Texas Roadhouse, Inc. - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10‑K

Texas Roadhouse, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant specified in its charter)

6040 Dutchmans Lane

Louisville, Kentucky 40205

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(502) 426‑9984

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well‑known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒  No ☐.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐  No ☒.

Indicate by check mark whether registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒  No ☐.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S‑T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒  No ☐.

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S‑K is not contained herein and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10‑K or any amendment to the Form 10‑K. ☒  .

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non‑accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer", "smaller reporting company," and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐  No ☒.

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non‑affiliates of the registrant as of the last day of the second fiscal quarter ended June 27, 2017 was $3,390,987,770 based on the closing stock price of $50.98. Shares of voting stock held by each officer and director have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes. The market value calculation was determined using the closing stock price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The number of shares of common stock outstanding were 71,355,927 on February 14, 2018.

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is expected to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 26, 2017, are incorporated by reference into Part III of the Form 10‑K. With the exception of the portions of the Proxy Statement expressly incorporated by reference, such document shall not be deemed filed with this Form 10‑K.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD‑LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10‑K contains statements about future events and expectations that constitute forward‑looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward‑looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Forward‑looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations of future results we express or imply in any forward‑looking statements. In addition to the other factors discussed under "Risk Factors" elsewhere in this report, factors that could contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to:

The words "believe," "may," "should," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "objective," "seek," "plan," "strive," "goal," "projects," "forecasts," "will" or similar words or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, identify forward‑looking statements. We qualify any forward‑looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors.

Other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors," or those currently deemed immaterial or unknown, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward‑looking statements we make.

We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward‑looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward‑looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

PART I

ITEM 1—BUSINESS

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (the "Company") was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in 2004. The principal executive office is located in Louisville, Kentucky.

General Development of Business

The Company is a growing restaurant company operating predominately in the casual dining segment. Our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, W. Kent Taylor, started the business in 1993 with the opening of the first Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Clarksville, Indiana. Since then, we have grown to 549 restaurants in 49 states and seven foreign countries. Our mission statement is "Legendary Food, Legendary Service®." Our operating strategy is designed to position each of our restaurants as the local hometown favorite for a broad segment of consumers seeking high quality, affordable meals served with friendly, attentive service. As of December 26, 2017, we owned and operated 462 restaurants and franchised an additional 70 domestic restaurants and 17 international restaurants.

Financial Information about Operating Segments

We consider our restaurant and franchising operations as similar and have aggregated them into a single reportable segment. The majority of the restaurants operate in the U.S. within the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, providing similar products to similar customers, and possessing similar pricing structures, resulting in similar long‑term expected financial performance characteristics. Each of our 462 company restaurants is considered an operating segment. 

Narrative Description of Business

Of the 462 restaurants we owned and operated at the end of 2017, we operated 440 as Texas Roadhouse restaurants and 20 as Bubba’s 33 restaurants. In addition, we operated two restaurants outside of the casual dining segment. In 2018, we plan to open approximately 30 company restaurants.  While the majority of our restaurant growth in 2018 will be Texas Roadhouse restaurants, we currently expect to open up to seven Bubba’s 33 restaurants.  Throughout this report, we use the term "restaurants" to include Texas Roadhouse and Bubba’s 33, unless otherwise noted.

Texas Roadhouse is a moderately priced, full‑service, casual dining restaurant concept offering an assortment of specially seasoned and aged steaks hand‑cut daily on the premises and cooked to order over open grills. In addition to steaks, we also offer our guests a selection of ribs, seafood, chicken, pork chops, pulled pork and vegetable plates, and an assortment of hamburgers, salads and sandwiches. The majority of our entrées include two made‑from‑scratch side items, and we offer all our guests a free unlimited supply of roasted in‑shell peanuts and fresh baked yeast rolls.

Bubba’s 33 is a family-friendly, sports restaurant concept featuring scratch-made food, ice cold beer and signature drinks. Our menu features burgers, pizza and wings as well as a wide variety of appetizers, sandwiches and dinner entrées. Our first Bubba’s 33 restaurant opened in May 2013 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The operating strategy that underlies the growth of our concepts is built on the following key components:

Unit Prototype and Economics

We design our restaurant prototypes to provide a relaxed atmosphere for our guests, while also focusing on restaurant‑level returns over time. Our current prototypical Texas Roadhouse restaurants consist of a freestanding building with approximately 7,100 to 7,500 square feet of space constructed on sites of approximately 1.7 to 2.0 acres or retail pad sites, with seating of approximately 58 to 68 tables for a total of 270 to 300 guests, including 18 bar seats, and parking for approximately 160 vehicles either on‑site or in combination with some form of off‑site cross parking arrangement. Our current prototypes are adaptable to in‑line and end‑cap locations and/or spaces within an enclosed mall or a shopping center.  Our prototypical Bubba’s 33 restaurant remains under development as we continue to open additional restaurants.  We expect most future Bubba’s 33 restaurants to range between 7,100 and 7,600 square feet depending on the location with seating for approximately 270 guests.

As of December 26, 2017, we leased 322 properties and owned 140 properties. Our 2017 average unit volume for all Texas Roadhouse company restaurants open before June 28, 2016 was $5.0 million. The time required for a new Texas Roadhouse restaurant to reach a steady level of cash flow is approximately three to six months. For 2017, the average capital investment, including pre‑opening expenses and a capitalized rent factor, for the 23 Texas Roadhouse company restaurants opened during the year was approximately $5.3 million, broken down as follows:

Our average capital investment for Texas Roadhouse restaurants opened in 2016 and 2015 was $5.0 million and $4.7 million, respectively. The increase in our 2017 average capital investment was primarily due to higher building costs at certain more expensive locations. We expect our average capital investment for restaurants to be opened in 2018 to be approximately $5.3 million.

Our average capital investment for the Bubba’s 33 restaurants opened in 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $6.1 million, $6.5 million and $6.1 million, respectively. The decrease in our 2017 average capital investment was primarily due to lower costs associated with a smaller prototype. We expect our average capital investment for restaurants to be opened in 2018 to be approximately $6.8 million. The increase in our 2018 average capital investment is primarily due to higher costs at one urban site in New Jersey as well as higher rent and pre-opening costs. We continue to evaluate our Bubba’s 33 prototype. 

We remain focused on driving sales and managing restaurant investment costs in order to maintain our restaurant development in the future.  Our capital investment (including cash and non‑cash costs) for new restaurants varies significantly depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to: the square footage, layout, scope of any required site work, type of construction labor (union or non‑union), local permitting requirements, our ability to negotiate with landowners and/or landlords, cost of liquor and other licenses and hook‑up fees, geographical location and weather delays.

Site Selection

We continue to refine our site selection process. In analyzing each prospective site, our real estate team, as well as our restaurant market partners, devotes significant time and resources to the evaluation of local market demographics, population density, household income levels and site‑specific characteristics such as visibility, accessibility, traffic generators, proximity of other retail activities, traffic counts and parking. We work actively with real estate brokers in target markets to select high quality sites and to maintain and regularly update our database of potential sites. We typically require three to six months to locate, approve and control a restaurant site and typically six to 12 additional months to obtain necessary permits. Upon receipt of permits, we require approximately four to five months to construct, equip and open a restaurant.

 

Existing Restaurant Locations

As of December 26, 2017, we had 462 company restaurants and 87 franchise restaurants in 49 states and seven foreign countries as shown in the chart below.

