Outback Steakhouse Parent Bloomin Brands Q1 Earnings: Margin Contraction, High Debt, Weak Q2 Outlook

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) reported first quarter adjusted earnings per share of 59 cents on Wednesday, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 56 cents.

Quarterly sales of $1.05 billion (down 1.8% year over year) outpaced the street view of $1.03 billion.

The decrease in total revenues was primarily due to the net impact of restaurant closures and openings and a decrease in comparable restaurant sales.

Also Read: US Restaurants Face Growth Hurdles As Macro Headwinds Mount, Says Analyst

Adjusted operating income margin in the quarter under review contracted to 6.1% from 7.8% in the year-ago period. 

Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin contracted to 13.9% from 15.5% a year ago, primarily due to lower revenues, higher operating, labor, and commodity costs, primarily due to inflation, and unfavorable product cost mix.

On April 23, the firm declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share, payable on June 4, to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $57.691 million, and total debt of $917.610 million.

Outlook: Bloomin’ Brands expects the second quarter adjusted EPS of $0.22 and $0.27, which is far lower than the $0.36 consensus estimate. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.20 to $1.40, compared to the $1.30 estimate.

“We are navigating a choppy macro environment and are leaning in to our abundant everyday value offerings. This is reflected in our current guidance,” said Mike Spanos, CEO.

Price Action: BLMN shares are trading higher by 0.76% to $7.990 premarket at last check Friday.

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