control, such as new brand strategies or their implementation, business incidents, ineffective advertising or marketing efforts, or unfavorable mainstream or social media publicity involving us, our industry, our franchisees, or our suppliers. A failure to innovate and extend our brands in ways that are relevant to consumers and occasions in order to generate sustainable same-restaurant traffic growth, and produce non-traditional sales and earnings growth opportunities, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Additionally, insufficient focus on our competition or failure to adequately address declines in the casual dining industry, could adversely impact results of operations.
If our competitors increase their spending on advertising, promotions and loyalty programs, if our advertising, media or marketing expenses increase, or if our advertising, promotions and loyalty programs become less effective than those of our competitors, or if we do not adequately leverage technology and data analytic capabilities needed to generate concise competitive insight, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We have limited control with respect to the operations of our franchisees, which could have a negative impact on our business.
Our franchisees are contractually obligated to operate their restaurants in accordance with our standards and we provide training and support to franchisees. However, franchisees are independent third parties that we do not control, and these franchisees own, operate and oversee the daily operations of their restaurants. As a result, the ultimate success and quality of any franchise restaurant rests with the franchisee. If franchisees do not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our product and service quality standards and contractual requirements, our image and reputation could be harmed, which in turn could adversely affect our business and operating results.
A significant portion of our financial results are dependent upon the operational and financial success of our franchisees. If sales trends or economic conditions worsen for franchisees, their financial results may worsen and our royalty, rent and other fee revenues may decline. In addition, we may also incur expenses in connection with supporting franchise restaurants that are underperforming. As small businesses, some of our franchise operators may be negatively and disproportionately impacted by strategic initiatives, capital requirements, inflation, increased interest rates, labor costs, employee relations issues, or other causes. When Company-owned restaurants are sold to a franchisee, one of our subsidiaries is often required to remain responsible for lease payments for the sold restaurants to the extent the purchasing franchisees default on their leases. During periods of declining sales and profitability of franchisees, the incidence of franchisee defaults for these lease payments may increase and we may be required to make lease payments and seek recourse against the franchisee or agree to repayment terms.
Significant adverse weather conditions and other disasters or unforeseen events and our ability to execute, or success in executing, a comprehensive business recovery plan at our restaurant support center for these events could negatively impact our results of operations and have a material adverse impact on our business.
Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters and other unforeseen events, such as winter storms, severe temperatures, thunderstorms, floods, drought, fires, hurricanes and earthquakes, terrorist attacks, war and widespread/pandemic illness, and the effects of such events on economic conditions and consumer spending patterns, could disrupt our operations or supply chain and negatively impact our results of operations. These events may result in lost restaurant sales, as well as property damage, lost products, interruptions in supply, and increased costs, temporary and prolonged restaurant closures may occur and consumer traffic may decline due to the actual or perceived effects from these events. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic, severe winter weather conditions and hurricanes have impacted our traffic, and that of our franchises, and results of operations in recent years. Although
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we cannot predict when or where we will be negatively impacted by widespread illnesses or pandemics, adverse weather events, to the extent that climate change or other factors result in more frequent, widespread or severe events, it could adversely impact our results. U.S. and foreign governmental officials also have placed an increasing focus on environmental matters, including climate change, reduction of greenhouse gases and water consumption. This increased focus could lead to legislative, regulatory or other efforts to combat these environmental concerns. These efforts could result in further increases in taxes, cost of supplies, transportation and utilities, which could increase our operating costs and those of our franchisees and require future investments in facilities and equipment. There may also be increased pressure for us to make commitments, set targets or establish goals to take actions to meet them, which could expose us and our franchisees to market, operational, execution and reputational costs or risks.
Many of our corporate systems and processes and corporate support for our restaurant operations are centralized at one location in Tampa, Florida. We have disaster recovery procedures and business continuity plans in place to address crisis-level events, including hurricanes and other natural disasters, and back up and off-site locations for recovery of electronic and other forms of data and information, and the ability to manage our business remotely. However, if we are unable to fully implement our disaster recovery plans, we may experience delays in recovery of data, inability to perform vital corporate functions, tardiness in required reporting and compliance, failures to adequately support field operations and other breakdowns in normal communication and operating procedures that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and exposure to administrative and other legal claims. In addition, these threats are constantly evolving, which increases the difficulty of accurately and timely predicting, planning for and protecting against the threat. As a result, our disaster recovery procedures and business continuity plans may not adequately address all threats we face or protect us from loss.
The United States and other countries have experienced, or may experience in the future, outbreaks of viruses or other diseases, including the COVID-19 pandemic. If a regional or global health pandemic occurs, depending upon its location, duration and severity, our business could be severely affected. In the event a health pandemic occurs, customers might avoid public places, and local, regional or national governments might limit or ban public gatherings to halt or delay the spread of disease. Jurisdictions in which we have restaurants may impose mandatory closures or impose restrictions on operations. If a virus is transmitted by human contact or respiratory transmission, our employees or guests could become infected, or could choose, or be advised, to avoid gathering in public places, any of which would adversely affect our restaurant guest traffic or our ability to perform functions at the corporate level. A regional or global health pandemic might also adversely affect our business by disrupting or delaying production and delivery of materials and products in our supply chain and by causing staffing shortages in our stores.
There are risks and uncertainties associated with initiatives that we may implement.
From time to time, we consider various initiatives in order to grow and evolve our business and brands and improve our operating results. These initiatives could include, among other things, acquisitions, development or dispositions of restaurants or brands, new joint ventures, new franchise arrangements, restaurant closures and changes to our operating model. There can be no assurance that any such actions or initiatives will be successful or deliver their anticipated benefits. We may be exposed to new and unforeseen risks and challenges, particularly if we enter into markets or engage in activities with which we have no or limited prior experience, and it may be difficult to predict the success of such endeavors. If we incur significant expenses or divert management, financial and other resources to any initiative that is unsuccessful or does not meet our expectations, our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected. We may also incur significant asset impairment and other charges in connection with any such initiative. Regardless of the ultimate success of any initiative, the implementation and integration of new business or operational processes could be disruptive to our current operations. Even if we test and evaluate an initiative on a limited basis, the diversion of management time and resources could have an adverse effect on our business.
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Our failure or inability to enforce our trademarks or other proprietary rights could adversely affect our competitive position or the value of our brand.