 

Food

Menu.  Our restaurants offer a wide variety of menu items at attractive prices that are designed to appeal to a broad range of consumer tastes. At Texas Roadhouse restaurants, our dinner entrée prices generally range from $8.99 to $26.99. We offer a broad assortment of specially seasoned and aged steaks, all cooked over open grills and all but one hand‑cut daily on the premises. We also offer our guests a selection of ribs, seafood, chicken, pork chops, pulled pork and vegetable plates, and an assortment of hamburgers, salads and sandwiches. Entrée prices include unlimited peanuts, fresh baked yeast rolls and most include the choice of two made‑from‑scratch sides.  Other menu items include specialty appetizers such as the "Cactus Blossom®" and "Rattlesnake Bites®". We also provide a "12 & Under" menu for children that includes a selection of smaller-sized entrées served with one side item and a beverage at prices generally between $3.99 and $8.99.  At Bubba’s 33 restaurants, our menu prices, excluding appetizers, generally range from $9.49 to $19.99.  We offer a broad assortment of wings, sandwiches, pizzas and burgers, including our signature bacon grind patty.  In addition, we also offer our guests a selection of chicken, beef and seafood.  Our Bubba’s 33 restaurants also offer an extensive selection of draft beer.  We provide a "12 & Under" menu for children at our Bubba’s 33 restaurants that includes a selection of items, including a beverage, at prices generally between $3.99 and $5.99.

Most of our restaurants feature a full bar that offers an extensive selection of draft and bottled beer, major brands of liquor and wine as well as made in-house margaritas. Managing partners are encouraged to tailor their beer selection to include regional and local brands. Alcoholic beverages at our Texas Roadhouse restaurants accounted for 10.5% of restaurant sales in fiscal 2017.

We strive to maintain a consistent menu at our restaurants over time. We continually review our menu to consider enhancements to existing menu items or the introduction of new items. We change our menu only after guest feedback and an extensive study of the operational and economic implications. To maintain our high levels of food quality and service, we generally remove one menu item for every new menu item introduced to facilitate our ability to execute high quality meals on a focused range of menu items.

Food Quality and Safety.  We are committed to serving a varied menu of high quality, great tasting food items with an emphasis on freshness. We have developed proprietary recipes to promote consistency in quality and taste throughout all restaurants and provide a unique flavor experience to our guests. At each domestic Texas Roadhouse restaurant, a trained meat cutter hand cuts our steaks and other restaurant employees prepare our side items and yeast rolls from scratch in the restaurants daily. At both Texas Roadhouse and Bubba’s 33 restaurants, we assign individual kitchen employees to the preparation of designated food items in order to focus on quality, consistency, speed and food safety. Additionally, we expect a management level employee to inspect every entrée before it leaves the kitchen to confirm it matches the guest’s order and meets our standards for quality, appearance and presentation.

We employ a team of product coaches whose function is to provide continual, hands‑on training and education to the kitchen staff in our restaurants for the purpose of reinforcing food quality, recipe consistency, food preparation procedures, food safety and sanitation standards, food appearance, freshness and portion size. The product coach team supports substantially all restaurants system‑wide.

Food safety is of utmost importance to us. We currently utilize several programs to help facilitate adherence to proper food preparation procedures and food safety standards including our daily taste and temperature procedures. We have a food team whose function, in conjunction with our product coaches, is to develop, enforce and maintain programs designed to promote compliance with food safety guidelines. As a requirement of our quality assurance process, primary food items purchased from qualified vendors have been inspected by reputable, outside inspection services confirming that the vendor is compliant with United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") guidelines. 

We perform food safety and sanitation audits on our restaurants each year and these results are reviewed by various members of operations and management. To maximize adherence to food safety protocols, we have incorporated HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles and critical procedures (such as hand washing) in each recipe. In addition, most of our product coaches and food team members have obtained or are in the process of obtaining their Certified Professional-Food Safety designation from the National Environmental Health Association.

Purchasing.  Our purchasing philosophy is designed to supply fresh, quality products to the restaurants at competitive prices while maximizing operating efficiencies. We negotiate directly with suppliers for substantially all food and beverage products to maximize quality and freshness and obtain competitive prices.

Food and supplies are ordered by and shipped directly to the domestic restaurants. Most food products used in the operation of our restaurants are distributed to individual restaurants through an independent national distribution company. We strive to qualify more than one supplier for all key food items and believe that beef of comparable quality as well as all other essential food and beverage products are available, upon short notice, from alternative qualified suppliers.

Service

Service Quality.  We believe that guest satisfaction and our ability to continually evaluate and improve the guest experience at each of our restaurants is important to our success. We employ a team of service coaches whose function is to provide consistent, hands‑on training and education to our managers and service staff in our restaurants for the purpose of reinforcing service quality and consistency, staff attitude and team work and manage interaction in the dining room.

Guest Satisfaction.  Through the use of guest surveys, our websites, "texasroadhouse.com" and "bubbas33.com," a toll‑free guest response telephone line, social media, and personal interaction in the restaurant, we receive valuable feedback from guests. Additionally, we employ an outside service to administer a "Secret Shopper" program whereby trained individuals periodically dine and comprehensively evaluate the guest experience at each of our domestic restaurants. Particular attention is given to food, beverage and service quality, cleanliness, staff attitude and teamwork, and manager visibility and interaction. The resulting reports are used for follow up training and providing feedback to both staff and management. We continue to evaluate and implement processes relating to guest satisfaction, including reducing guest wait times and improving host interaction with the guest.

Atmosphere.  The atmosphere of our restaurants is intended to appeal to broad segments of the population including children, families, couples, adults and business persons. Substantially all Texas Roadhouse restaurants are of our prototype design, reflecting a rustic southwestern lodge atmosphere. The interiors feature pine and stained concrete floors and are decorated with hand‑painted murals, neon signs, southwestern prints, rugs and artifacts. The restaurants contain jukeboxes that continuously play upbeat country hits. Guests may also view a display‑baking area, where our fresh baked yeast rolls are prepared, and a meat cooler displaying fresh cut steaks. While waiting for a table, guests can enjoy complimentary roasted in‑shell peanuts and upon being seated at a table, guests can enjoy fresh baked yeast rolls along with roasted in‑shell peanuts.  Our Bubba’s 33 restaurants feature walls lined with televisions playing a variety of sports events and music videos and are decorated with sports jerseys, neon signs and other local flair. 

People

Management Personnel.  Each of our restaurants is generally staffed with one managing partner, one kitchen manager, one service manager and one or more additional assistant managers. Managing partners are single restaurant operators who have primary responsibility for the day‑to‑day operations of the entire restaurant.  Kitchen managers have primary responsibility for managing operations relating to our food preparation and food quality, and service managers have primary responsibility for managing our service quality and guest experiences.  The assistant managers support our kitchen and service managers; these managers are collectively responsible for the operations of the restaurant in the absence of a managing partner.  All managers are responsible for maintaining our standards of quality and performance. We use market partners to oversee the operation of our restaurants. Generally, each market partner may oversee as many as 10 to 15 managing partners and their respective management teams. Market partners are also responsible for the hiring and development of each restaurant’s management team and assisting in the site selection process.  Through regular visits to the restaurants, the market partners facilitate adherence to all aspects of our concepts, strategies and standards of quality. To further facilitate adherence to our standards of quality and to maximize uniform execution throughout the system, we employ product coaches and service coaches who regularly visit the restaurants to assist in training of both new and existing employees and to grade food and service quality. The attentive service and high quality food, which results from each restaurant having a managing partner, at least two to three managers and the hands‑on assistance of a product coach and a service coach, are critical to our success.

Training and Development.  All restaurant employees are required to complete varying degrees of training before and during employment. Our comprehensive training program emphasizes our operating strategy, procedures and standards and is conducted individually at our restaurants and in groups in Louisville, Kentucky.

Our managing and market partners are generally required to have significant experience in the full‑service restaurant industry and are generally hired at a minimum of nine to 12 months before their placement in a new or

existing restaurant to allow time to fully train in all aspects of restaurant operations. All managing partners, kitchen and service managers and other management employees are required to complete an extensive training program of up to 20 weeks, which includes training for every position in the restaurant. Trainees are validated at pre‑determined points during their training by a market partner, managing partner, product coach and service coach.

