Zacks Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for EAT

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Brinker International in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ram now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.43 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.29. The consensus estimate for Brinker International’s current full-year earnings is $5.53 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Brinker International’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.51 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EAT. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $117.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.99 and its 200 day moving average is $74.85. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $34.77 and a twelve month high of $123.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter valued at about $714,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 36.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,908,000 after acquiring an additional 75,225 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after acquiring an additional 135,580 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 1,686.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,969,000 after acquiring an additional 182,172 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.