Our trademarks, including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Bloomin’ Onion, and other proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. The protective actions that we take may not be sufficient to prevent unauthorized usage or imitation by others, which could harm our image, brand or competitive position. Furthermore, our ability to protect trademarks and other proprietary rights may be more limited in certain international markets where we operate.
Litigation could have a material adverse impact on our business and our financial performance.
We are subject to lawsuits, administrative proceedings and claims that arise in the regular course of business. These matters typically involve claims by consumers and others regarding issues such as food borne illness, food safety, premises liability, personal injury, discrimination, “dram shop” statute liability, promotional advertising and other operational issues common to the food service industry, as well as environmental, data privacy, contract disputes and intellectual property infringement matters. We are also subject to employee claims against us based on, among other things, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, disability, or violation of wage and labor laws. We are also subject to the risk of being named a joint employer of workers of our franchisees for alleged violations of labor and wage laws. These claims may divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our operations. The ongoing expense of or diversion of management attention due to any resulting lawsuits, any substantial settlement payment or damage award against us and any damage to our reputation could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Significant legal fees and costs in complex class action litigation or an adverse judgment or settlement that is not insured or is in excess of insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and operating lease obligations, and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness and operating lease obligations, which may not be successful. If we fail to meet these obligations, we would be in default under our debt agreements and the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under them to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations and to satisfy our operating lease obligations depends upon our financial condition and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. We cannot be certain that we will maintain a level of cash flow from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or to pay our operating lease obligations. For example, if inflation persists, or our financial position deteriorates, our revenues and liquidity position may decline. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and operating lease obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In the absence of sufficient operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations or take other actions to meet our debt service and other obligations. Our debt agreements restrict our ability to dispose of assets and how we may use the proceeds from the disposition. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds that we could otherwise realize from such dispositions and any such proceeds that are realized may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. The failure to meet our debt service obligations or the failure to remain in compliance with the financial covenants under our debt agreements would constitute an event of default under those agreements and the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under them to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit.
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Our leverage could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry.
As of December 31, 2023, our total net indebtedness was $780.7 million and we had $599.2 million in available unused borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility, net of undrawn letters of credit of $19.8 million.
Our leverage could have important consequences, including:
•making it more difficult for us to make payments on indebtedness;
•increasing our vulnerability to general economic, industry and competitive conditions and the various risks we face in our business;
•increasing our cost of borrowing or limiting our ability to obtain additional financing if needed;
•reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, dividend payments, and future business and strategic opportunities; and
•limiting our ability to adjust to changing market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who may not be as highly leveraged.
We may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our credit agreement. If new indebtedness is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could increase.
We cannot be certain that our financial condition or credit and other market conditions will be favorable when our credit agreement matures in 2026, or at any earlier time we may seek to refinance our debt. Further, turmoil in global credit markets could adversely impact the availability and cost of credit. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Our debt agreements contain restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.
Certain of our debt agreements limit our and our subsidiaries’ abilities to, among other things, incur or guarantee additional indebtedness, pay dividends above certain thresholds, redeem or repurchase our capital stock, make certain acquisitions or investments, incur or permit to exist certain liens, enter into transactions with affiliates or sell our assets to, merge or consolidate with or into, another company. Our debt agreements require us to satisfy certain financial tests and ratios. Our ability to satisfy such tests and ratios may be affected by events outside of our control.
If we breach the covenants under our debt agreements, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the agreements to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit. If we are unable to repay those amounts, the lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. We have pledged substantially all of our assets as collateral under our credit agreement. If our lenders accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot be certain that we will have sufficient assets to repay them.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited, which could make us unable to fund our capital requirements.
Our business and operations may consume resources faster than we anticipate. In the future, we may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of new equity securities, debt or a combination of both. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our capital requirements. If we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends above certain thresholds on our common stock. If we issue additional equity securities, existing stockholders may experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market
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conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings.
Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future securities offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their interest.
Our stock price is subject to volatility.
The stock market in general is highly volatile. As a result, the market price of our common stock is similarly volatile. The price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These factors include actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results, changes in or our ability to achieve estimates of our operating results by analysts, investors or management, analysts’ recommendations regarding our stock or our competitors’ stock, sales of substantial amounts of our common stock by our stockholders, actions or announcements by us or our competitors, the maintenance and growth of the value of our brands, litigation, legislation or other regulatory developments affecting us or our industry, widespread/pandemic illness, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, terrorist acts, war or other calamities and changes in general market and economic conditions.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our Company or changes in our management and, therefore, may depress the trading price of our stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include certain provisions that could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control of our Company or changes in our management. These provisions may discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of the Company that is in the best interests of our stockholders. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if they are viewed as discouraging future takeover attempts.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may affect the ability of an “interested stockholder” to engage in certain business combinations, including mergers, consolidations or acquisitions of additional shares, for a period of three years following the time that the stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder.” An “interested stockholder” is defined to include persons owning directly or indirectly 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of a corporation. Although we have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203.
General Risk Factors
An impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill or other intangible or long-lived assets could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Along with other intangible assets, we test goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying value may not be recoverable. We also evaluate long-lived assets on a quarterly basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. We cannot accurately predict the amount and timing of any impairment of assets. A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indication of impairment exists. Unforeseen events could make developing forecasts for, and the accounting of, valuation of goodwill and certain other assets slower and more difficult. Should the value of goodwill or other intangible or long-lived assets become impaired, there could be an adverse effect on our financial condition and consolidated results of operations.
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Failure to maintain effective systems of internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures could adversely affect our business and financial results.
Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide accurate financial information. If we are unable to adequately maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all possible errors and fraud, including through cyber-attacks. Because of inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of error or fraud, if any, in our Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake, which could have an adverse impact on our business. A significant financial reporting failure or a lack of sufficient internal control over financial reporting could cause a loss of investor confidence and decline in the market price of our common stock, increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation.
Future changes to existing accounting rules, accounting standards, new pronouncements and varying interpretations of pronouncements, or the questioning of current accounting practices may adversely affect our reported financial results. Additionally, our assumptions, estimates and judgments related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial results. Generally accepted accounting principles and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, including but not limited to, revenue recognition, impairment of long-lived assets, leases and related economic transactions, derivatives, intangibles, self-insurance, income taxes, property and equipment, unclaimed property laws and litigation, and stock-based compensation are highly complex and involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by us. Changes in these rules or their interpretations or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments by us could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance.
Our insurance policies may not provide adequate levels of coverage against all claims, and fluctuating insurance requirements and costs could negatively impact our profitability.
