The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated

a question during this time please press star then the number one on your telephone keypad to withdraw your question press star one again thank you i will now turn the call over to Etienne Marcus vice president of finance and investor relations you may begin your conference good afternoon and welcome to our second quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call on the call with me today are David Overton our chairman and chief executive officer

David Gordon, our President, and Matt Clark, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, let me quickly remind you that during this call, items will be discussed that are not based on historical fact and are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could be materially different from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements as a result of the factors detailed in today's press release. which is available on our website at investors.thecheesecakepatry.com and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements made on this call speak only as of today's date, and the company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements. In addition, during this conference call, we will be presenting results on an adjusted basis, which exclude impairment of assets and lease terminations and acquisition-related expenses. an explanation of our use of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures appear in our press release on our website as previously described. David Overton will begin today's call with some opening remarks, and David Gordon will provide an operational update. Matt will then review our second quarter financial results and finish up with some commentary on our outlook for the third quarter and full year 2024 before opening the call up to questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to David Overton.

Thank you, Etienne. We delivered another solid quarter with revenues finishing towards the higher end of our expected range and profitability surpassing expectations, resulting in 24% year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings per share, the third consecutive quarter of 20% or greater growth. Comparable sales, at the Cheesecake Factory restaurants were 1.4% for the second quarter, once again, meaningfully outperforming the casual dining industry, resulting in record high Cheesecake Factory restaurant average weekly sales, as well as total company consolidated revenues. Annualized unit volumes at the Cheesecake Factory reached 12.5 million for the quarter, and our newest restaurant in Orem, Utah, open to tremendous demand, underscoring the strong affinity for the Cheesecake Factory brand and the unique dining experiences we provide for our guests. Operational performance within the four walls was once again excellent in the second quarter with our operators intensely focused on fostering an environment where delivering delicious, memorable experiences for our guests is the top priority while effectively managing their restaurants. To this point, they drove year-over-year improvements in food efficiencies, labor productivity, overtime, and wage management, contributing to significantly enhance restaurant-level profitability. In fact, the Cheesecake Factory restaurant's four-wall margin was 17.7% for the quarter. the highest level in the past six years. Moving on to development, we successfully opened five restaurants in the second quarter, including one Cheesecake Factory, one North Italia, one FRC restaurant, and two Flower Child locations, all of which have opened to impressive demand, reinforcing our confidence in the strength of our experiential brands and their long-term growth potential. One Cheesecake Factory restaurant also opened in Asia. Additionally, subsequent to Quarter End, we opened a Blanco in Southern California. With 11 restaurant openings so far this year, we're well positioned to meet our objective of opening as many as 22 new restaurants in 2024, including as many as three Cheesecake Factories, six to seven North Italia's, six to seven Flower Child, and seven to eight FRC restaurants. In closing, we delivered another quarter of consistent and competitively strong results, supporting our belief that our strategy of focusing on what we do best, delivering exceptional service, hospitality, and delicious, memorable experiences for our valued guests will continue to differentiate us in the industry and allow us to drive profitable sales growth over the long term. With that, I will now turn the call over to David Gordon to provide an operational update.