Chuy's (CHUY) 10-Q2023 Q1 Quarterly report

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Chuy’s”) develops and operates Chuy’s restaurants throughout the United States. Chuy’s is a growing, full-service restaurant concept offering a distinct menu of authentic, freshly-prepared Mexican and Tex-Mex inspired food. As of March 26, 2023, the Company operated 99 restaurants across 17 states.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), except that certain information and notes have been condensed or omitted pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full fiscal year. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2022. The accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 25, 2022, has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.

The Company operates on a 52- or 53- week fiscal year that ends on the last Sunday of the calendar year. Each quarterly period has 13 weeks, except for a 53-week year when the fourth quarter has 14 weeks. Our 2023 fiscal year consists of 53 weeks and our 2022 fiscal year consisted of 52 weeks.

The Company reviewed all recently issued accounting pronouncements and concluded that they were either not applicable or not expected to have a significant impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

The number of shares and net income per share data for all periods presented are based on the historical weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding.

Basic net income per share of the Company's common stock is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period.

Diluted net income per share of common stock is computed on the basis of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential shares of common stock equivalents outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method for dilutive options and restricted stock units (the options and restricted stock units were granted under the Chuy's Holdings, Inc. 2012 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the "2012 Plan") and the Chuy's Holdings, Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "2020 Plan")).

For the thirteen weeks ended March 26, 2023 and March 27, 2022, there were approximately 3,292 and 29,337 shares, respectively, of common stock equivalents that were excluded from the calculation of diluted net income per share because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.

The computation of basic and diluted net income per share is as follows:

The Company has outstanding awards under the 2012 Plan and the 2020 Plan. On July 30, 2020, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2020 Plan, which replaced the 2012 Plan and no further awards may be granted under the 2012 plan. The termination of the 2012 Plan did not affect outstanding awards granted under the 2012 Plan. Options granted under these plans vest over five years from the date of grant and have a maximum term of ten years. As of March 26, 2023, the Company had 1,892 of stock options outstanding and exercisable with a remaining weighted average contractual term of approximately 1.0 year.

Restricted stock units granted under the 2012 Plan and 2020 Plan vest over four years to five years from the date of grant. As of March 26, 2023, a total of 747,158 shares of common stock were reserved and remained available for issuance under the 2020 Plan.

Stock-based compensation expense recognized in the accompanying condensed consolidated income statements was approximately $975,000 and $1,016,000 for the thirteen weeks ended March 26, 2023 and March 27, 2022, respectively.

A summary of stock-based compensation activity related to restricted stock units for the thirteen weeks ended March 26, 2023 is as follows:

The fair value of the restricted stock units is the quoted market value of our common stock on the date of grant. As of March 26, 2023, total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock units was approximately $11.1 million. This amount is expected to be recognized evenly over the remaining vesting period of the grants.

The Credit Facility contains representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants and events of default that the Company considers customary for an agreement of this type. The agreement requires the Company to be in compliance with a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of no less than 1.25 to 1.00, and a maximum consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio of no more than 4.00 to 1.00. The Credit Facility also has certain restrictions on the payment of dividends and distributions. Under the Credit Facility, the Company may declare and make dividend payments so long as (i) no default or event of default has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom and (ii) immediately after giving effect to any such dividend payment, on a pro forma basis, the consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio does not exceed 3.50 to 1.00.

Borrowings under the Credit Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to, at the Company’s election, either LIBOR plus a margin of 1.5% to 2.0%, depending on the Company’s consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio, or a base rate determined according to the highest of (a) the prime rate, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.5% or (c) LIBOR plus 1.0%, plus a margin of 0.5% to 1.0%, depending on the Company’s consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio.

The obligations under the Company’s Credit Facility are guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of the Company and, subject to certain exceptions, secured by a continuing security interest in substantially all of the Company’s assets. As of March 26, 2023, the Company had no borrowings under the Credit Facility, and was in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Facility.

Operating lease assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date for material leases with a term of greater than 12 months. Operating lease liabilities represent the present value of future minimum lease payments. Since our leases do not provide an implicit rate, our operating lease liabilities are calculated using the Company's secured incremental borrowing rate at lease commencement. We estimate this rate based on prevailing financial market conditions, comparable companies, credit analysis and management judgment. Minimum lease payments include only fixed lease components of the agreement, as well as variable rate payments that depend on an index, initially measured using the index at the lease commencement date.

