BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC (EAT)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

General

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help you understand our Company, our operations and our current operating environment. For an understanding of the significant factors that influenced our performance during the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended March 25, 2026 and March 26, 2025. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) included in this quarterly report. All amounts within the MD&A are presented in millions unless otherwise specified.

Overview

We own, develop, operate and franchise the Chili’s® Grill & Bar (“Chili’s”) and Maggiano’s Little Italy® (“Maggiano’s”) restaurant brands. As of March 25, 2026, we owned, operated or franchised 1,632 restaurants, consisting of 1,162 Company-owned restaurants and 470 franchised restaurants, located in the United States, 28 other countries and two United States territories. Our operating segments are Chili’s and Maggiano’s.

Operating Environment

Geopolitical and other macroeconomic events have led, and in the future may lead to, wage inflation, staffing challenges, product cost inflation (inclusive of tariffs) and/or disruptions in the supply chain that impact our restaurants’ ability to obtain the products needed to support their operation. Such events could also negatively affect consumer spending potentially reducing guest traffic and/or reducing the average amount guests spend in our restaurants.

Operations Strategy

We are committed to strategies and a Company culture that we believe will grow sales, increase profits, bring back guests and engage team members. Our strategies and culture are intended to strengthen our position in casual dining and grow our core business over time. Our primary brand strategy is to make our guests feel special through great food and quality service so that they return to our restaurants.

Chili’s - Our strategy is to make everyone feel special through a fun atmosphere, delicious food and drinks and Chilihead hospitality. We are making work at Chili’s easier, more fun and more rewarding for our team members so that they are more engaged and provide a better experience for our guests. One way we have done this is by eliminating tasks that were unnecessary and did not add value to our guests. We have also simplified our menu to focus on core equities we believe can help grow sales—burgers, fajitas, Chicken Crispers®, margaritas, and the Triple Dipper®. Our team members can make our core menu items better and more consistently because we have fewer menu items that need to be perfected.

We have a flexible platform of value offerings at both lunch and dinner that we believe is compelling to our guests. Our “3 for Me”® platform allows guests to enjoy a non-alcoholic drink, an appetizer and certain entrées starting at just $10.99. We believe our value offerings will continue to be an important traffic driver in the current economic circumstances and we will continue to highlight this value in our marketing efforts. We have increased menu pricing in other areas in light of the inflationary challenges and we have also improved menu offerings and merchandising to incentivize our guests to purchase higher priced items.

In addition, Chili’s has focused on a seamless digital experience as our guests’ preferences and expectations around dining convenience have evolved in recent years. Investments in our technology and off-premise options have enabled us to provide a faster, more convenient dine-in experience and to offer more To-Go and delivery options for our guests. Our To-Go menu is available through the Chili’s mobile app, chilis.com, our delivery partners DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub, Google Food Ordering or by calling the restaurant directly.

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In dining rooms, we use tabletop devices with functionality for guests to pay at the table, provide guest feedback and interact with our My Chili’s rewards program. Our My Chili’s rewards program offers free chips and salsa or a non-alcoholic beverage to members any time they visit our restaurants and allows us to communicate and advertise to our guests through email and text. Our servers use handheld tablets to place orders for our guests, increasing the efficiency of our team members and allowing orders to reach our kitchen quicker for better service to our guests.

Maggiano’s - At Maggiano’s, the focus is executing to improve performance and operations through the Company’s Back to Maggiano’s strategy. The strategy includes in-flight initiatives across food, service and atmosphere with the aim of revitalizing the brand’s core, serving Italian American favorites with warm and attentive service. While our dining rooms support the majority of our business, we also offer carry-out and delivery options through partnerships with delivery service providers that have made our restaurants more accessible to guests. Our restaurants also have banquet rooms to host large special events, particularly during the holiday season in the second and third quarters of the fiscal year.

Franchise Partnerships - During the thirty-nine week period ended March 25, 2026, there were 20 new franchise restaurant openings and two new development agreements. We plan to strategically pursue expansion of Chili’s internationally through development agreements with new and existing franchise partners.

Company Development - The following table details the number of restaurant openings during the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended March 25, 2026 and March 26, 2025, respectively, total full year projected openings in fiscal 2026 and the total restaurants open at each period end:

Additionally, the Company is relocating one Maggiano’s restaurant with an expected opening in the current year.

During the thirty-nine week period ended March 25, 2026, we purchased the land and buildings for two restaurants that were previously leased. As of March 25, 2026, we own property for 56 of the 1,162 Company-owned restaurants and one closed restaurant. The net book values associated with these restaurants included land of $46.0 million and buildings of $24.5 million.

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Revenues

Thirteen and Thirty-Nine Week Periods Ended March 25, 2026 compared to March 26, 2025

Revenues are presented in two separate captions in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) to provide more clarity around Company-owned restaurant revenues and operating expenses trends:

•Company sales include revenues generated by the operation of Company-owned restaurants including food and beverage sales, net of discounts, delivery service fee income, gift card breakage, digital entertainment revenues, merchandise income, Maggiano’s banquet service charge income, and are net of gift card discount costs from third-party gift card sales.

•Franchise revenues include royalties, franchise advertising fees, franchise and development fees, and other service fees.

