With Red Robin’s (NASDAQ:RRGB) share price up over 25% at the time of writing, it’s clear investors are more than satisfied with the burger chain. While the earnings report didn’t turn out all that tasty, a recent analyst upgrade helped turn things around. Things weren’t shaping up well for Red Robin going into today. Analysts were looking for Red Robin to turn in earnings per share of -$0.62. However, EPS came in at -$1.35. Revenue also faltered against expectations, as Red Robin put up $290.1 million, compared to the $293.15 million that analysts expected.
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Nevertheless, projections looked a little brighter. CEO GJ Hart expects the company to bring in $1.3 billion for Fiscal Year 2023. That was slightly higher than the consensus, which looked for $1.28 billion. Meanwhile, Hart’s adjusted EBITDA forecast looked for between $62.5 and $72.5 million. That was in line with consensus, which looked for $68.3 million.
That was all Todd Brooks with Benchmark needed to hear as he pivoted from Hold to Buy, looking for “meaningful operating and financial improvement” this year. Hart’s plan to directly incentivize restaurant managers to make better profits and its increasing connection to the Make-a-Wish program may help give Red Robin a leg up on that front.
This was just the news Red Robin needed, as the last five trading days shows a gradual decline until today’s events. Red Robin blasted up and managed to even expand on those gains for a while. It ultimately pulled back but is still up over 18% during the timeframe.
