New York, February 11, 2026, 15:48 EST — Regular session
- Brinker shares rose in afternoon trading, clawing back some of Tuesday’s sharp drop
- An SEC filing showed the company’s chief legal officer sold stock after exercising options
- Traders are watching Friday’s U.S. inflation data for clues on consumer demand and costs
Brinker International shares rose on Wednesday afternoon, with the Chili’s owner trading at $165.12, up $1.95, or about 1.2%.
The move matters because restaurant stocks have been leaning hard on the macro again. Stronger job growth can support dining-out demand, but the same data can also push bond yields up and complicate the rate outlook.
That mix has kept investors twitchy about anything tied to discretionary spending, from casual dining to apparel. For Brinker, the tape has been jumpy even without fresh company news — the stock has been moving in big daily blocks.
A Form 4 filing — the SEC disclosure insiders use to report stock trades — showed SVP and Chief Legal Officer Daniel S. Fuller exercised options for 5,490 shares and sold 4,042 shares at a weighted-average price of $167.64 in transactions dated Feb. 6. The filing showed he held 40,087 shares after the sale. (SEC)
Peers were mixed but mostly higher in the same session. Darden Restaurants was up about 1.2% and Texas Roadhouse gained roughly 0.7%, while Dine Brands slipped around 0.3%.
The broader bid followed a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 in January versus a 70,000 forecast in a Reuters poll, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. “The more jobs we have, the more spending we have,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said. (Reuters)
Brinker is still riding the after-effects of its late-January quarterly report, when it raised its fiscal 2026 guidance after second-quarter results. The company lifted its outlook for revenue to $5.76 billion to $5.83 billion and adjusted earnings per share to $10.45 to $10.85. (Brinker)
The stock’s bounce came a day after it slid 4.7% to $163.17, according to Brinker’s investor relations quote page. (Brinker)
But there’s a downside case, too. If inflation firms up again and borrowing costs stay sticky, diners can trade down or stay home, and casual chains can get pulled into a price fight that eats margins.
Next up is Friday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index report for January, due at 8:30 a.m. ET — the print that could reset rate bets and, by extension, appetite for consumer names like Brinker. (Bls)