We carry insurance programs with specific retention levels or high per-claim deductibles for a significant portion of our risks and associated liabilities with respect to workers’ compensation, general liability, liquor liability, employment practices liability, property, health benefits, cybersecurity and other insurable risks. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not commercially reasonable to insure. These losses, if they occur, could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, if our insurance costs increase, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully offset the effect of such increases and our results of operations may be adversely affected.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not applicable.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
We maintain a risk-based, defense-in-depth approach to cybersecurity and data protection. We assess industry best practices and standards and endeavor to leverage them in our efforts to manage cybersecurity risk. We dedicate resources and apply security controls where we believe they would be most effective to predict, prevent, detect and respond to potential security threats to our highest value information assets, which we consider to be point-of-sale systems, financial systems and confidential, personal and private customer and employee information. We use multiple safeguards to protect our internal networks and systems, including, among others, firewalls, email protection and web filtering, endpoint detection and response software, controlled access to our data and systems,
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segmenting our card data environment, vulnerability management and patching, and performing regular penetration testing. A risk assessment, based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework, is conducted and maintained throughout the system development lifecycle and is reviewed at least annually.
We have implemented controls designed to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats associated with our use of third-party service providers. Such providers are subject to security risk assessments at the time of onboarding, contract renewal and upon detection of an increase in risk profile. We use a variety of inputs in such risk assessments, including information supplied by providers and third parties. In addition, we require our providers to meet appropriate security requirements, controls and responsibilities, and we investigate security incidents that have impacted our third-party providers, as appropriate.
As part of our information security training program, employees and contractors participate in various cybersecurity awareness activities, including formal training exercises and simulated phishing events. We also contract with third-party cybersecurity firms to conduct simulated cyberattacks and perform regular penetration testing to assess the effectiveness of our security measures. We have also engaged with external subject matter experts to assess access management, information technology asset management and our cybersecurity policies.
We have company-wide business continuity and disaster recovery plans used to prepare for multiple events, including a potential disruption in the technology on which we rely. We maintain incident response plans and playbooks to prepare for various contingencies and types of incidents. The cybersecurity incident response plan (“IRP”) includes immediate actions to mitigate and contain the short-term impact of an incident, and long-term strategies for remediation and prevention of future incidents. The IRP also includes policies that dictate escalation procedures and remediation plans based on the severity level of an incident. As part of our IRP, we consider engaging third-party cybersecurity firms to assist in the event of a significant incident. We also conduct tabletop exercises to enhance incident response preparedness.
We, like others in our industry, experience cybersecurity incidents and attempts to access our systems. In the event we experience an incident, we classify it based on its significance and track remediation actions and outcomes. Although we do not believe we have been materially affected by cybersecurity incidents or threats in the past, we cannot provide any assurance that we will not experience a material incident in the future. As described above, we utilize a risk-based approach to manage cybersecurity risk and it is possible we may not implement appropriate controls if we do not recognize or underestimate a particular risk. In addition, security controls, no matter how well designed or implemented, may only mitigate and not fully eliminate risks. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for additional discussion of our cybersecurity risks.
Governance
Our Board of Directors (our “Board”) has charged the Audit Committee with oversight of the Company’s identification, assessment and management of cybersecurity and data privacy risks. As part of its oversight of our enterprise risk management program, the Audit Committee periodically reviews and prioritizes key risks facing our Company, including cybersecurity risk. The Audit Committee receives quarterly updates from our head of information security and our Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”) regarding our cybersecurity program and actions taken to manage cybersecurity risk, which include risk identification and management strategies, consumer data protection, security programs, ongoing risk mitigation activities and results of third-party assessments and testing.
We maintain a dedicated cybersecurity department, which consists exclusively of Company employees, within our broader information technology department. Functions within this department range from new information technology solution design and implementation, vulnerability management, phishing awareness, threat detection, Payment Card Industry compliance and incident response. Primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our cybersecurity risks rests with the head of information security, who has over 25 years of experience in the field of cybersecurity, including prior service in the military in cybersecurity roles, and relevant industry certifications commensurate with his role. Our head of information security reports directly to the CTO who has over 20 years of restaurant technology experience.
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Our CTO receives status reports from our cybersecurity department regularly and reports to our Chief Executive Officer, who receives updates on incidents, trends, projects and other relevant information regularly. In addition, as part of our incident response planning, we maintain cross-functional response teams to be prepared to respond to an incident.
Item 2. Properties
We had 1,480 system-wide restaurants located across 47 states, Guam and 13 countries as of December 31, 2023. The following is a summary of our restaurant locations by country and territory as of December 31, 2023:
COMPANY-OWNED FRANCHISED
United States (1) 998 United States 152
International: International:
Brazil (2) 172 Argentina 3 Japan 9
China (Mainland) 1 Australia 8 Mexico 4
Hong Kong 18 Canada 3 Qatar 6
Total international Company-owned 191 Costa Rica 2 Saudi Arabia 10
Dominican Republic 1 South Korea (1) 92
Guam 1
Total international franchised 139
Total Company-owned 1,189 Total franchised 291
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(1)Restaurant property counts exclude one and four off-premises only kitchens from Company-owned United States and franchised South Korea totals, respectively.
(2)The count for Brazil is reported as of November 30, 2023 to correspond with the balance sheet date of this subsidiary.
We lease substantially all of our restaurant properties from third parties. As of December 31, 2023, our Company-owned restaurants were located on the following sites by segment:
U.S. INTERNATIONAL TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
Company-owned sites 25 — 25 2 %
Leased sites:
Land, ground and building leases 692 1 693 58 %
We also lease corporate offices in Tampa, Florida and São Paulo, Brazil.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
For a description of our legal proceedings, see Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Report.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information - Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BLMN”.
Dividends - In February 2022, our Board reinstated quarterly dividends after a temporary suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future dividend payments will depend on continued compliance with our financial covenants, as well as our earnings, financial condition, capital expenditure requirements, surplus and other factors that our Board considers relevant.
Holders - As of February 23, 2024, there were 113 holders of record of our common stock. The number of registered holders does not include holders who are beneficial owners whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans - The following table presents the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2023:
(shares in thousands) (a) (b) (c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders 3,174 $ 21.04 6,925
____________________
(1)Includes 1,449 shares issuable in respect to restricted stock units and performance-based share units (assuming target achievement of applicable performance metrics).
(2)Amounts in this column relate only to options exercisable for common shares.