A number of our restaurants have been certified as training centers by our training department. This certification confirms that the training center adheres to established operating procedures and guidelines. Additionally, most restaurants are staffed with training coordinators responsible for ongoing daily training needs.

For new restaurant openings, a full team of designated trainers, each specializing in a specific restaurant position, is deployed to the restaurant at least 10 days before opening. Formal employee training begins seven days before opening and follows a uniform, comprehensive training course as directed by a service coach.

Marketing

Our marketing strategy aims to promote our brands while retaining a localized focus. We strive to increase comparable restaurant sales by increasing the frequency of visits by our current guests and attracting new guests to our restaurants and also by communicating and promoting our brands’ food quality, the guest experience and value. We accomplish these objectives through three major initiatives.

Local Restaurant Marketing.  Given our strategy to be a neighborhood destination, local restaurant marketing is integral in developing brand awareness in each market. Managing partners are encouraged to participate in creative community‑based marketing. We also engage in a variety of promotional activities, such as contributing time, money and complimentary meals to charitable, civic and cultural programs. We employ marketing coordinators at the restaurant and market level to develop and execute the majority of the local marketing strategies.

In‑restaurant Marketing.  A significant portion of our marketing fund is spent communicating with our guests inside our restaurants through point of purchase materials. We believe special promotions such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day drive notable repeat business. Our eight‑week holiday gift card campaign is one of our most impactful promotions.

Advertising.  Our restaurants do not rely on national advertising to promote the brand. Earned media on a local level is a critical part of our strategy that features our products and people. Our restaurants use a permission‑based email loyalty program, as well as social media and digital marketing, to promote the brand and engage with our guests. Our approach to media aligns with our focus on local store marketing and community involvement.

Restaurant Franchise Arrangements

Franchise Restaurants.    As of December 26, 2017, we had 22 franchisees that operated 87 Texas Roadhouse restaurants in 23 states and seven foreign countries. Domestically, franchise rights are granted for specific restaurants only, as we have not granted any rights to develop a territory in the United States.  We are currently not accepting new domestic franchisees.  Approximately 75% of our franchise restaurants are operated by nine franchisees and no franchisee operates more than 13 restaurants.

Our standard domestic franchise agreement has a term of 10 years with two renewal options for an additional five years each if certain conditions are satisfied. Our current form of domestic franchise agreement generally requires the franchisee to pay a royalty fee of 4.0% of gross sales. We may, at our discretion, waive or reduce the royalty fee on a temporary or permanent basis. "Gross sales" means the total selling price of all services and products related to the restaurant. Gross sales do not include:

Domestic franchisees are currently required to pay 0.3% of gross sales to a national marketing fund for system‑wide promotions and related marketing efforts. We have the ability under our agreements to increase the required marketing fund contribution up to 2.5% of gross sales. We may also charge a marketing fee of 0.5% of gross sales, which we may use for market research and to develop system‑wide promotional and marketing materials. A franchisee’s total required marketing contribution or spending will not be more than 3.0% of gross sales.

Our standard domestic franchise agreement gives us the right, but not the obligation, to compel a franchisee to transfer its assets to us in exchange for shares of our stock, or to convert its equity interests into shares of our stock. The amount of shares that a franchisee would receive is based on a formula that is included in the franchise agreement.

We have entered into area development and franchise agreements for the development and operation of Texas Roadhouse restaurants in several foreign countries. In 2010, we entered into an agreement for the development of Texas Roadhouse restaurants in eight countries in the Middle East over a 10-year period.  In 2015, we amended our agreement in the Middle East to add one additional country to the territory. In addition to the Middle East, we currently have signed franchise and/or development agreements for the development of Texas Roadhouse restaurants in Taiwan, the Philippines, Mexico, China and South Korea. We currently have 12 restaurants open in five countries in the Middle East, three restaurants open in Taiwan and two in the Philippines for a total of 17 restaurants in seven foreign countries.  For the existing international agreements, the franchisee is required to pay us a franchise fee for each restaurant to be opened, royalties on the gross sales of each restaurant and a development fee for our grant of development rights in the named countries. The term of the agreements may be extended. We anticipate that the specific business terms of any future franchise agreement for international restaurants might vary significantly from the standard terms of our domestic agreements and from the terms of existing international agreements, depending on the territory to be franchised and the extent of franchisor‑provided services to each franchisee.

Any of our franchise agreements, whether domestic or international, may be terminated if the franchisee defaults in the performance of any of its obligations under the development or franchise agreement, including its obligations to develop the territory or operate its restaurants in accordance with our standards and specifications. A franchise agreement may also be terminated if a franchisee becomes insolvent, fails to make its required payments, creates a threat to the public health or safety, ceases to operate the restaurant, or misuses the Texas Roadhouse trademarks.

Franchise Compliance Assurance.  We have various systems in place to promote compliance with our systems and standards, both during the development and operation of franchise restaurants. We actively work with our franchisees to support successful franchise operations as well as compliance with the Texas Roadhouse standards and procedures. During the restaurant development phase, we consent to the selection of restaurant sites and make available copies of our prototype building plans to franchisees. In addition, we ensure that the building design is in compliance with our standards. We provide training to the managing partner and up to three other managers of a franchisee’s first restaurant. We also provide trainers to assist in the opening of every domestic franchise restaurant; we provide trainers to assist our international franchisees in the opening of their restaurants until such time as they develop an approved restaurant opening training program. Finally, on an ongoing basis, we conduct reviews on all franchise restaurants to determine their level of effectiveness in executing our concept at a variety of operational levels. Our franchisees are required to follow the same standards and procedures regarding equipment and food purchases, preparation and safety procedures as we maintain in our company restaurants. Reviews are conducted by seasoned operations teams and focus on key areas including health, safety and execution proficiency.

Management Services.  We provide management services to 24 of the franchise restaurants in which we and/or our founder have an ownership interest and six additional franchise restaurants in which neither we nor our founder have an ownership interest. Such management services include accounting, operational supervision, human resources, training, and food, beverage and equipment consulting for which we receive monthly fees of up to 2.5% of gross sales. We also make available to these restaurants certain legal services, restaurant employees and employee benefits on a pass‑through cost basis. In addition, we receive a monthly fee from eight franchise restaurants in which we have an ownership interest and 16 franchise restaurants in which neither we nor our founder have an ownership interest for providing payroll and accounting services.

Information Technology

All of our company restaurants utilize computerized management information systems, which are designed to improve operating efficiencies, provide restaurant and Support Center management with timely access to financial and operating data and reduce administrative time and expense. With our current information systems, we have the ability to

query, report and analyze this intelligent data on a daily, weekly, period, quarterly and year‑to‑date basis and beyond, on a company‑wide, regional or individual restaurant basis. Together, this enables us to closely monitor sales, food and beverage costs and labor and operating expenses at each of our restaurants. We have a number of systems and reports that provide comparative information that enables both restaurant and Support Center management to supervise the financial and operational performance of our restaurants and to recognize and understand trends in the business. Our accounting department uses a standard, integrated system to prepare monthly profit and loss statements, which provides a detailed analysis of sales and costs. These monthly profit and loss statements are compared both to the restaurant‑prepared reports and to prior periods. Restaurant hardware and software support for all of our restaurants is provided and coordinated from the restaurant Support Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, we utilize cable, digital subscriber lines (DSL) or T‑1 technology at the restaurant level, which serves as a high‑speed, secure communication link between the restaurants and our Support Center as well as our credit and gift card processors. We guard against business interruption by maintaining a disaster recovery plan, which includes storing critical business information off‑site, maintaining a redundant data center, testing the disaster recovery plan and providing on‑site power backup.

We accept credit cards and gift cards as payment at our restaurants. We have systems and processes in place that focus on the protection of our guests’ credit card information and other private information that we are required to protect, such as our employees’ personal information. Our systems have been carefully designed and configured to safeguard against data loss or compromise. We submit our systems to regular audit and review, including the requirements of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. We also periodically scan our networks to assess vulnerability.  See Risk Factors in Item 1A of this Form 10-K for a discussion of risks associated with breaches of security related to confidential guest and/or employee information.

