What Happened?

Shares of restaurant company Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ: BLMN) jumped 3.2% in the morning session as investors looked ahead to a busy week of corporate earnings reports. 

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill appeared to benefit from positive market sentiment. This upbeat mood comes as Wall Street braced for a significant number of earnings reports from major U.S. companies. Notably, the earnings season got off to a strong start: More than 85% of the S&P 500 stocks that reported earnings exceeded expectations, according to FactSet data. This robust performance fueled positive sentiment, suggesting that corporate profitability remained resilient despite ongoing economic uncertainties.

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $9.46, up 0.6% from previous close.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Bloomin' Brands’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 44 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock dropped 6.1% on the news that the major indices pulled back (Nasdaq -0.8%, S&P 500 -0.77%), largely due to escalating concerns surrounding the July 9th deadline for new US tariffs, now amplified by specific announcements. 

Earlier in the day, President Trump confirmed that Japan and South Korea would face new 25% tariffs on their imports to the US, effective August 1st. These announcements came ahead of the broader July 9th expiration of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, which failed to produce comprehensive trade deals with most nations. This action against two major trading partners, coupled with the ongoing threat of further tariffs on countries associated with the BRICS bloc, injected significant uncertainty and apprehension into global markets. Investors were likely reacting to the increased costs for businesses, potential disruptions to global supply chains, and the broader implications for international trade relations.

Bloomin' Brands is down 20.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $9.46 per share, it is trading 54.6% below its 52-week high of $20.85 from July 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bloomin' Brands’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $907.87.

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