Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Reveals "First Choice" Plan to Drive Long-Term Shareholder Value; Company Expects Q2 Comparable Restaurant Sales To Decrease ~4%, Modestly Below Previously Communicated Expectations Of A Decrease Of ~3%, And Now Expects Adjusted EBITDA To Exceed The Prior Expectation Of $13M To $16M

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | July 14, 2025 03:12pm

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB) ("Red Robin" or the "Company"), a full-service restaurant chain serving an innovative selection of high-quality gourmet burgers in a family-friendly atmosphere, today announced its "First Choice" plan to drive long-term shareholder value. The Company also provided an updated financial outlook for the second quarter ended July 13, 2025.

Dave Pace, Red Robin's President and Chief Executive Officer said, "The opportunity for Red Robin is significant, and we've put in motion an integrated plan to make us the 'First Choice' for guests, team members, and investors. Our First Choice plan includes coordinated initiatives to preserve the progress made under the Company's previous North Star Plan and build further in critical areas that we need to excel at in order to compete and win."

Pace continued, "We have launched bold initiatives to generate the resources needed to strengthen our balance sheet, create compelling marketing communication, invest in our restaurant facilities and technology, and consistently deliver everyday value and a great experience to our guests. We are confident the First Choice plan will result in sustainable guest count growth, increased profitability and free cash flow generation, and a great work environment for our team members."

Through the execution of our plan, Red Robin will be the "First Choice" for:

1)      Guests searching for a differentiated restaurant experience;

2)      Team Members looking for a great place to work; and

3)      Investors seeking reliable returns on their investment.

The "First Choice" Plan Consists of the Following:

Hold Serve: Protect and build on the foundations established under the North Star Plan.

• Maintain and improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness
• Deliver quality food and hospitality every time
• Sustain and extend restaurant level financial performance and expense management

Drive Traffic: Creatively engage with guests and inspire visitation.

• Identify and remove barriers to trial and repeat visits
• Implement the First Choice marketing plan to inspire new and returning guests
• Deliver value for the money to every guest in a family friendly environment

Find Money: Manage expenses and assets to reduce debt and allow for critical investments.

• Deliver consistent financial performance
• Reduce expenses across the system
• Tactically refranchise select company owned restaurants and markets
• Reduce debt and refinance to deliver interest savings

Fix Restaurants: Invest in the physical estate to improve the overall dining experience.

• Address deferred maintenance needs to achieve a competitive standard
• Improve guest facing surroundings to reduce barriers to trial and repeat visitation
• Invest in new technology

Win Together: Create a high-performance environment that attracts and retains the best industry talent.

• Create a "guest facing" culture
• Cultivate an ownership mentality
• Reward performance
• Develop leaders
• "Do the right thing"

Updated Second Quarter Outlook

The Company expects second quarter comparable restaurant sales to decrease approximately 4%, modestly below previously communicated expectations of a decrease of approximately 3%, and now expects Adjusted EBITDA to exceed the prior expectation of $13 million to $16 million. The Company expects to report second quarter results in mid-August.

Todd Wilson, Red Robin's Chief Financial Officer said, "Our commitments to operational excellence and cost efficiency have delivered meaningful profitability improvements, with the Adjusted EBITDA we expect to report in the first half of 2025 already surpassing our full-year 2024 results. While we continue to address our opportunity to deliver traffic growth, these profitability gains reflect the dedication of our restaurant teams who have embraced an ownership mindset. Combined with the benefit of recent corporate efficiency initiatives, our improved financial foundation provides us with the resources needed to accelerate investments in traffic-driving initiatives."

Providing Net income (loss) guidance is potentially misleading and not practical given the difficulty of projecting event-driven transactional and other non-core operating items. As such, we do not present a reconciliation of forecasted Adjusted EBITDA to Net income (loss), the corresponding GAAP measure.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

Red Robin will host an investor conference call to discuss the "First Choice" plan and updated financial expectations for the second quarter and full year fiscal 2025 tomorrow, July 15th at 8:30 a.m. ET. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 201-689-8560 which will be answered by an operator or by clicking Call Me™. The conference call should be accessed at least 10 minutes prior to its scheduled start.

A replay will be available from approximately two hours after the end of the conference call and can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6671; the conference ID is 13754725. The replay will be available through Tuesday, July 22, 2025.

The call will be webcast live and later archived on the Company's Investor Relations website.

Posted In: RRGB