Bloomin' Brands raised its adjusted earnings outlook, as customers at its Outback Steakhouse chain are paying more for pricier steaks.
"We are seeing guests trade up more and more into the premium cuts," Chief Executive Mike Spanos told analysts Wednesday. "That's been better than what we had seen when we did the test in 2025."
Bloomin' now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be 90 cents to $1, up from 75 cents to 90 cents previously.
Shares climbed 31% to $11.72 on Wednesday morning.
At Outback, which is Bloomin's biggest restaurant chain, customers are spending more for an average meal, executives said. Outback's same-store sales in the U.S. increased 1.4% in the second quarter.
Along with buying higher-end steaks, they are also adding premium side orders and desserts to their orders. A recent redesign of Outback's menu advertising its combo meals, which pair a steak with seafood or chicken, has been more effective than expected, Spanos said.
"What's also been very encouraging is seeing the combo reaction to not only the new steak lineup, but guests also engaging with our differentiated non-steak proteins," he said.
Bloomin' has been executing a turnaround plan at its Outback restaurants to try to win back customers and pump up sales growth. It added lower-priced options to its menu to try to give diners a more affordable entry point, but about 60% of guests are consistently trading up from that entry price point into higher tiers, Spanos said.
Same-store sales increased across all of Bloomin's other brands. Total revenue rose 1.3% to $1.02 billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $1.00 billion.
Profit was $31.3 million, or 36 cents a share, up from $25.4 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were 39 cents, ahead of the 29 cents anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
Bloomin' narrowed its full-year guidance for U.S. same-store sales to a range of 1% to 2% growth, from 0.5% to 2.5% previously.
For the current third quarter, the company anticipates an adjusted per-share loss of 22 cents to 27 cents, compared with the 19-cent loss Wall Street is projecting. Quarterly same-store sales are expected to grow 1% to 2%.
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