The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Cheesecake Factory Incorporated earnings call for Q2 of 2026. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Etienne Marcus, VP of Finance and Investor Relations. Etienne, please go ahead.

Good afternoon and welcome to our second quarter fiscal 2026 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 facts 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.thecheesecakefactory.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 acquisition-related items, impairment of assets and lease termination expenses, and other items. Explanations of use of our non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures appear in a press release or on a 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 provide commentary on our financial outlook or opening the call up to questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to David Overton.

Thank you, Etienne. We delivered an outstanding second quarter with revenue, margins, and earnings all exceeding our expectations. Quarterly revenues surpassed $1 billion for the first time and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 24% year over year. The Cheesecake Factory restaurants led our performance delivering comparable sales growth of 5.8% and positive traffic. Our strong top line sales this quarter reflect disciplined execution across our restaurants. As a result, traffic trends improved and we captured market share. The increase in sales along with gains in labor productivity and food efficiency drove solid flow through increasing the Cheesecake Factory's restaurant-level margin to 20%, its highest level in a decade. One of the key drivers of this momentum has been the positive response to our recent menu additions, demonstrating the strength of our culinary innovation. Our new offerings highlight the breadth and relevance of our menu, helping to drive frequency, attract new guests, and reinforce value through innovation rather than discounting. Later this week, we will celebrate National Cheesecake Day with the debut of our Brownie Crunch Chocolate Cheesecake. We're especially excited about this year's flavor and believe it will resonate well with our guests. Turning to development, we opened four restaurants during the second quarter, including two North Italia locations, a Flower Child and a Henry. Subsequent to quarter end, we opened one Cheesecake Factory location. We remain on track to open as many as 26 restaurants this year, consistent with our longer-term objective of 7% annual unit growth. In summary, we delivered a record-setting quarter and entered the second half of the year from a position of strength. Our success remains rooted in the fundamentals that have defined us for decades, exceptional hospitality, high-quality food, and memorable dining experiences. We are building on that foundation with menu innovation, deeper guest engagement through our rewards program and operational excellence across our restaurants. Our results demonstrate that our strategy is working and reinforce our confidence in our ability to drive growth and create shareholder value. With that, I will now hand the call over to David Gordon to provide an operational update.