Operating lease assets represent our right to use an underlying asset and are based upon the operating lease liabilities adjusted for prepaid or accrued lease payments, initial direct costs and lease incentives. Lease incentives are recognized when construction milestones are met and reduce our operating lease asset. They are amortized through the operating lease assets as reductions of rent expense over the lease term.

Components of operating lease costs are included in occupancy, closed restaurant costs, restaurant pre-opening, general and administrative expense and property and equipment, net:

Supplemental cash flow disclosures and other lease information:

It is the Company’s policy to include any penalties and interest related to income taxes in its income tax provision. However, the Company currently has no penalties or interest related to income taxes.

The tax years 2021, 2020 and 2019 remain open for IRS audit. The Company has received no notice of audit or any notifications from the IRS for any of the open tax years.

The Company reviews long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, operating lease assets and intangibles, subject to amortization, for impairment when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. In determining the recoverability of the asset value, an analysis is performed at the individual restaurant level and primarily includes an assessment of historical undiscounted cash flows and other relevant factors and circumstances. The Company evaluates future cash flow projections in conjunction with qualitative factors and future operating plans and regularly reviews any restaurants with a deficient level of cash flows for the previous 24 months to determine if impairment testing is necessary.

Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying value of the restaurant to its estimated future undiscounted cash flows. If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying value, we determine if there is an impairment loss by comparing the carrying value of the restaurant to its estimated fair value. Based on this analysis, if the carrying value of the restaurant exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value.

We make assumptions to estimate future cash flows and asset fair values. The estimated fair value is generally determined using the depreciated replacement cost method, the income approach, or discounted cash flow projections. Estimated future cash flows are highly subjective assumptions based on the Company’s projections and understanding of our business, historical operating results, and trends in sales and restaurant level operating costs.

The Company’s impairment assessment process requires the use of estimates and assumptions regarding future cash flows and operating outcomes, which are based upon a significant degree of management judgment. The estimates used in the impairment analysis represent a Level 3 fair value measurement. The Company continues to assess the performance of restaurants and monitors the need for future impairment. Changes in the economic environment, real estate markets, capital spending, overall operating performance and underlying assumptions could impact these estimates and result in future impairment charges.

Closed restaurant costs represent on-going expenses to maintain the closed restaurants, such as rent expense, utility and insurance among other costs required to maintain the remaining closed locations.

We are a growing full-service restaurant concept offering a distinct menu of authentic, freshly-prepared Mexican and Tex-Mex inspired food. We were founded in Austin, Texas in 1982 and, as of March 26, 2023, we operated 99 restaurants across 17 states.

We are committed to providing value to our customers through offering generous portions of made-from-scratch, flavorful Mexican and Tex-Mex inspired dishes. We also offer a full-service bar in all of our restaurants providing our customers a wide variety of beverage offerings. We believe the Chuy’s culture is one of our most valuable assets, and we are committed to preserving and continually investing in our culture and our customers’ restaurant experience.

Our restaurants have a common décor, but we believe each location is unique in format, offering an “unchained” look and feel, as expressed by our motto “If you’ve seen one Chuy’s, you’ve seen one Chuy’s!” We believe our restaurants have an upbeat, funky, eclectic, somewhat irreverent atmosphere while still maintaining a family-friendly environment.

We use the following performance indicators in evaluating our performance:

The following table presents operating data for the periods indicated:

We operate on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year that ends on the last Sunday of the calendar year. Each quarterly period has 13 weeks, except for a 53-week year when the fourth quarter has 14 weeks. Our 2023 fiscal year consists of 53 weeks and our 2022 fiscal year consisted of 52 weeks.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of new restaurant openings and related expenses, profitability of new restaurants, weather, increases or decreases in comparable restaurant sales, general economic conditions, consumer confidence in the economy, changes in consumer preferences, competitive factors, changes in food costs, changes in labor costs and changes in gas prices. In the past, we have experienced significant variability in restaurant pre-opening costs from quarter to quarter primarily due to the timing of restaurant openings. We typically incur restaurant pre-opening costs in the five months preceding a new restaurant opening. In addition, our experience to date has been that labor and direct operating costs associated with a newly opened restaurant during the first several months of operation are often materially greater than what will be expected after that time, both in aggregate dollars and as a percentage of restaurant sales. Accordingly, the number and timing of new restaurant openings in any quarter has had, and is expected to continue to have, a significant impact on quarterly restaurant pre-opening costs, labor and direct operating costs.

