Bloomin' Brands Raises 2026 EPS After Third-Quarter Loss

The Tip Desk · November 12, 2026 · 3 min read

The restaurant operator lifted full-year diluted EPS guidance to $1.06 to $1.11 after a $0.02 a share loss in the third quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (BLMN) reported a diluted loss of $0.02 a share from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2026, versus a $0.54 a share loss a year earlier, and raised full-year diluted earnings guidance to $1.06 to $1.11 a share from $0.85 to $0.95.

Adjusted diluted loss from continuing operations was $0.17 a share, compared with a $0.03 a share adjusted loss a year earlier. The company said the third-quarter adjustments primarily represented an adjustment to gift card breakage revenue resulting from a change in accounting estimate. A year earlier, adjustments included impairment and closing costs, transformational and restructuring costs, and foreign-currency forward-contract costs.

Total revenues were $944.3 million, up 1.7% from $928.8 million a year earlier. The company said the increase was primarily due to higher comparable restaurant sales and $13.2 million of gift card breakage revenue from the accounting-estimate change, partially offset by the net impact of restaurant closures and openings.

GAAP operating income margin was 2.0%, versus a 3.9% operating loss margin a year earlier. The company attributed the improvement primarily to lower impairment and closure costs, a higher restaurant-level operating margin, and lapping of general and administrative expenses tied to transformational and restructuring initiatives and foreign-currency forward contracts, partially offset by higher compensation expense. Adjusted operating income margin, which excludes the gift-card breakage change, was 0.3%.

Restaurant-level operating margin was 10.6%. The company said the increase was primarily due to a higher average check per person, mainly from pricing, the gift-card breakage change, and productivity initiatives, partially offset by higher commodity, operating and labor costs, mainly due to inflation, and higher advertising expense. Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin was 9.3%.

Combined U.S. comparable restaurant sales rose 1.9% in the thirteen weeks ended September 27, 2026, after 2.3% in the second quarter. Outback Steakhouse U.S. comps were 1.9%, Bonefish Grill 5.3%, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill 0.6%. Combined U.S. traffic declined 1.8%. Average check per person rose 3.7%.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Spanos said the company was “encouraged by our third quarter results and the continued progress on the Outback Turnaround, including five consecutive quarters of year-over-year improvement in Outback guest scores.” He said the company remains focused on consistent execution across food, service, experience, and affordability.

U.S. segment income from operations was $47.2 million. International Franchise segment income from operations was $7.6 million. Unallocated corporate operating expense was $36.9 million.

Cash and cash equivalents were $90.7 million as of September 27, 2026. Total debt was $768.0 million. The company said it has, and may continue to have, negative working capital balances, as is common for many restaurant companies.

The company narrowed full-year 2026 U.S. comparable restaurant sales guidance to 1% to 1.5% from 1% to 2% and raised adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $0.97 to $1.02 a share from $0.90 to $1.00. It said it is reaffirming all other aspects of full-year financial guidance. For the fourth quarter of 2026, it expects U.S. comparable restaurant sales of 0% to 1% and diluted and adjusted diluted earnings of $0.07 to $0.12 a share, assuming approximately 88 million diluted weighted average shares.

System-wide restaurant count was 1,452 at quarter-end, with 958 company-owned locations. U.S. restaurants numbered 1,081.