Food for Thought: Grilling Up Goals

Research evidence excerpt

Food for Thought: Grilling Up Goals

Deutsche Bank

Research

North America Industry Date

United States 26 June 2026

Food for Thought

Consumer Periodical

Restaurants

Grilling Up Goals

Lauren Silberman, CFA

Earnings Read Through Research Analyst

DRI reported F4Q earnings, with consolidated SSS +4.6%, led by impressive +1-212-250-1285

strength at LongHorn (+9.5%) driven by company-specific execution and

Anish Chejerla

steakhouse segment tailwinds, and solid trends at Olive Garden (+2.4%), Other Research Associate

Business (+4.6%) and Fine Dining (+1.9%). In F4Q, the casual dining brands saw an +1-212-250-9293

increase in visits from all income groups, though noted some softness in guests

Skyler Limber

under age 35, and DRI indicated trends were consistent throughout the quarter.

Research Associate

SSS have been choppy in the first three weeks of F1Q, though DRI largely attributed

+1-212-250-9185

this to noise (holiday shifts, World Cup, tough compares), noting no meaningful

change in underlying trends, and guided FY27 SSS to a normalized 2.5-3.5%. DRI

guided commodity inflation to ~3% for FY27, including ~4% in F1Q, ~2% in F2Q and

~3% in F2H, and labor inflation to ~3.5%. Commentary on the beef outlook was

constructive, noting the guide embeds ~LSD beef inflation in FY27, including MSD-

HSD in F1Q, slight deflation in F2Q and ~LSD inflation in F2H.

C-Suite Shake Ups

This week, DPZ announced that Russell Weiner is retiring as CEO and will be

succeeded by Joe Jordan, current COO and President of Domino’s US, effective

10/1. Weiner will transition to the role of Executive Chairman, noting current

Executive Chairman David Brandon will not stand for reelection in 2027, while

Jordan will also join the company’s Board. The announcement comes at a