We believe that our current systems and practice of implementing regular updates will position us well to support current needs and future growth. Information systems projects are prioritized based on strategic, financial, regulatory and other business advantage criteria.

Competition

Competition in the restaurant industry is intense. We compete with well-established food service companies on the basis of taste, quality and price of the food offered, service, atmosphere, location, take-out and delivery options and overall dining experience. Our competitors include a large and diverse group of restaurant chains and individual restaurants that range from independent local operators that have opened restaurants in various markets to well‑capitalized national restaurant companies. We also face competition from meal kit delivery services as well as the supermarket industry. In addition, improving product offerings of fast casual and quick‑service restaurants, together with negative economic conditions could cause consumers to choose less expensive alternatives. Although we believe that we compete favorably with respect to each of the above factors, other restaurants and retail establishments compete for the same casual dining guests, quality site locations and restaurant‑level employees as we do. We expect intense competition to continue in all of these areas.

Trademarks

Our registered trademarks and service marks include, among others, our trade names and our logo and proprietary rights related to certain core menu offerings. We have registered all of our significant marks for our restaurants with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have registered or have registrations pending for our most significant trademarks and service marks in 47 foreign jurisdictions including the European Union. To better protect our brand, we have also registered various Internet domain names. We believe that our trademarks, service marks and other proprietary rights have significant value and are important to our brand‑building efforts and the marketing of our restaurant concepts.

Government Regulation

We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws affecting our business.  For a discussion of the risks and potential impact on our business of a failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations, see Item 1A, Risk Factors.

 

Each of our restaurants is subject to permitting and licensing requirements and regulations by a number of government authorities, which may include, among others, alcoholic beverage control, health and safety, sanitation, labor, zoning and public safety agencies in the state and/or municipality in which each restaurant is located.  The development and operation of restaurants depends on selecting and acquiring suitable sites, which are subject to zoning, land use, environmental, traffic and other regulations.  In addition to domestic regulations, our international business exposes us to additional regulations, including antitrust and tax requirements, anti-boycott legislation, import/export and customs regulations and other international trade regulations, the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

 

We are subject to laws and regulations relating to the preparation and sale of food, including regulations regarding product safety, nutritional content and menu labeling.  We are or may become subject to laws and regulations requiring disclosure of calorie, fat, trans-fat, salt and allergen content.  Several states and local jurisdictions have adopted or are considering various food and menu nutritional labeling requirements, many of which are inconsistent or are interpreted differently from one jurisdiction to another and many of which may be superseded by the new federal regulations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ("PPACA") which are scheduled to go into effect on May 7, 2018.  However, future regulatory action is expected as a result of the current political environment which may result in changes to the federal nutritional disclosure requirements. 

 

In 2017, the sale of alcoholic beverages accounted for 10.5% of our Texas Roadhouse restaurant sales.  In order to serve alcoholic beverages in our restaurants, we must comply with alcoholic beverage control regulations which require each of our restaurants to apply to a state authority, and, in certain locations, county or municipal authorities, for a license or permit to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises.  These licenses or permits must be renewed annually and may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time.  Alcoholic beverage control regulations affect numerous aspects of restaurant operations, including minimum age of patrons and employees, hours of operation, advertising, training, wholesale purchasing, inventory control and handling, storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages.  State and local authorities in many jurisdictions routinely monitor compliance with alcoholic beverage laws.  The failure of a restaurant to obtain or retain these licenses or permits would have a material adverse effect on the restaurant’s operations.  We are also subject in certain states to "dram shop" statutes, which generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.  Consistent with industry standards, we carry liquor liability coverage as part of our existing comprehensive general liability insurance as well as excess umbrella coverage.

 

Our restaurant operations are also subject to federal and state labor laws governing such matters as minimum and tipped wage requirements, overtime pay, health benefits, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, work eligibility requirements, working conditions, safety standards, and hiring and employment practices.  We have many restaurants located in states or municipalities where the minimum and/or tipped wage is greater than the federal minimum and/or tipped wage.  In 2016, the Department of Labor published changes related to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") which resulted in changes to the threshold for overtime pay.  The changes were scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016, however, in late November, a federal judge blocked the implementation.  Despite the injunction, we continued with the implementation of changes to our overtime policies as originally planned.  We have implemented the provisions of the PPACA as it relates to health care reform and related rules and regulations and continue to monitor the impact of this law on our business.  We anticipate that additional legislation increasing minimum and/or tipped wage standards will be enacted in future periods and in other jurisdictions.  Further regulatory action is also expected as a result of the current political environment which may result in changes to healthcare eligibility, design and cost structure.

 

A significant number of our hourly restaurant personnel receive tips as part of their compensation and are paid at or above a minimum wage rate after giving effect to applicable tips.  We rely on our employees to accurately disclose the full amount of their tip income.  We base our FICA tax reporting on the disclosures provided to us by such tipped employees.

 

Our facilities must comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") and related state accessibility statutes.  Under the ADA and related state laws, we must provide equivalent service to disabled persons and make reasonable accommodation for their employment.  In addition, when constructing or undertaking remodeling of our restaurants, we must make those facilities accessible.

 

We are subject to laws relating to information security, privacy, cashless payments and consumer credit protection and fraud.  An increasing number of governments and industry groups worldwide have established data privacy laws and standards for the protection of personal information, including social security numbers, financial information (including credit card numbers), and health information.

 

Seasonality

Our business is also subject to minor seasonal fluctuations. Historically, sales in most of our restaurants have been higher during the winter months of each year. Holidays, changes in weather, severe weather and similar conditions may impact sales volumes seasonally in some operating regions. As a result, our quarterly operating results and comparable restaurant sales may fluctuate as a result of seasonality. Accordingly, results for any one quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year and comparable restaurant sales for any particular future period may decrease.

Employees

As of December 26, 2017, we employed approximately 56,300 people in the company restaurants we own and operate and our corporate Support Center. This amount includes 588 executive and administrative personnel and 2,160 restaurant management personnel, while the remainder were hourly restaurant personnel. Many of our hourly restaurant employees work part‑time. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Executive Officers of the Company

Set forth below are the name, age, position and a brief account of the business experience of each of our executive officers:

 

W. Kent Taylor.  Mr. Taylor founded Texas Roadhouse in 1993.  He resumed his role as Chief Executive Officer in August 2011, a position he held between May 2000 and October 2004. He was named Chairman of the Company and Board in October 2004. Before his founding of our concept, Mr. Taylor founded and co‑owned Buckhead Bar and Grill in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Taylor has over 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

Scott M. Colosi.  Mr. Colosi was appointed President in August 2011 and resumed his role as Chief Financial Officer in January 2015. Previously, Mr. Colosi served as our Chief Financial Officer from September 2002 to August 2011. From 1992 until September 2002, Mr. Colosi was employed by YUM! Brands, Inc., owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands. During this time, Mr. Colosi served in various financial positions and, immediately prior to joining us, was Director of Investor Relations. Mr. Colosi has over 25 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

Celia P. Catlett.  Ms. Catlett was appointed General Counsel in November 2013. She joined Texas Roadhouse in May 2005 and served as Associate General Counsel from July 2010 until her appointment as General Counsel. She has served as Corporate Secretary since 2011. Prior to joining us, Ms. Catlett practiced law in New York City. Ms. Catlett has over 15 years of legal experience, including over 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

S. Chris Jacobsen.  Mr. Jacobsen was appointed Chief Marketing Officer in February 2016.  Mr. Jacobsen joined Texas Roadhouse in January 2003 and has served as Vice President of Marketing since 2011.  Prior to joining us, Mr. Jacobsen was employed by Papa John’s International and Waffle House, Inc. where he held various senior level marketing positions.  He has over 20 years of restaurant industry experience.