(3)The shares remaining available for issuance may be issued in the form of stock options, restricted stock units or other stock awards under the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan. See Note 6 - Stock-based and Deferred Compensation Plans of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for details regarding the plan.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers - The following table provides information regarding our purchases of common stock during the fourteen weeks ended December 31, 2023:
____________________
(1)On February 7, 2023, our Board approved a share repurchase authorization of up to $125.0 million of our outstanding common stock as announced in our press release issued February 16, 2023 (the “2023 Share Repurchase Program”). Subsequent to December 31, 2023, we repurchased $12.5 million of our common stock authorized under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. In February 2024, our Board canceled the remaining $57.5 million of authorization under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program and approved a new $350.0 million authorization (the “2024 Share Repurchase Program”), as announced in our press release issued on February 23, 2024. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program will expire on August 13, 2025.
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Stock Performance Graph - The following graph depicts total return to stockholders from December 28, 2018 through December 31, 2023, relative to the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Consumer Discretionary index, a peer group. The graph assumes an investment of $100 in our common stock and in each index on December 28, 2018 (the last business day of the fiscal year of investment), and the reinvestment of dividends paid since that date. The stock price performance shown in the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. For discussion of our consolidated and segment-level results of operations, non-GAAP measures, and liquidity and capital resources for fiscal year 2021, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 25, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 22, 2023.
Overview
We are one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world with a portfolio of leading, differentiated restaurant concepts. As of December 31, 2023, we owned and operated 1,189 restaurants and franchised 291 restaurants across 47 states, Guam and 13 countries. We have four founder-inspired concepts: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
Financial Overview - Our financial overview for 2023 includes the following:
•U.S. combined and Outback Steakhouse comparable restaurant sales of 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively;
•Increase in Total revenues of 5.8% as compared to 2022;
•Operating income and restaurant-level operating margins of 7.0% and 16.2%, respectively, as compared to 7.5% and 15.6%, respectively for 2022;
•Operating income of $325.1 million as compared to $330.4 million in 2022; and
•Diluted earnings per share of $2.56 as compared to $1.03 in 2022.
Business Strategies -In 2024, our key business strategies include:
•Enhance the Customer Experience to Drive Sustainable Healthy Sales Growth. We plan to continue to make investments to enhance our core guest experience, upgrade kitchen equipment and technology, increase off-premises dining occasions, remodel and relocate restaurants, invest in digital marketing and data personalization and utilize the Dine Rewards loyalty program and multimedia marketing campaigns to drive sales.
•Drive Long-Term Shareholder Value. We plan to drive long-term shareholder value by reinvesting operational cash flow into our business, improving our credit profile and returning excess cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
•Enrich Engagement Among Stakeholders. We take the responsibility to our people, customers and communities seriously and continue to invest in programs that support the well-being of those engaged with us.
•Accelerate Growth Opportunities. We believe a substantial development opportunity remains for our concepts in the U.S. and internationally through existing geography fill-in and market expansion. We will continue to pursue U.S. fill-in opportunities for Outback Steakhouse, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Carrabba’s Italian Grill across key southern states such as North Carolina, Florida and Texas as well as California. We will also focus on strategic expansion in Brazil and pursue global franchise opportunities.
We intend to fund our business strategies, drive revenue growth and margin improvement, in part by reinvesting savings generated by cost savings and productivity initiatives across our businesses.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Macroeconomic Conditions - The combination of macroeconomic and other factors have put considerable pressure on the casual dining industry. The ongoing impacts of inflation, rising interest rates, reduced disposable consumer income, access to credit, other national, regional and local regulatory and economic conditions and consumer confidence have had a negative effect on discretionary consumer spending.
Should the macroeconomic and other conditions persist, we will continue to face increased pressure with respect to our pricing, traffic levels and commodity costs. We believe that in this environment, we need to maintain our focus on value and innovation as well as refreshing our restaurant base through remodels and new restaurant development to continue to drive sales.
Key Financial Performance Indicators - Key measures that we use in evaluating our restaurants and assessing our business include the following:
•Average restaurant unit volumes—average sales (excluding gift card breakage and the benefit of value added tax exemptions in Brazil) per restaurant to measure changes in customer traffic, pricing and development of the brand.
•Comparable restaurant sales—year-over-year comparison of the change in sales volumes (excluding gift card breakage and the benefit of value added tax exemptions in Brazil) for Company-owned restaurants that are open 18 months or more in order to remove the impact of new restaurant openings in comparing the operations of existing restaurants.
•System-wide sales—total restaurant sales volume for all Company-owned and franchise restaurants, regardless of ownership, to interpret the overall health of our brands.
•Restaurant-level operating margin, Income from operations, Net income and Diluted earnings per share—financial measures utilized to evaluate our operating performance.
Restaurant-level operating margin is a non-GAAP financial measure widely regarded in the industry as a useful metric to evaluate restaurant-level operating efficiency and performance of ongoing restaurant-level operations, and we use it for these purposes, overall and particularly within our two segments. Our restaurant-level operating margin is expressed as the percentage of our Restaurant sales that Food and beverage costs, Labor and other related expense and Other restaurant operating expense (including advertising expenses) represent, in each case as such items are reflected in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. The following categories of revenue and operating expenses are not included in restaurant-level operating income and the corresponding margin because we do not consider them reflective of operating performance at the restaurant-level within a period:
(i)Franchise and other revenues, which are earned primarily from franchise royalties and other non-food and beverage revenue streams, such as rental and sublease income;
(ii)Depreciation and amortization, which, although substantially all of which is related to restaurant-level assets, represent historical sunk costs rather than cash outlays for the restaurants;
(iii)General and administrative expense, which includes primarily non-restaurant-level costs associated with support of the restaurants and other activities at our corporate offices; and
(iv)Asset impairment charges and restaurant closing costs, which are not reflective of ongoing restaurant performance in a period.
Restaurant-level operating margin excludes various expenses, as discussed above, that are essential to support the operations of our restaurants and may materially impact our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. As a result, restaurant-level operating margin is not indicative of our consolidated results of operations and is presented exclusively as a supplement to, and not a substitute
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
for, Net income or Income from operations. In addition, our presentation of restaurant-level operating margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry.
•Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin, Adjusted income from operations, Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share—non-GAAP financial measures utilized to evaluate our operating performance, which definitions, usefulness and reconciliations are described in more detail in the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below.
