Bloomin' Brands shares surge as customers pay up for steaks
BUZZ-Bloomin' Brands shares surge as customers pay up for steaks ** Outback Steakhouse chain owner Bloomin' Brands BLMN.O shares surge 35.5% to $12.09, an 18-month high, on Weds after it posted Q2 beat and raised its earnings outlook
** Tampa, Florida-based firm early Weds reported Q2 rev of $1.02 bln and adj EPS of $0.39, surpassing Wall Street's expectations, per LSEG, as increased restaurant-level operating margin driven by higher average check per person
** On the earnings call, CEO Michael Spanos said "we are seeing guests trade up more and more into the premium cuts" of steak, adding that's been better than what co had seen when it conducted the test in 2025
** Also encouraging is seeing the combo reaction to not only the new steak lineup, but that guests are also engaging with co's "differentiated non-steak proteins," Spanos told analysts
** Same-store-sales in the U.S. at Outback, which comprises roughly 60% of co's overall rev, increased 1.4% in the qtr; combined U.S. same-store-sales rose 2.3%
** Co now sees full-yr adj EPS of $0.90-$1.00, up from $0.75-$0.90
** With the advance, BLMN shares have nearly doubled YTD
** Avg rating of 12 analysts covering the stock is "hold"; median PT $8.38 - LSEG
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))