Website Access to Reports

We make our Annual Report on Form 10‑K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10‑Q, Current Reports on Form 8‑K, and amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, available, free of charge on or through the Internet website, www.texasroadhouse.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

From time to time, in periodic reports and oral statements and in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K, we present statements about future events and expectations that constitute forward‑looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward‑looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Forward‑looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations of future results we express or imply in any forward‑looking statements.

Careful consideration should be given to the risks described below. If any of the risks and uncertainties described in the cautionary factors described below actually occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations, and the trading price of our common stock could be materially and adversely affected. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict the impact of all these factors on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Related to our Growth and Operating Strategy

If we fail to manage our growth effectively, it could harm our business.

Failure to manage our growth effectively could harm our business.  We have grown significantly since our inception and intend to continue growing in the future.  Our objective is to grow our business and increase stockholder value by (1) expanding our base of company restaurants (and, to a lesser extent, franchise restaurants) that are profitable and (2) increasing sales and profits at existing restaurants.  While both these methods of achieving our objective are important to us, historically the most significant means of achieving our objective has been through opening new restaurants and operating these restaurants on a profitable basis.  As we open and operate more restaurants, our rate of expansion relative to the size of our existing restaurant base will decline, which may make it increasingly difficult to achieve levels of sales and profitability growth that we have seen in the past.  In addition, our existing restaurant management systems, financial and management controls and information systems may not be adequate to support our planned expansion. Our ability to manage our growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance these systems, procedures and controls and to locate, hire, train and retain management and operating personnel.  We also place a lot of importance on our culture, which we believe has been an important contributor to our success. As we grow, we may have difficulty maintaining our culture or adapting it sufficiently to meet the needs of our operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to respond on a timely basis to all of the changing demands that our planned expansion will impose on management and on our existing infrastructure. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business and operating results could be materially adversely impacted.    

Our growth strategy, which primarily depends on our ability to open new restaurants that are profitable, is subject to many factors, some of which are beyond our control.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to open new restaurants in accordance with our expansion plans. We have experienced delays in opening some of our restaurants in the past and may experience delays in the future. Delays or failures in opening new restaurants could materially adversely affect our growth strategy. One of our biggest challenges in executing our growth strategy is locating and securing an adequate supply of suitable new restaurant sites. Competition for suitable restaurant sites in our target markets is intense. Our ability to open new restaurants will also depend on numerous other factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to, the following:

Once opened, we anticipate that our new restaurants will generally take several months to reach planned operating levels due to start‑up inefficiencies typically associated with new restaurants. We cannot assure you that any restaurant we open will be profitable or obtain operating results similar to those of our existing restaurants. Some of our new restaurants will be located in areas where we have little or no meaningful experience.  Restaurants opened in new markets may open at lower average weekly sales volume than restaurants opened in existing markets and may have higher restaurant‑level operating expense ratios than in existing markets. Sales at restaurants opened in new markets may take longer to reach average unit volume, if at all, thereby affecting our overall profitability.  Our ability to operate new restaurants profitably will depend on numerous factors, including those discussed below impacting our average unit volume and comparable restaurant sales growth, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to, the following:

Our failure to successfully open new restaurants that are profitable in accordance with our growth strategy could harm our business and future prospects.  In addition, our inability to open new restaurants and provide growth opportunities for our employees could result in the loss of qualified personnel which could harm our business and future prospects.

You should not rely on past changes in our average unit volume or our comparable restaurant sales growth as an indication of our future results of operations because they may fluctuate significantly.

A number of factors have historically affected, and will continue to affect, our average unit volume and comparable restaurant sales growth, including, among other factors:

Our average unit volume and comparable restaurant sales growth may not increase at rates achieved in the past, which may affect our sales growth and will continue to be a critical factor affecting our profitability.  In addition, changes in our average unit volume and comparable restaurant sales growth could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate substantially.

The development of new restaurant concepts may not contribute to our growth.

The development of new restaurant concepts may not be as successful as our experience in the development of the Texas Roadhouse concept domestically.  In May 2013, we launched a new concept, Bubba’s 33, a family-friendly, sports restaurant, which currently has lower brand awareness and less operating experience than most Texas Roadhouse restaurants and a higher initial investment cost.  As a result, the development of the Bubba’s 33 concept may not contribute to our average unit volume growth and/or profitability in a meaningful way.  As of December 26, 2017, we have expanded the concept to 20 restaurants and expect to open up to seven additional locations in 2018.  However, we can provide no assurance that new units will be accepted in the markets targeted for the expansion of this concept or that we will be able to achieve our targeted returns when opening new locations.  In the future, we may determine not to move forward with any further expansion of Bubba’s 33 or other concepts.  These decisions could limit our overall long-term growth.  Additionally, expansion of Bubba’s 33 or other concepts might divert our management’s attention from other business concerns and could have an adverse impact on our core Texas Roadhouse business.

 

Our expansion into international markets may present increased economic, political, regulatory and other risks.

As of December 26, 2017, our operations include 17 Texas Roadhouse franchise restaurants in seven countries outside the United States, and we expect to have further international expansion in the future.  The entrance into international markets may not be as successful as our experience in the development of the Texas Roadhouse concept domestically or any success we have had in international restaurants.  In addition, operating in international markets may require significant resources and management attention and will subject us to regulatory, economic, and political risks that are different from and incremental to those in the United States. In addition to the risks that we face in the United States, our international operations involve risks that could adversely affect our business, including:

Our failure to manage any of these risks successfully could harm our future international operations and our overall business and results of our operations.

We are also subject to governmental regulations throughout the world impacting the way we do business with our international franchisees. These include antitrust and tax requirements, anti‑boycott regulations, import/export/customs and other international trade regulations, the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Failure to comply with any such legal requirements could subject us to monetary liabilities and other sanctions, which could adversely impact our business and financial performance.

Acquisition of existing restaurants from our domestic franchisees and other strategic transactions may have unanticipated consequences that could harm our business and our financial condition.

We plan to opportunistically acquire existing restaurants from our domestic franchisees over time.  Additionally, from time to time, we evaluate potential mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures or other strategic initiatives to acquire or develop additional concepts. To successfully execute any acquisition or development strategy, we will need to identify

suitable acquisition or development candidates, negotiate acceptable acquisition or development terms and obtain appropriate financing.

Any acquisition or future development that we pursue, including the on-going development of new concepts, whether or not successfully completed, may involve risks, including:

Future acquisitions of existing restaurants from our franchisees or other strategic partners, which may be accomplished through a cash purchase transaction, the issuance of shares of common stock or a combination of both, could have a dilutive impact on holders of our common stock, and result in the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities and impairment charges related to goodwill and other tangible and intangible assets, any of which could harm our business and financial condition.

Approximately 14% of our company restaurants are located in Texas and, as a result, we are sensitive to economic and other trends and developments in that state.

As of December 26, 2017, we operated a total of 63 company restaurants in Texas. As a result, we are particularly susceptible to adverse trends and economic conditions in this state, including its labor market. In addition, given our geographic concentration in this state, negative publicity regarding any of our restaurants in Texas could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations, as could other occurrences in Texas such as local strikes, energy shortages or extreme fluctuations in energy prices, droughts, earthquakes, fires or other natural disasters.

Changes in consumer preferences and discretionary spending could adversely affect our business.

Our success depends, in part, upon the popularity of our food products. Shifts in consumer preferences away from our restaurants or cuisine, particularly beef, would harm our business. Also, our success depends to a significant extent on discretionary consumer spending, which is influenced by general economic conditions and the availability of discretionary income. Accordingly, we may experience declines in sales during economic downturns or during periods of uncertainty. Any material decline in the amount of discretionary spending could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting in a decline in our stock price.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including:

Our business is also subject to minor seasonal fluctuations. Historically, sales in most of our restaurants have been higher during the winter months of each year. Holidays, changes in weather, severe weather and similar conditions may impact sales volumes seasonally in some operating regions. As a result, our quarterly operating results and comparable restaurant sales may fluctuate as a result of seasonality. Accordingly, results for any one quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year and comparable restaurant sales for any particular future period may decrease. In the future, operating results may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. In that event, the price of our common stock could decrease.

