Stockholders' Equity

6 Months Ended

Jul. 04, 2023

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' Equity

8.  Stockholders’ Equity

Common Stock – Dividends and Share Repurchases

On May 10, 2023, our Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share that was paid on June 6, 2023 to the stockholders of record of each share of our common stock at the close of business on May 24, 2023. Future decisions to pay or to increase or decrease dividends are at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent on our operating performance, financial condition, capital expenditure requirements, limitations on cash distributions pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement and applicable law, and such other factors that the Board considers relevant. (See Notes 5 and 12 for further discussion of our long-term debt and dividends declared subsequent to July 4, 2023, respectively.)

Under authorization by our Board to repurchase up to 61.0 million shares of our common stock, we have cumulatively repurchased 55.8 million shares at a total cost of $1,787.3 million, excluding excise tax, through July 4, 2023, with 0.3 million shares and 0.6 million shares repurchased at a cost of $9.3 million and $21.7 million, excluding excise tax during the thirteen and twenty-six weeks ended July 4, 2023, respectively. Our objectives with regard to share repurchases have been to offset the dilution to our shares outstanding that results from equity compensation grants and to supplement our earnings per share growth.

Our share repurchase program does not have an expiration date, does not require us to purchase a specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time. Share repurchases may be made from time to time in open market purchases, privately-negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase programs, issuer self-tender offers or otherwise. Future decisions to repurchase shares are at the discretion of the Board and are based on several factors, including current and forecasted operating cash flows, capital needs associated with new restaurant development and maintenance of existing locations, dividend payments, debt levels and cost of borrowing, obligations associated with the FRC acquisition agreement, our share price and current market conditions. The timing and number of shares repurchased are also subject to legal constraints and covenants under the Loan Agreement that limit share repurchases based on a defined ratio. (See Note 5 for further discussion of our long-term debt.)