Selected Operating Data - The table below presents the number of our restaurants in operation as of the periods indicated:
U.S.
Outback Steakhouse
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Bonefish Grill
Franchised 6 7
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Aussie Grill
Company-owned 4 7
Franchised 1 —
International
Company-owned
Outback Steakhouse - Brazil (2) 155 139
Franchised
Outback Steakhouse - South Korea (1) 92 86
System-wide total - Company-owned 1,189 1,185
System-wide total - Franchised 291 286
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(1)Excludes five and 36 off-premises only kitchens as of December 31, 2023 and December 25, 2022, respectively. One location was Company-owned in the U.S and all others were franchised in South Korea as of December 31, 2023 and December 25, 2022.
(2)The restaurant counts for Brazil, including Abbraccio and Aussie Grill restaurants within International Company-owned Other, are reported as of November 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, to correspond with the balance sheet dates of this subsidiary.
(3)International Company-owned Other included two and four Aussie Grill locations as of December 31, 2023 and December 25, 2022, respectively. International Franchised Other included four Aussie Grill locations as of December 31, 2023 and December 25, 2022.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Results of Operations
REVENUES
Restaurant Sales - Following is a summary of the change in Restaurant sales for the period indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
(dollars in millions) 2023
Change from:
Comparable restaurant sales 81.8
Restaurant openings 64.9
Effect of foreign currency translation 34.3
Brazil value added tax exemptions (1) 22.5
Restaurant closures (31.5)
For fiscal year 2023 (comparable 52-week presentation) (2) 4,524.7
53rd week restaurant sales (3) 82.7
____________________
(1)Fiscal years 2023 and 2022, include $30.2 million and $7.7 million, respectively, of value added tax exemptions resulting from the Brazil tax legislation. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023, we are once again subject to the value added taxes for which we were previously exempt. See Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for details regarding value added tax exemptions in connection with Brazil tax legislation.
(2)Includes $101.9 million of restaurant sales generated by restaurants closed, primarily in February 2024, in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative, as defined below. See Note 4 - Impairments and Exit Costs of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details regarding the 2023 Closure Initiative.
(3)Includes restaurant sales from December 25, 2023 through December 31, 2023, which represents the 53rd week of fiscal year 2023.
The increase in Restaurant sales in 2023 as compared to 2022 was primarily due to: (i) restaurant sales during the 53rd week of 2023, (ii) higher comparable restaurant sales, (iii) the opening of 66 new restaurants not included in our comparable restaurant sales base, (iv) the effect of foreign currency translation of the Brazilian Real relative to the U.S. dollar and (v) value added tax exemptions in Brazil. The increase in Restaurant sales was partially offset by the closure of 35 restaurants since December 26, 2021.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Average Restaurant Unit Volumes and Operating Weeks
Following is a summary of the average restaurant unit volumes and operating weeks for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
Average restaurant unit volumes:
U.S.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar $ 5,935 $ 5,845
International
Outback Steakhouse - Brazil (1) $ 3,213 $ 3,067
Operating weeks:
U.S.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 3,418 3,331
International
____________________
(1)Translated at average exchange rates of 5.02 and 5.19 for 2023 and 2022, respectively. Excludes the benefit of the Brazil value added tax exemptions discussed in Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Comparable Restaurant Sales, Traffic and Average Check Per Person Increases (Decreases)
Following is a summary of comparable restaurant sales, traffic and average check per person increases (decreases) for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
Year over year percentage change:
Comparable restaurant sales (restaurants open 18 months or more):
U.S. (2)
Outback Steakhouse 1.1 % 2.8 %
Carrabba’s Italian Grill 3.9 % 3.4 %
Bonefish Grill 0.8 % 4.5 %
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (0.7) % 12.0 %
Combined U.S. 1.4 % 4.0 %
International
Outback Steakhouse - Brazil (3) 5.5 % 38.3 %
Traffic:
U.S.
Outback Steakhouse (4.3) % (6.3) %
Carrabba’s Italian Grill 0.3 % (4.3) %
Bonefish Grill (3.3) % (4.2) %
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (2.0) % 3.0 %
Combined U.S. (3.1) % (5.3) %
International
Outback Steakhouse - Brazil (3) (1.1) % 23.6 %
Average check per person (4):
U.S.
Outback Steakhouse 5.4 % 9.1 %
Carrabba’s Italian Grill 3.6 % 7.7 %
Bonefish Grill 4.1 % 8.7 %
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 1.3 % 9.0 %
Combined U.S. 4.5 % 9.3 %
International
Outback Steakhouse - Brazil (3) 6.5 % 14.6 %
____________________
(1)For 2023, comparable restaurant sales, traffic and average check per person compare the 53 weeks from December 26, 2022 through December 31, 2023 to the 53 weeks from December 27, 2021 through January 1, 2023.
(2)Relocated restaurants closed more than 60 days are excluded from comparable restaurant sales until at least 18 months after reopening.
(3)Excludes the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency rates and the benefit of the Brazil value added tax exemptions discussed in Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Includes trading day impact from calendar period reporting.
(4)Includes the impact of menu pricing changes, product mix and discounts.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
COSTS AND EXPENSES
The following table sets forth the percentages of certain items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations in relation to Restaurant sales or Total revenues for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
Revenues
Franchise and other revenues 1.4 1.4
Costs and expenses
Labor and other related (1) 28.8 28.2
Other restaurant operating (1) 24.4 24.5
Depreciation and amortization 4.1 3.8
General and administrative 5.6 5.3
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings 0.7 0.1
Total costs and expenses 93.0 92.5
Income from operations 7.0 7.5
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt — (2.5)
Loss on fair value adjustment of derivatives, net — (0.4)
Interest expense, net (1.2) (1.2)
Income before provision for income taxes 5.8 3.4
Provision for income taxes 0.4 0.9
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.1 0.2
Net income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands 5.3 % 2.3 %
____________________
(1)As a percentage of Restaurant sales.
Fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022
Food and beverage cost decreased as a percentage of Restaurant sales due to 2.0% from increases in average check per person, primarily driven by an increase in menu pricing, and 0.6% from certain cost saving and productivity initiatives, partially offset by an increase of 1.3% from commodity inflation. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for discussion of our commodity inflation expectations for 2024.
Labor and other related expense increased as a percentage of Restaurant sales primarily due to 1.6% from higher hourly and field management labor costs, primarily due to wage rate inflation, partially offset by decreases of 0.9% from an increase in average check per person and 0.2% from certain cost saving and productivity initiatives.
