BLMN - Bloomin' Brands stock boosted by bottom-line beat bullish forecast

Bloomin’ Brands ( NASDAQ: BLMN ) shares rose sharply in Thursday’s premarket trading after forecasting resilience for restaurant demand into 2023.

The Outback Steakhouse-parent posted $0.68 in earnings per share, $0.04 above analyst expectations. Meanwhile, a 4.8% rise in revenue to $1.1B narrowly missed estimates. Comparable sales at Outback, Carrabba’s, and Bonefish Grill rose 3.4%, 13.4%, and 1.9%, respectively.

“We are pleased with our results in 2022 where we delivered profits and margins well above pre-pandemic levels despite significant inflation,” CEO David Deno said. “All U.S. brands finished the year with positive comparable restaurant sales and our Brazil business achieved record levels of profits and sales. We are off to a good start to 2023 as we continue to elevate the customer experience and drive innovation across the portfolio while remaining focused on healthy top-line growth.”

Moving forward, management expects $2.91 to $3.00 in adjusted earnings per share, well above the consensus of $2.70. US comparable sales across brands are expected to rise 2% to 4% from 2022 levels. Both commodity and labor inflation are expected to rise in the mid-single-digits.

Elsewhere, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on March 15. The board also approved a new $125M share repurchase authorization.

“The 71% increase in our dividend as well as our new $125M share repurchase authorization reflects our confidence in the strength of our cash flows,” CFO Chris Meyer said. “Importantly, we continue to generate ample cash flow that will fund investments in our people and ongoing growth initiatives.”

Shares of the Florida-based restaurant group rose 6.47% in premarket trading.

Dig into the details of the quarterly earnings release .

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