Risks Related to the Restaurant Industry

Changes in food and supply costs could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food and supply costs. Any increase in food prices, particularly proteins, could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we are susceptible to increases in food costs as a result of factors beyond our control, such as food supply constrictions, weather conditions, food safety concerns, product recalls, global market and trade conditions, and government regulations. We cannot predict whether we will be able to anticipate and react to changing food costs by adjusting our purchasing practices and menu prices, and a failure to do so could adversely affect our operating results. Extreme and/or long term increases in commodity prices could adversely affect our future results, especially if we are unable, primarily due to competitive reasons, to increase menu prices.  Additionally, if there is a time lag between the increasing commodity prices and our ability to increase menu prices or if we believe the commodity price increase to be short in duration and we choose not to pass on the cost increases, our short-term results could be negatively affected. Also, if we adjust pricing there is no assurance that we will realize the full benefit of any adjustment due to changes in our guests’ menu item selections and guest traffic.

We currently purchase the majority of our beef from three beef suppliers under annual contracts. While we maintain relationships with additional suppliers, if any of these vendors were unable to fulfill its obligations under its contracts, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs to secure adequate supplies, either of which would harm our business.

Our business could be adversely affected by increased labor costs or labor shortages.

Labor is a primary component in the cost of operating our business.  We devote significant resources to recruiting and training our restaurant managers and hourly employees.  Increased labor costs due to competition, unionization, increased minimum and tipped wages, changes in overtime pay, state unemployment rates or employee benefits costs, or otherwise would adversely impact our operating expenses.

 

Increased competition for qualified employees caused by a shortage in the labor pool exerts upward pressure on wages paid to attract and retain such personnel, resulting in higher labor costs, together with greater recruitment and training expense.  We could suffer from significant indirect costs, including restaurant disruptions due to management or hourly labor turnover and potential delays in new restaurant openings.  A shortage in the labor pool could also cause our restaurants to be required to operate with reduced staff which could negatively impact our ability to provide adequate service levels to our guests resulting in adverse guest reactions and a possible reduction in guest traffic counts. 

We have many restaurants located in states or municipalities where the minimum and/or tipped wage is greater than the federal minimum and/or tipped wage.  We anticipate that additional legislation increasing minimum and/or tipped wage standards will be enacted in future periods and in other jurisdictions.  In 2016, the Department of Labor published changes related to the FLSA which resulted in changes to the threshold for overtime pay.  The changes were scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016, however, in late November, a federal judge blocked the implementation.  Despite the injunction, we continued with the implementation as originally defined by the Department of Labor.  We have implemented the provisions of the PPACA as it relates to health care reform and related rules and regulations and continue to monitor the impact of this law on our business. Further regulatory action is expected as a result of the current political environment which may result in changes to healthcare eligibility, design and cost structure.  Any increases in minimum or tipped wages or increases in employee benefits costs will result in higher labor costs.

 

Our operating margin will be adversely affected to the extent that we are unable or are unwilling to offset any increase in these labor costs through higher prices on our products.  Our distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us.  Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate and retain qualified employees to keep pace with our growth strategy.  If we are unable to do so, our results of operations may also be adversely affected.

Our objective to increase sales and profits at existing restaurants could be adversely affected by macroeconomic conditions.

During 2018 and beyond, the U.S. and global economies could suffer from a downturn in economic activity. Recessionary economic cycles, higher interest rates, higher fuel and other energy costs, inflation, increases in commodity prices, higher levels of unemployment, higher consumer debt levels, higher tax rates and other changes in tax laws or other economic factors that may affect consumer spending or buying habits could adversely affect the demand for our products. As in the past, we could experience reduced guest traffic or we may be unable or unwilling to increase the prices we can charge for our products to offset higher costs or fewer transactions, either of which could reduce our sales and profit margins. Also, landlords or other tenants in the shopping centers in which some of our restaurants are located may experience difficulty as a result of macroeconomic trends or cease to operate, which could in turn negatively affect guest traffic at our restaurants. All of these factors could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Our success depends on our ability to compete with many food service businesses.

The restaurant industry is intensely competitive. We compete with many well‑established food service companies on the basis of taste, quality and price of products offered, guest service, atmosphere, location, take-out and delivery options and overall guest experience. Our competitors include a large and diverse group of restaurant chains and individual restaurants that range from independent local operators that have opened restaurants in various markets to well‑capitalized national restaurant companies. We also face competition from the supermarket industry which offers "convenient" meals in the form of improved entrées and side dishes from the deli section. In addition, improving product

offerings of fast casual and quick‑service restaurants, together with negative economic conditions could cause consumers to choose less expensive alternatives. Many of our competitors or potential competitors have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, which may allow them to react to changes in pricing, marketing and the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry better than we can. As our competitors expand their operations, we expect competition to intensify. We also compete with other restaurant chains and other retail establishments for quality site locations and employees.

The food service industry is affected by litigation and publicity concerning food quality, health and other issues, which can cause guests to avoid our restaurants and result in significant liabilities or litigation costs.

Food service businesses can be adversely affected by litigation and complaints from guests, consumer groups or government authorities resulting from food quality, illness, injury or other health concerns or operating issues stemming from one restaurant or a limited number of restaurants. Adverse publicity about these allegations may negatively affect us, regardless of whether the allegations are true, by discouraging guests from eating at our restaurants. We could also incur significant liabilities if a lawsuit or claim results in a decision against us or litigation costs regardless of the result.

Given the marked increase in the use of social media platforms and similar devices in recent years, individuals have access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The availability of information on social media platforms is virtually immediate as is its impact. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Information concerning our company may be posted on such platforms at any time. Information posted may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our business. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Health concerns relating to the consumption of beef or other food products could affect consumer preferences and could negatively impact our results of operations.

Like other restaurant chains, consumer preferences could be affected by health concerns about the consumption of beef, the key ingredient in many of our menu items, or negative publicity concerning food quality and food safety, including food-borne illnesses.  In addition, consumer preferences may be impacted by current and future menu-labeling requirements.  A number of jurisdictions around the U.S. have adopted regulations requiring that chain restaurants include calorie information on their menu boards or make other nutritional information available. Nation-wide nutrition disclosure requirements included in the U.S. health care reform law are scheduled to go into effect as of May 7, 2018.  However future regulatory action is expected as a result of the current political environment which may result in changes to the nutrition disclosure requirements.  We cannot make any assurances regarding our ability to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or our ability to successfully implement the nutrient content disclosure requirements and to adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits. The imposition of menu‑labeling laws could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position, as well as the restaurant industry in general. The labeling requirements and any negative publicity concerning any of the food products we serve may adversely affect demand for our food and could result in a decrease in guest traffic to our restaurants. If we react to the labeling requirements or negative publicity by changing our concept or our menu offerings or their ingredients, we may lose guests who do not prefer the new concept or products, and we may not be able to attract sufficient new guests to produce the revenue needed to make our restaurants profitable. In addition, we may have different or additional competitors for our intended guests as a result of a change in our concept and may not be able to compete successfully against those competitors. A decrease in guest traffic to our restaurants as a result of these health concerns or negative publicity or as a result of a change in our menu or concept could materially harm our business.

Food safety and food‑borne illness concerns may have an adverse effect on our business by reducing demand and increasing costs.

Food safety is a top priority, and we dedicate substantial resources to help our guests enjoy safe, quality food products. However, food‑borne illnesses and food safety issues occur in the food industry from time to time. Any report or publicity, whether true or not, linking us to instances of food‑borne illness or other food safety issues, including food tampering or contamination, could adversely affect our brands and reputation as well as our revenue and profits. In addition, instances of food‑borne illness, food tampering or food contamination occurring solely at restaurants of our competitors could result in negative publicity about the food service industry generally and adversely impact our revenue and profits.