Our business is also subject to fluctuations due to seasonality and adverse weather. The spring and summer months have traditionally had higher sales volume than other periods of the year. Timing of holidays, severe winter weather, hurricanes, thunderstorms and similar conditions may impact restaurant unit volumes in some of the markets where we operate and may have a greater impact should they occur during our higher volume months. As a result of these and other factors, our financial results for any given quarter may not be indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.

The following table presents, for the periods indicated, the condensed consolidated statement of operations (in thousands):

Comparable restaurant sales increased 8.0% for the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year primarily driven by a 1.8% increase in average weekly customers and a 6.2% increase in average check. The comparable restaurant sales and

traffic growth was positively impacted by less severe weather in the first quarter of 2023 and the negative effect that the Omicron variant had on January and February of 2022.

In August 2020, the IRS issued a Notice of Proposed Adjustment to the Company asserting that the tenant allowances paid under our operating leases should be recorded as taxable income for years 2016 and prior. The Company disagrees with the IRS's position and believes that it is more likely than not that the Company's position will ultimately be sustained upon further examination, including the resolution of the IRS's appeal or litigation processes, if any. As a result, no further tax accrual was made. The Company estimates if the IRS's position was upheld, the Company's tax liability associated with the IRS's position could range between $0.5 million and $2.5 million.

Our main requirements for liquidity are to support our working capital, restaurant expansion plans, ongoing maintenance of our existing restaurants, investment in infrastructure, obligations under our operating leases, interest payments on our debt, if any,

and to repurchase shares of our common stock subject to market conditions. Repurchases of the Company's outstanding common stock will be made in accordance with applicable laws and may be made at management's discretion from time to time in the open market, through privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. There is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares to be repurchased by the Company. The timing and extent of repurchases will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, regulatory requirements and other corporate considerations, and repurchases may be discontinued at any time.

Our liquidity may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including a decrease in customer traffic or average check per customer due to changes in economic conditions, as described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors" of our Annual Report.

As of March 26, 2023, the Company had a strong financial position with $82.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, no debt and $35.0 million of availability under its revolving credit facility.

This overall increase of $7.7 million, as detailed above, is partially offset by $3.7 million in higher payments on accounts payable mainly driven by timing of payments as compared to last year.

As of March 26, 2023, we had no other financing transactions, arrangements or other relationships with any unconsolidated affiliates or related parties. Additionally, we had no financing arrangements involving synthetic leases or trading activities involving commodity contracts.

There have been no material changes to our long-term or short-term capital requirements from what was previously disclosed in our Annual Report filed with the SEC.

There have been no material changes to our contractual obligations from what was previously disclosed in our Annual Report filed with the SEC.

As of March 26, 2023, we are not involved in any variable interest entities transactions and do not otherwise have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

There have been no material changes to the critical accounting policies and estimates from what was previously disclosed in our Annual Report filed with the SEC.

Certain statements in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect the current views of our senior management with respect to future events and our financial performance. These statements include forward-looking statements with respect to our business and industry in general. Statements that include the words “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate” and similar statements of a future or forward looking nature identify forward-looking statements for purposes of the federal securities laws or otherwise. Forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on our current knowledge of our business and operations, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with other cautionary statements included in this report and in our Annual Report. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what we anticipate. Any forward-looking statements you read in this report reflect our views as of the date of this report with respect to future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should carefully consider all of the factors identified in this report that could cause actual results to differ. We assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

There have been no material changes to our quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk from what was previously disclosed in our Annual Report filed with the SEC.

We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

The design of any system of control is based upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated objectives under all future events, no matter how remote, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may not deteriorate. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during our quarter ended March 26, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.