01:53 PM EDT, 08/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Brinker International ( EAT ) on Wednesday outlined a fiscal 2025 earnings outlook range that missed Wall Street's estimates at the midpoint after its fourth-quarter bottom-line didn't rise as much as expected, sending the casual dining restaurant company's shares tumbling.

The company, which owns the Chili's Grill & Bar ( EAT ) chain, expects 2025 adjusted earnings between $4.35 and $4.75 per share on revenue of $4.55 billion to $4.62 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ are looking for normalized EPS of $4.70 on revenue of $4.56 billion.

Adjusted EPS rose to $1.61 for the quarter through June 26 from $1.39 a year earlier, but missed the Street's $1.72 estimate. Revenue increased to $1.21 billion from $1.08 billion, topping the $1.16 billion modeled by analysts.

Brinker ( EAT ) shares were down 11% in Wednesday afternoon trade.

Fourth-quarter company-level comparable restaurant sales jumped almost 14%, blowing past the Street's 8.6% growth view. The company said Chili's ( EAT ) comparable sales surged nearly 15% amid increased menu pricing and higher traffic. Chili's ( EAT ) traffic grew 5.9%, but included a roughly 2.3% hit from Brinker's ( EAT ) "strategic decision to de-emphasize virtual brands," according to a statement. Maggiano's Little Italy ( EAT ) comparable sales rose 2.5%.

"We achieved another quarter of solid progress against our strategy to deliver profitable, sustainable growth," Chief Executive Kevin Hochman said. "We significantly outperformed the industry in both sales and traffic during the quarter, while maintaining record high guest metrics."

The company said its investment in the business resulted in increased restaurant staffing and repairs and maintenance expense during the quarter.

Fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS jumped to $4.10 from $2.83 a year earlier, but lagged the Street's $4.22 view. Revenue rose to $4.42 billion from $4.13 billion, surpassing analysts' $4.37 billion consensus view. Company-level comparable restaurant sales grew 7%.

Price: 62.09, Change: -8.32, Percent Change: -11.81