Other restaurant operating expense decreased as a percentage of Restaurant sales primarily due to: (i) 0.7% from an increase in average check per person, (ii) 0.3% from certain cost saving and productivity initiatives and (iii) 0.2% from the favorable settlement of certain collective action wage and hour lawsuits. These decreases were partially offset by increases of 0.9% from higher operating expenses, including utilities, primarily due to inflation, and 0.4% from higher advertising expense.
Depreciation and amortization expense increased primarily due to technology projects and restaurant development.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
General and administrative expense increased primarily due to: (i) legal and professional fees, (ii) compensation and related expenses, (iii) travel expenses and (iv) incentive compensation, partially offset by a decrease in employee stock-based compensation.
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings increased primarily due to asset impairment and closure charges during the fourteen weeks ended December 31, 2023 of $33.3 million and $0.9 million within the U.S. and international segments, respectively, in connection with the closure of three U.S. and two international Aussie Grill restaurants and the decision to close 36 predominantly older, underperforming U.S. restaurants (the “2023 Closure Initiative”). See Note 4 - Impairments and Exit Costs for additional details regarding the 2023 Closure Initiative. We expect to incur an additional $8 million to $11 million of severance and closure costs in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative during the thirteen weeks ended March 31, 2024.
Income from operations during 2023 includes a net operating margin increase of approximately 0.2% attributable to Brazil value added tax exemptions (PIS and COFINS) provided by Brazil tax legislation. See Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion regarding Brazil tax legislation.
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt and Loss on fair value adjustment of derivatives, net during 2022 were in connection with the repurchase of $125.0 million of the outstanding convertible senior notes due in 2025 (the “2025 Notes”) (the “2025 Notes Partial Repurchase”), which is described in further detail within Note 13 - Convertible Senior Notes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Interest expense, net was flat primarily due to: (i) the lapping of terminated interest rate swap amortization during 2022, (ii) the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase in May 2022 and (iii) the repayment of Term Loan A in April 2022. These decreases were offset by an increase in interest expense from higher balances and interest rates on our revolving credit facility.
Provision for income taxes includes a decrease in the effective income tax rate primarily due to the non-deductible losses associated with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase recorded during 2022 and the 2023 benefits of Brazil tax legislation, which includes a temporary reduction in the Brazilian income tax rate from 34% to 0%.
We have a blended federal and state statutory rate of approximately 26%. The effective income tax rate in 2023 was lower than the blended federal and state statutory rate primarily due to the benefit of FICA tax credits on certain tipped wages and benefits of Brazil tax legislation, which includes a temporary reduction in the Brazilian income tax rate from 34% to 0%. The effective income tax rate in 2022 was higher than the blended federal and state statutory rate primarily due to the non-deductible losses associated with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase recorded during 2022, partially offset by the benefit of FICA tax credits on certain tipped wages.
In the U.S., a restaurant company employer may claim a credit against its federal income taxes for FICA taxes paid on certain tipped wages (the “FICA tax credit”). The level of FICA tax credits is primarily driven by U.S. Restaurant sales and is not impacted by costs incurred that may reduce Income before provision for income taxes.
See Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion regarding Brazil tax legislation.
Segments
We consider each of our restaurant concepts and international markets as operating segments, which reflects how we manage our business, review operating performance and allocate resources. Resources are allocated and performance is assessed by our Chief Executive Officer, whom we have determined to be our Chief Operating Decision Maker. We aggregate our operating segments into two reportable segments, U.S. and international. The
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
U.S. segment includes all restaurants operating in the U.S. while restaurants operating outside the U.S. are included in the international segment.
Revenues for both segments include only transactions with customers and exclude intersegment revenues. Excluded from Income from operations for U.S. and international are certain legal and corporate costs not directly related to the performance of the segments, most stock-based compensation expenses, a portion of insurance expenses and certain bonus expenses.
Refer to Note 22 - Segment Reporting of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for reconciliations of segment income from operations to the consolidated operating results.
Summary financial data - Following is a summary of financial data by segment for the periods indicated:
U.S. INTERNATIONAL
FISCAL YEAR FISCAL YEAR
Revenues
Restaurant-level operating margin 15.4 % 15.4 % 20.5 % 18.5 %
Restaurant sales - Following is a summary of the change in segment Restaurant sales for the period indicated:
U.S. INTERNATIONAL
FISCAL YEAR FISCAL YEAR
(dollars in millions) 2023 (dollars in millions) 2023
Change from: Change from:
Comparable restaurant sales 63.1 Restaurant openings (1) 37.7
Restaurant openings (1) 27.2 Effect of foreign currency translation 34.3
Restaurant closures (2) (31.0) Brazil value added tax exemptions (3) 22.5
53rd week restaurant sales (5) 82.7 Restaurant closures (2) (0.5)
____________________
(1)Includes restaurant sales from 19 and 47 new U.S. and international restaurants, respectively, not included in our comparable restaurant sales base.
(2)Includes the restaurant sales impact from the closure of 32 and three U.S. and international restaurants, respectively, since December 26, 2021.
(3)Fiscal years 2023 and 2022 include $30.2 million and $7.7 million, respectively, of value added tax exemptions resulting from the Brazil tax legislation. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023, we are once again subject to the value added taxes for which we were previously exempt under the Brazil tax legislation. See Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for details regarding value added tax exemptions in connection with the Brazil tax legislation.
(4)Includes $99.2 million of restaurant sales generated by restaurants closed, primarily in February 2024, in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative. See Note 4 - Impairments and Exit Costs of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details regarding the 2023 Closure Initiative.
(5)Includes restaurant sales from December 25, 2023 through December 31, 2023, which represents the 53rd week of fiscal year 2023.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Income from operations
U.S. - The decrease in U.S. Income from operations generated during 2023 as compared to 2022 was primarily due to: (i) higher labor costs, primarily due to wage rate inflation, (ii) commodity inflation, (iii) higher operating expenses, including utilities, primarily due to inflation, (iv) higher impairment charges and restaurant closure costs and (v) higher depreciation and advertising expense. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in average check per person and certain cost saving and productivity initiatives.
