Bloomin' Brands, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Recap

Shares rallied sharply, gaining 38%, as Bonefish Grill's impressive same-store sales and traffic growth clearly outpaced other brands, providing palpable evidence that the turnaround strategy is gaining traction despite ongoing softness at Outback Steakhouse.

Key Takeaways

• Bonefish's comparable sales soared by 6.1% with traffic increasing 3.0%, the strongest growth across the portfolio.
• Carrabba's and Fleming's posted modest comp sales increases of 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively, though both saw traffic declines (-2.7% and -2.9%).
• Outback Steakhouse lagged with a 0.3% comp sales decline and a 2.4% drop in traffic, weighed down by weather and ongoing challenges in reversing traffic trends despite improvements in guest scores.
• The company reiterated its turnaround plan focused on Outback, highlighting new steak offerings and enhanced operational execution, but results show mixed progress across brands.
• Weather negatively impacted Q1 comps by approximately 2.4 percentage points, particularly weighing on Outback’s results early in the quarter.