THE WEEK THAT WAS, ENDING DECEMBER 20th – ONE UPGRADE, ONE DOWNGRADE, ONE INITIATION - BEST OF BREED DARDEN REPORTS (transcript always worth a read) – with relevant transcripts

PREVIOUSLY REPORTING:

CHANGES IN RATINGS: Brinker upgraded to Equal-Weight, European Wax Center downgraded to Market Perform, Valvoline initiated at Hold –

Otherwise:

Cheesecake Factory: maintained Positively at 2 firms

Chipotle: maintained Hold at 1 firm, Outperform at another firm

Dutch Bros: maintained Positively at 2 firms

All maintained Positively at 1 firm: Shake Shack, Texas Roadhouse, Planet Fitness,

COMPANIES REPORTING DURING WEEK: Ark Restaurants (no coverage, except ours, Darden (18 analysts on the conference call), RCI Hospitality (lightly covered).

Darden: Maintained Neutral at 3 firms, maintained Positively at 8 firms

RCI Hospitality: Maintained a Buy at 1 firm.

Conference call transcripts are below for all companies reporting in prior weeks with ratings changes (Brinker, European Wax Center), initiations (Valvoline), or companies reporting in THE WEEK THAT WAS: (Darden – Best of Breed always worth a read, RCI Hospitality, Ark Restaurants)

TRANSCRIPTS:

Brinker International (EAT) – Q1’25 (SEPTEMBER) TRANSCRIPT

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

European Wax Center (EWCZ) – Q3’24 TRANASCRIPT

European Wax Center, Inc. (EWCZ) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

Valvoline (VVV) – Q4’24 (SEPTEMBER) TRANSCRIPT

Valvoline Inc. (VVV) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

Darden (DRI) – MOST RECENT Q2’25 (NOVEMBER)TRANSCRIPT AND SLIDE PRESENTATION

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha

Q2 FY2025 Earnings Release Deck

RCI Hospitality (RICK) – MOST RECENT Q4’24 (SEPTEMBER) TRANSCRIPT AND SLIDE PRESENTATION

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RICK) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript _ Seeking Alpha