Watch Brinker International's (NYSE: EAT) earnings report to see if it can beat analyst expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, Jan. 24. Brinker International owns, develops, operates, and franchises the Chili's Grill & Bar, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts are bullish on Brinker International as five analysts rate it as a buy and only four analysts rate it as a sell. Analysts don't like Brinker International as much as competitor Buffalo Wild Wings overall. While analysts still rate the stock a hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $686.1 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 2.1% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.45 per share. Estimates range from $0.42 to $0.48.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 78.8% granting it an "outperform" rating. The majority of the Fools are in agreement with the All-Stars as 66.4% give it an "outperform" rating. Fools have embraced Brinker International and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 175 posts in the past 30 days. Brinker International's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Brinker International's profit has risen year over year by an average of 20.3% over the past five quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Gross Margin

72.8%

73.1%

72.8%

73.3%

Operating Margin

5.9%

8.5%

8.5%

7.5%

Net Margin

3.5%

5.8%

5.6%

5.6%

One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Brinker International movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.