International - The increase in international Income from operations generated during 2023 as compared to 2022 was primarily due to value added tax exemptions in Brazil and an increase in restaurant sales, primarily driven by an increase in average check per person and the recovery of in-restaurant dining. These increases were partially offset by decreases primarily due to higher operating and labor costs, primarily due to inflation, and higher advertising expense.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the results provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), we provide certain non-GAAP measures, which present operating results on an adjusted basis. These are supplemental measures of performance that are not required by or presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and include the following: (i) Restaurant-level operating income, adjusted restaurant-level operating income and their corresponding margins, (ii) Adjusted income from operations and the corresponding margin, (iii) Adjusted net income, (iv) Adjusted diluted earnings per share and (v) system-wide sales.
We believe that our use of non-GAAP financial measures permits investors to assess the operating performance of our business relative to our performance based on U.S. GAAP results and relative to other companies within the restaurant industry by isolating the effects of certain items that may vary from period to period without correlation to core operating performance or that vary widely among similar companies. However, our inclusion of these adjusted measures should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or infrequent items or that the items for which we have made adjustments are unusual or infrequent or will not recur. We believe that the disclosure of these non-GAAP measures is useful to investors as they form part of the basis for how our management team and our Board evaluate our operating performance, allocate resources and establish employee incentive plans.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to replace U.S. GAAP financial measures, and they are not necessarily standardized or comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. We maintain internal guidelines with respect to the types of adjustments we include in our non-GAAP measures. These guidelines endeavor to differentiate between types of gains and expenses that are reflective of our core operations in a period, and those that may vary from period to period without correlation to our core performance in that period. However, implementation of these guidelines involves the application of judgment, and the treatment of any items not directly addressed by, or changes to, our guidelines will be considered by our disclosure committee. Refer to the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures for descriptions of the actual adjustments made in the current period and the corresponding prior period.
Table of Contents
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Consolidated Restaurant-level Operating Income and Adjusted Restaurant-level Operating Income and Corresponding Margins Non-GAAP Reconciliations - Restaurant-level operating margin is calculated as Restaurant sales after deduction of the main restaurant-level operating costs, which includes Food and beverage cost, Labor and other related expense and Other restaurant operating expense. Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin is Restaurant-level operating margin adjusted for certain items. The following table reconciles consolidated Income from operations and the corresponding margin to restaurant-level operating income and adjusted restaurant-level operating income and the corresponding margins for the periods indicated:
Consolidated FISCAL YEAR
Operating income margin 7.0 % 7.5 %
Less:
Plus:
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings 33,574 5,964
Restaurant-level operating margin 16.2 % 15.6 %
Adjustments:
Asset impairments and closing costs (2) (2,450) —
Partner compensation (3) 1,894 —
Total restaurant-level operating income adjustments (4,206) 5,900
Adjusted restaurant-level operating income $ 742,091 $ 682,841
Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin 16.1 % 15.7 %
_________________
(1)Reflects changes in legal reserves in connection with certain collective action wage and hour lawsuits.
(2)Lease remeasurement gains in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative. See Note 4 - Impairments and Exit Costs of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details regarding the 2023 Closure Initiative.
(3)Costs incurred in connection with the transition to a new partner compensation program.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Segment Restaurant-level and Adjusted Restaurant-level Operating Income and Corresponding Margins Non-GAAP Reconciliations - The following tables reconcile segment Income from operations and the corresponding margin to segment restaurant-level operating income and adjusted restaurant-level operating income and the corresponding margins for the periods indicated:
U.S. FISCAL YEAR
Operating income margin 9.3 % 10.4 %
Less:
Plus:
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings 32,669 4,420
Restaurant-level operating margin 15.4 % 15.4 %
Adjustments:
Asset impairments and closing costs (1) (2,450) —
Partner compensation (2) 1,894 —
Total restaurant-level operating income adjustments (556) —
Adjusted restaurant-level operating income $ 617,878 $ 595,997
Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin 15.4 % 15.4 %
_________________
(1)Lease remeasurement gains in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative.
(2)Costs incurred in connection with the transition to a new partner compensation program.
International FISCAL YEAR
Operating income margin 13.6 % 11.4 %
Less:
Plus:
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings 905 1,537
Restaurant-level operating margin 20.5 % 18.5 %
Total restaurant-level operating income adjustments — —
Adjusted restaurant-level operating income $ 123,583 $ 90,663
Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin 20.5 % 18.5 %
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Adjusted Restaurant-level Operating Margin Non-GAAP Reconciliations (continued) -The following table presents the percentages of certain operating cost financial statement line items in relation to Restaurant sales for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
REPORTED ADJUSTED (1) REPORTED ADJUSTED (1)
Restaurant-level operating margin 16.2 % 16.1 % 15.6 % 15.7 %
_________________
(1)See the Consolidated Restaurant-level Operating Income and Adjusted Restaurant-level Operating Income and Corresponding Margins Non-GAAP Reconciliations table above for details regarding restaurant-level operating margin adjustments. For 2023, restaurant-level operating margin adjustments of $1.9 million and ($6.1) million were recorded within Labor and other related expense and Other restaurant operating expense, respectively. For 2022, all restaurant-level operating margin adjustments were recorded within Other restaurant operating expense.
Adjusted Income from Operations Non-GAAP Reconciliations - The following table reconciles Income from operations and the corresponding margin to adjusted income from operations and the corresponding margin for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
Operating income margin 7.0 % 7.5 %
Adjustments:
Total restaurant-level operating income adjustments (1) (4,206) 5,900
Asset impairments and closing costs (2) 28,236 —
Total income from operations adjustments 31,576 5,900
Adjusted operating income margin 7.6 % 7.6 %
_________________
(1)See the Consolidated Restaurant-level Operating Income and Adjusted Restaurant-level Operating Income and Corresponding Margins Non-GAAP Reconciliations table above for details regarding restaurant-level operating income adjustments.
(2)Includes asset impairment, closure costs and severance in connection with the 2023 Closure Initiative. Also includes a lease termination gain, net of related asset impairment charges, of $6.7 million related to the closure of one restaurant.
(3)Primarily includes professional fees, severance and other costs not correlated to our core operating performance during the period.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Non-GAAP Reconciliations - The following table reconciles Net income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share for the periods indicated:
FISCAL YEAR
(in thousands, except per share data) 2023 2022
Net income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands $ 247,386 $ 101,907
Adjustments:
Income from operations adjustments (1) 31,576 5,900
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt (2) — 107,630
Loss on fair value adjustment of derivatives, net (2) — 17,685
Adjustment to provision for income taxes (3) (10,801) (263)
Diluted earnings per share $ 2.56 $ 1.03
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (4) $ 2.93 $ 2.52
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding 96,453 98,512
Adjusted diluted weighted average common shares outstanding (4) 91,386 92,423
_________________
(1)See the Adjusted Income from Operations Non-GAAP Reconciliations table above for details regarding Income from operations adjustments.
