By Connor Hart

Bloomin' Brands said its turnaround efforts are starting to pay off, after its Outback Steakhouse chain reported its first quarter of positive traffic in four years.

The restaurant company, which also owns Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, on Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter loss of $13.5 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $79.5 million, or 93 cents a share, in the previous year's comparable period.

Stripping out one-time items, earnings were 26 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 24 cents a share.

Total revenue ticked up 0.3% to $975.2 million but came in below the $980.5 million that Wall Street modeled.

Comparable-restaurant sales, or those from stores open 18 months or more, were flat.

Bloomin' launched its turnaround in November, targeting investments in steak quality at Outback Steakhouse. Chief Executive Mike Spanos said those investments are starting to pay off.

The company will make additional strategic investments over the course of the year, aiming to drive long-term, sustainable and profitable growth, he added.

Looking ahead, Bloomin' guided for same-restaurant sales to grow 0.5% to 2.5% over the coming year, compared with analysts' views for an increase of 1%.

The company forecast EPS of 70 cents to 85 cents, or 75 cents to 90 cents on an adjusted basis. Analysts were looking for EPS of 84 cents and adjusted earnings of 86 cents a share.

For the current quarter, Bloomin' expects comparable-restaurant sales growth to be flat to up 1%. Earnings are projected to be 54 cents to 59 cents a share, and adjusted earnings are expected to be 57 cents to 62 cents a share.

Wall Street modeled first-quarter same-restaurant sales to climb 1.1%, as well as both earnings and adjusted earnings of 56 cents a share.

Shares climbed 3.6% to $6.08, in premarket trading.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2026 07:21 ET (12:21 GMT)

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