Furthermore, our reliance on third‑party food suppliers and distributors increases the risk that food‑borne illness incidents could be caused by factors outside of our control and that multiple locations would be affected rather than a single restaurant. We cannot assure that all food items are properly maintained during transport throughout the supply chain and that our employees will identify all products that may be spoiled and should not be used in our restaurants. If our guests become ill from food‑borne illnesses, we could be forced to temporarily close some restaurants. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination, whether or not at our restaurants, could subject us or our suppliers to a food recall.

The United States and other countries have experienced, or may experience in the future, outbreaks of viruses, such as the Norovirus, Ebola, Avian Flu, SARS and H1N1. To the extent that a virus is food‑borne, future outbreaks may adversely affect the price and availability of certain food products and cause our guests to eat less of a product. To the extent that a virus is transmitted by human‑to‑human contact, our employees or guests could become infected, or could choose, or be advised or required, to avoid gathering in public places, any one of which could adversely affect our business.

The possibility of future misstatement exists due to inherent limitations in our control systems, which could adversely affect our business.

We cannot be certain that our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all possible error and fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of error or fraud, if any, in our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision‑making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

We rely heavily on information technology, and any material failure, weakness or interruption could prevent us from effectively operating our business.

We rely heavily on information systems in all aspects of our operations, including point‑of‑sale systems, financial systems, marketing programs, cyber-security and various other processes and transactions.  Our point-of-sale processing in our restaurants includes payment of obligations, collection of cash, credit and debit card transactions and other processes and procedures. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems.  As our business needs continue to evolve, these systems will require upgrading and maintenance over time, consequently requiring significant future commitments of resources and capital.  The failure of these systems to operate effectively, maintenance problems, upgrading or transitioning to new platforms could result in delays in guest service and reduce efficiency in our operations.

We outsource certain business processes to third-party vendors that subject us to risks, including disruptions in business and increased costs.

Some business processes are currently outsourced to third parties.  Such processes include information technology processes, gift card tracking, sales and authorization, credit card authorization and processing, insurance claims processing, payroll tax filings, check payment processing, and other accounting processes.  We also continue to evaluate our other business processes to determine if additional outsourcing is a viable option to accomplish our goals.  We make a diligent effort to validate that all providers of outsourced services maintain customary internal controls, such as redundant processing facilities and adequate security frameworks to guard against breaches or data loss; however, there are no guarantees that failures will not occur.  Failure of third parties to provide adequate services or internal controls over their processes could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or ability to accomplish our financial and management reporting.

We may incur costs and adverse revenue consequences resulting from breaches of security related to confidential guest and/or employee information or the fraudulent use of credit cards.

The nature of our business involves the receipt and storage of information about our guests and employees. Hardware, software or other applications we develop and procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to gain access to our systems and facilities through fraud, trickery or other forms of deceiving our employees or vendors. In addition, we accept electronic payment cards for payment in our restaurants. During 2017, approximately 78% of our transactions were by credit or debit cards, and such card usage could increase. Other retailers have

experienced actual or potential security breaches in which credit and debit card along with employee information may have been stolen. We may in the future become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of alleged theft of guest and/or employee information, and we may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. Any such claim or proceeding could cause us to incur significant unplanned expenses in excess of our insurance coverage, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations may result in material adverse revenue consequences for us and our restaurants.

On October 1, 2015, the payment card industry began to shift liability for certain transactions to retailers who are not able to accept Europay, Mastercard, and Visa ("EMV") chip card transactions.   We are still assessing the impact of the implementation of EMV.  Until the implementation of EMV chip card technology is completed by us, we may be liable for costs incurred by payment card issuing banks and other third parties or subject to higher transaction fees, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and cash flows.

 

We may not be able to obtain and maintain licenses and permits necessary to operate our restaurants and compliance with governmental laws and regulations could adversely affect our operating results.

The restaurant industry is subject to various federal, state and local government regulations, including those relating to the sale of food and alcoholic beverages. Such regulations are subject to change from time to time, sometimes without notice to us. The failure to obtain and maintain these licenses, permits and approvals, including liquor licenses, could adversely affect our operating results. Difficulties or failure to obtain the required licenses and approvals could delay or result in our decision to cancel the opening of new restaurants. Local authorities may revoke, suspend or deny renewal of our liquor licenses if they determine that our conduct violates applicable regulations.

In addition to our having to comply with these licensing requirements, various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include minimum and tipped wage requirements, overtime pay, health benefits, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, work eligibility requirements and working conditions. A number of factors could adversely affect our operating results, including:

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public accommodations and employment. Although our restaurants are designed to be accessible to the disabled, we could be required to make modifications to our restaurants to provide service to, or make reasonable accommodations for disabled persons.

Our failure or inability to enforce our trademarks or other proprietary rights could adversely affect our competitive position or the value of our brand.

We own certain common law trademark rights and a number of federal and international trademark and service mark registrations, including our trade names and logos, and proprietary rights relating to certain of our core menu offerings. We believe that our trademarks and other proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. We, therefore, devote appropriate resources to the protection of our trademarks and proprietary rights. The protective actions that we take, however, may not be enough to prevent unauthorized usage or imitation by others, which could harm our image, brand or competitive position and, if we commence litigation to enforce our rights, cause us to incur significant legal fees. Our inability to register or protect our marks and other propriety rights in foreign jurisdictions could adversely affect our competitive position in international markets.

We cannot assure you that third parties will not claim that our trademarks or menu offerings infringe upon their proprietary rights. Any such claim, whether or not it has merit, could be time‑consuming, result in costly litigation, cause delays in introducing new menu items in the future or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. As a result, any such claim could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

We are subject to increasing legal complexity and could be party to litigation that could adversely affect us.

Increasing legal complexity will continue to affect our operations and results.  We could be subject to legal proceedings that may adversely affect our business, including class actions, administrative proceedings, government investigations, employment and personal injury claims, claims alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding consumer, workplace and employment matters, wage and hour claims, discrimination and similar matters, landlord/tenant disputes, disputes with current and former suppliers, claims by current and former franchisees, and intellectual property claims (including claims that we infringed upon another party’s trademarks, copyrights or patents).  Inconsistent standards imposed by governmental authorities can adversely affect our business and increase our exposure to litigation which could result in significant judgments, including punitive and liquidated damages, and injunctive relief.

Occasionally, our guests file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for an illness or injury they suffered as a result of a visit to our restaurants, or that we have problems with food quality or operations.  In addition, we are subject to "dram shop" statutes. These statutes generally allow a person injured by an intoxicated person to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. Some litigation against restaurant chains has resulted in significant judgments, including punitive damages, under dram shop statutes. Because a plaintiff may seek punitive damages, which may not be covered by insurance, this type of action could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Litigation involving our relationship with franchisees and the legal distinction between our franchisees and us for employment law purposes, if determined adversely, could increase costs, negatively impact the business prospects of our franchisees and subject us to incremental liability for their actions.  We are also subject to the legal and compliance risks associated with privacy, data collection, protection and management, in particular as it relates to information we collect when we provide optional technology-related services to franchisees.

Our operating results could also be affected by the following:

Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations and hurt our performance.  A judgment significantly in excess of any applicable insurance coverage could materially adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.  Further, adverse publicity resulting from these claims may hurt our business.

Our current insurance may not provide adequate levels of coverage against claims.

We currently maintain insurance customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Such damages could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and/or liquidity. In addition, we self‑insure a significant portion of expected losses under our health, workers’ compensation, general liability, employment practices liability and property insurance programs. Unanticipated changes in the actuarial assumptions and management estimates underlying our reserves for these losses could result in materially different amounts of expense under these programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Decreased cash flow from operations, or an inability to access credit could negatively affect our business initiatives or may result in our inability to execute our revenue, expense, and capital allocation strategies.