(2)Includes losses primarily in connection with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase, including settlements of the related convertible senior note hedges and warrants. See Note 13 - Convertible Senior Notes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details.
(3)Includes the tax effects of non-GAAP adjustments determined based on the nature of the underlying non-GAAP adjustments and their relevant jurisdictional tax rates for all periods presented. For 2023, also includes a $2.9 million adjustment related to a Brazil federal income tax exemption on certain state value added tax benefits. For 2022, the primary difference between GAAP and adjusted effective income tax rates relates to certain non-deductible losses and other tax costs associated with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase.
(4)Adjusted diluted weighted average common shares outstanding was calculated excluding the dilutive effect of 5,067 and 6,089 shares for 2023 and 2022, respectively, to be issued upon conversion of the 2025 Notes to satisfy the amount in excess of the principal since our convertible note hedge offsets the dilutive impact of the shares underlying the 2025 Notes.
System-Wide Sales - System-wide sales is a non-GAAP financial measure that includes sales of all restaurants operating under our brand names, whether we own them or not. Management uses this information to make decisions about future plans for the development of additional restaurants and new concepts, as well as evaluation of current operations. System-wide sales comprise sales of Company-owned and franchised restaurants. For a summary of sales of Company-owned restaurants, refer to Note 3 - Revenue Recognition of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following table provides a summary of sales of franchised restaurants for the periods indicated, which are not included in our consolidated financial results. Franchise sales within this table do not represent our sales and are
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
presented only as an indicator of changes in the restaurant system, which management believes is important information regarding the health of our restaurant concepts and in determining our royalties and/or service fees.
FISCAL YEAR
U.S.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill 48 49
International
Outback Steakhouse - South Korea 354 296
____________________
(1)Includes franchise sales for off-premises only kitchens in South Korea.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash and Cash Equivalents
As of December 31, 2023, we had $111.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, of which $36.3 million was held by foreign affiliates. The international jurisdictions in which we have significant cash do not have any known restrictions that would prohibit repatriation.
As of December 31, 2023, we had aggregate undistributed foreign earnings of approximately $42.6 million that may be repatriated to the U.S. without additional material U.S. federal income tax. These amounts are not considered indefinitely reinvested in our foreign subsidiaries.
Borrowing Capacity and Debt Service
Credit Facilities - Following is a summary of our outstanding credit facilities as of the dates indicated and principal payments and debt issuance during the periods indicated:
SENIOR SECURED CREDIT FACILITY TOTAL CREDIT FACILITIES
TERM LOAN A REVOLVING FACILITY 2025 NOTES 2029 NOTES
(dollars in thousands)
____________________
(1)Interest rate for revolving credit facility represents the weighted average interest rate as of December 31, 2023.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
As of December 31, 2023, we had $599.2 million in available unused borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility, net of letters of credit of $19.8 million.
Credit Agreement - On April 26, 2022, we and OSI entered into the First Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and Incremental Amendment (the “Amended Credit Agreement”), which included an increase of our existing revolving credit facility from $800.0 million to $1.0 billion and a transition from the one-month London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) rate to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as the benchmark rate for purposes of calculating interest under the Senior Secured Credit Facility. At closing, an incremental $192.5 million was drawn on the revolving credit facility to fully repay the outstanding balance of Term loan A. Our total indebtedness remained unchanged as a result of the Amended Credit Agreement. The transition to SOFR did not materially impact the interest rate applied to our borrowings.
Our Amended Credit Agreement contains various financial and non-financial covenants. A violation of these covenants could negatively impact our liquidity by restricting our ability to borrow under the revolving credit facility and cause an acceleration of the amounts due under the credit facilities.
See Note 12 - Long-term Debt, Net of the notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details regarding the Amended Credit Agreement.
As of December 31, 2023 and December 25, 2022, we were in compliance with our debt covenants. We believe that we will remain in compliance with our debt covenants during the next 12 months and beyond.
2025 Notes Partial Repurchase - On May 25, 2022, we and certain holders (the “Noteholders”) entered into exchange agreements in which the Noteholders agreed to exchange $125.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the 2025 Notes for $196.9 million in cash, plus accrued interest, and approximately 2.3 million shares of our common stock. In connection with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase, we entered into partial unwind agreements with certain financial institutions relating to a portion of the convertible note hedge transactions (the “Note Hedge Early Termination Agreements”) and a portion of the Warrant Transactions (the “Warrant Early Termination Agreements”) that were previously entered into by the Company in connection with the issuance of the 2025 Notes. Upon settlement, we received $131.9 million for the Note Hedge Early Termination Agreements and paid $114.8 million for the Warrant Early Termination Agreements.
See Note 13 - Convertible Senior Notes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details regarding the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase and related Note Hedge Early Termination Agreements and Warrant Early Termination Agreements.
Use of Cash
Cash flows generated from operating activities and availability under our revolving credit facility are our principal sources of liquidity, which we use for operating expenses, development of new restaurants, relocating or remodeling older restaurants, investments in technology, dividend payments and share repurchases.
We believe that our expected liquidity sources are adequate to fund debt service requirements, lease obligations, capital expenditures and working capital obligations during the 12 months following this filing. However, our ability to continue to meet these requirements and obligations will depend on, among other things, our ability to achieve anticipated levels of revenue and cash flow and our ability to manage costs and working capital successfully.
Capital Expenditures - We estimate that our capital expenditures will total approximately $270 million to $290 million in 2024. The amount of actual capital expenditures may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors, among other things, including raw material constraints.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Continued
Brazil Judicial Deposit - During the first half of 2024, we anticipate making a judicial deposit of approximately $45.0 million to $50.0 million in connection with our appeal of an unfavorable court ruling related to our ongoing litigation regarding our eligibility for tax exemptions under the Brazil tax legislation. The judicial deposit includes the disputed amounts through December 31, 2023 and will be recorded in Other assets, net, on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. We believe that we will more likely than not prevail in this appeal and accordingly, have not recorded any expense or liability for the disputed amounts.
See Note 20 - Income Taxes of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the Brazil tax legislation and related litigation.
Dividends and Share Repurchases - During 2023 and 2022, we declared and paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.24 and $0.14 per share, respectively.