The following is a summary of the change in Total revenues:

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(1)Maggiano's banquet income decreased primarily due to management’s decision to substantially eliminate banquet service charges at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

(2)Franchise revenues increased in the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended March 25, 2026 compared to March 26, 2025 primarily because of higher royalties. The table below presents sales from our franchisees:

The table below presents the percentage change in comparable restaurant sales and restaurant capacity for the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended March 25, 2026 compared to March 26, 2025:

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

GENERAL

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help you understand our Company, our operations and our current operating environment. For an understanding of the significant factors that influenced our performance, the MD&A should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this report. Our MD&A consists of the following sections:

•Overview - a brief description of our business and a discussion on the external trends impacting our business;

•Results of Operations - an analysis of the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income included in the Consolidated Financial Statements;

•Liquidity and Capital Resources - an analysis of cash flows, including capital expenditures, aggregate contractual obligations, financing activity, and known trends that may impact liquidity, including off-balance sheet arrangements; and

•Critical Accounting Estimates - a discussion of accounting policies that require critical judgments and estimates, including recent accounting pronouncements.

The following MD&A includes a discussion comparing our results in fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2024. For a discussion comparing our results from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2023, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 26, 2024, filed with the SEC on August 21, 2024.

The Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and include the accounts of Brinker International, Inc. and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All

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intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. We have a 52 or 53 week fiscal year ending on the last Wednesday in June. We utilize a 13 week accounting period for quarterly reporting purposes, except in years containing 53 weeks when the fourth quarter contains 14 weeks. Fiscal 2025, Fiscal 2024, and Fiscal 2023 which ended on June 25, 2025, June 26, 2024, and June 28, 2023, respectively, each contained 52 weeks. All amounts within the MD&A are presented in millions unless otherwise specified.

OVERVIEW

The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, operation, development, and franchising of the Chili’s® Grill & Bar (“Chili’s”) and Maggiano’s Little Italy® (“Maggiano’s”) restaurant brands. Our two restaurant brands, Chili’s and Maggiano’s, are both operating segments and reporting units. Refer to Part I, Item 1 - Business of this document for additional information about our business and operational strategies.

Operating Environment

During the recent years, our operating results were impacted by geopolitical and other macroeconomic events, leading to higher than usual inflation on wages and food and beverage costs. Geopolitical and other macroeconomic events have led, and in the future may lead to, wage inflation, staffing challenges, product cost inflation and/or disruptions in the supply chain that impact our restaurants’ ability to obtain the products needed to support their operation. Such events could also negatively affect consumer spending potentially reducing guest traffic and/or reducing the average amount guests spend in our restaurants.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table sets forth selected operating data:

(1)Food and beverage costs, Restaurant labor and Restaurant expenses are calculated based on a percentage of Company sales. All others are calculated as a percentage of Total revenues.

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Revenues

Revenues are presented in two separate captions in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income to provide more clarity around Company-owned restaurant revenues and operating expenses trends:

•Company sales include revenues generated by the operation of Company-owned restaurants including food and beverage sales, net of discounts, Maggiano’s banquet service charge income, delivery, gift card breakage, digital entertainment revenues, merchandise income and are net of gift card discount costs from third-party gift card sales.

•Franchise revenues include royalties, franchise advertising fees, franchise and development fees, and other service fees.

The following is a summary of the change in Total revenues:

(1)Comparable restaurant sales increased due to higher traffic, favorable menu item mix, and menu price increases.

(2)Franchise revenues increased primarily due to higher royalties. Our Chili’s and Maggiano’s franchisees generated sales of approximately $967.4 million and $16.9 million respectively in fiscal 2025 compared to $856.2 million and $11.8 million respectively in fiscal 2024.

The table below presents the percentage change in comparable restaurant sales and restaurant capacity for fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024:

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(1)Comparable Restaurant Sales include all restaurants that have been in operation for more than 18 full months. Restaurants temporarily closed 14 days or more are excluded from Comparable Restaurant Sales. Percentage amounts are calculated based on the comparable periods year-over-year.

(2)Mix-Shift is calculated as the year-over-year percentage change in Company sales resulting from the change in menu items ordered by guests.

(3)Restaurant Capacity is measured by sales weeks and is calculated based on comparable periods year-over-year. No adjustments have been made to capacity for temporary closures.

(4)Franchise sales generated by franchisees are not included in Total revenues in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income; however, we generate royalty revenues and advertising fees based on franchisee revenues, where applicable. We believe presenting Franchise Comparable Restaurant Sales provides investors relevant information regarding total brand performance.

(5)Chili’s domestic Comparable Restaurant Sales percentages are derived from sales generated by Company-owned and franchise-operated Chili’s restaurants in the United States.

(6)System-wide Comparable Restaurant Sales are derived from sales generated by Chili’s and Maggiano’s Company-owned and franchise-operated restaurants.

Costs and Expenses

The following is a summary of the changes in Costs and Expenses:

As a percentage of Company sales:

•Food and beverage costs were flat, due to 1.5% of favorable menu pricing, offset by 1.1% of unfavorable menu item mix and 0.4% of unfavorable commodity costs driven by poultry, meat, produce, and dairy.

•Restaurant labor was favorable 1.4%, due to 4.0% of sales leverage and 0.2% of lower other labor expenses, partially offset by 2.1% of higher hourly labor driven by increased staffing levels and wage rates, 0.4% of higher manager salaries, and 0.3% of higher manager bonus.

•Restaurant expenses were favorable 2.8%, due to 3.8% of sales leverage and 0.1% of lower other restaurant expenses, partially offset by 0.5% of higher repairs and maintenance, 0.4% of higher advertising, and 0.2% of higher rent.

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Depreciation and amortization increased $35.8 million as follows:

(1)Finance lease amortization increased primarily due to new tabletop and tablet devices in our restaurants.

(2)Other includes accelerated depreciation of certain equipment over the remaining expected useful life as a result of man

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