Our ability to fund our operating plans and to implement our capital allocation strategies depends on sufficient cash flow from operations and/or other financing, including the use of funding under our amended revolving credit facility.  We also may seek access to the debt and/or equity capital markets.  There can be no assurance, however, that these sources of financing will be available on terms favorable to us, or at all.  Our capital allocation strategies include, but are not limited to, new restaurant development, payment of dividends, refurbishment of existing restaurants, repurchases of our common stock and franchise acquisitions.  If we experience decreased cash flow from operations, our ability to fund our operations and planned initiatives, and to take advantage of growth opportunities, may be delayed or negatively affected.  In addition, these disruptions or a negative effect on our revenues could affect our ability to borrow or comply with our covenants under our amended revolving credit facility.  If we are unable to raise additional capital, our growth could be impeded.

Our existing credit facility limits our ability to incur additional debt.

The lenders’ obligation to extend credit under our amended revolving credit facility depends on our maintaining certain financial covenants, including a minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of 2.00 to 1.00 and a maximum consolidated leverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00. If we are unable to maintain these ratios, we would be unable to obtain additional financing under this amended revolving credit facility. The amended revolving credit facility permits us to incur additional secured or unsecured indebtedness outside the revolving credit facility, except for the incurrence of secured indebtedness that in the aggregate is equal to or greater than $125.0 million and 20% of our consolidated tangible net worth or circumstances where the incurrence of secured or unsecured indebtedness would prevent us from complying with our financial covenants.  If we are unable to borrow additional capital, our growth could be impeded.

We may be required to record additional impairment charges in the future.

In accordance with accounting guidance as it relates to the impairment of long‑lived assets, we make certain estimates and projections with regard to company restaurant operations, as well as our overall performance in connection with our impairment analyses for long‑lived assets. When impairment triggers are deemed to exist for any company restaurant, the estimated undiscounted future cash flows for the restaurant are compared to its carrying value. If the carrying value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge would be recorded equal to the difference between the carrying value and the estimated fair value.

We also review the value of our goodwill on an annual basis and when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible assets may exceed the fair value of such assets. The estimates of fair value are based upon the best information available as of the date of the assessment and incorporate management assumptions about expected future cash flows and contemplate other valuation measurements and techniques.

The estimates of fair value used in these analyses require the use of judgment, certain assumptions and estimates of future operating results. If actual results differ from our estimates or assumptions, additional impairment charges may be required in the future. If impairment charges are significant, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

If we lose the services of any of our key management personnel, our business could suffer.

Our future success depends on the continued services and performance of our key management personnel. Our future performance will depend on our ability to motivate and retain these and other key officers and managers, particularly regional market partners, market partners and managing partners. Competition for these employees is intense. The loss of the services of members of our senior management team or other key officers or managers or the inability to attract additional qualified personnel as needed could materially harm our business.

Our franchisees could take actions that could harm our business.

Our franchisees are contractually obligated to operate their restaurants in accordance with Texas Roadhouse standards. We also provide training and support to franchisees. However, most franchisees are independent third parties that we do not control, and these franchisees own, operate and oversee the daily operations of their restaurants. As a result, the ultimate success and quality of any franchise restaurant rests with the franchisee. If franchisees do not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards, the Texas Roadhouse image and reputation could be harmed, which in turn could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure, Our Stock Ownership and Our Common Stock

Provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may delay or prevent our acquisition by a third party.

Our certificate of incorporation and by‑laws contain several provisions that may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us without the approval of our Board of Directors. These provisions include, among other things, advance notice for raising business or making nominations at meetings and "blank check" preferred stock. Blank check preferred stock enables our Board of Directors, without approval of the stockholders, to designate and issue additional series of preferred stock with such dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights, including the right to issue convertible securities with no limitations on conversion, as our Board of Directors may determine. The issuance of blank check preferred stock may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock as our Board of Directors may designate and issue preferred stock with terms that are senior to our common stock. These provisions may make it more difficult or expensive for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding common stock. These provisions also may delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that might otherwise result in our stockholders receiving a premium over the market price for their common stock.

The Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits us from engaging in "business combinations" with "interested shareholders" (with some exceptions) unless such transaction is approved in a prescribed manner. The existence of this provision could have an anti‑takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the Board of Directors, including discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for our common stock.

There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends on our common stock.

Payment of cash dividends on our common stock is subject to compliance with applicable laws and depends on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, level of indebtedness, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant.  Although we have paid dividends in the past, there can be no assurance that we will continue to pay any dividends in the future.

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of actions of activist stockholders, and such activism could impact the trading value of our common stock.

We value constructive input from our stockholders and the investment community.  Our Board of Directors and management team are committed to acting in the best interests of all of our stockholders.  There is no assurance that the actions taken by our Board of Directors and management in seeking to maintain constructive engagement with our stockholders will be successful.

Responding to actions by activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupting our operations and diverting the attention of management and our employees.  Such activities could interfere with our ability to execute our strategic plan.  The perceived uncertainties as to our future direction also resulting from activist strategies could also affect the market price and volatility of our common stock.

 

ITEM 1B—UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2—PROPERTIES

Properties

Our Support Center is located in Louisville, Kentucky. We occupy this facility under leases with Paragon Centre Holdings, LLC, a limited liability company in which we have a minority ownership position. As of December 26, 2017, we leased 100,546 square feet. Our leases expire December 31, 2030 including all applicable extensions. Of the 462 company restaurants in operation as of December 26, 2017, we owned 140 locations and leased 322 locations, as shown in the following table.

 

 

Additional information concerning our properties and leasing arrangements is included in note 2(p) and note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

ITEM 3—LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Occasionally, we are a defendant in litigation arising in the ordinary course of our business, including "slip and fall" accidents, employment related claims, claims related to our service of alcohol, and claims from guests or employees alleging illness, injury or food quality, health or operational concerns. None of these types of litigation, most of which are covered by insurance, has had a material effect on us and, as of the date of this report, we are not party to any litigation that we believe could have a material adverse effect on our business.

ITEM 4—MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5—MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol TXRH. Dividend information and the quarterly high and low sales prices of our common stock by quarter were as follows:

 

The number of holders of record of our common stock as of February 14, 2018 was 213.

On February 16, 2018, our Board of Directors authorized the payment of a cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock. This payment will be distributed on March 29, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2018. The declaration and payment of cash dividends on our common stock is at the discretion of our Board of Directors, and any decision to declare a dividend will be based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, earnings, financial condition, applicable covenants under our amended credit facility and other contractual restrictions, or other factors deemed relevant.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

There were no equity securities sold by the Company during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10‑K that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Issuer Repurchases of Securities

On May 22, 2014, our Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program under which we may repurchase up to $100.0 million of our common stock. For the 52 weeks ended December 26, 2017, we did not repurchase any shares of common stock.  As of December 26, 2017, we had approximately $69.9 million remaining under our authorized repurchase program.  This stock repurchase program has no expiration date and replaced a previous stock repurchase program which was approved on February 16, 2012. All repurchases to date under our stock repurchase program have been made through open market transactions. The timing and the amount of any repurchases will be determined by management under parameters established by our Board of Directors, based on an evaluation of our stock price, market conditions and other corporate considerations.

Since commencing our repurchase program in 2008, we have repurchased a total of 14,844,851 shares of common stock at a total cost of $216.6 million through December 26, 2017 under authorizations from our Board of Directors.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph sets forth cumulative total return experienced by holders of the Company’s common stock compared to the cumulative total return of the Russell 3000 Restaurant Index and the Russell 3000 Index for the five year period ended December 26, 2017, the last trading day of our fiscal year. The graph assumes the values of the investment in our common stock and each index was $100 on December 25, 2012 and the reinvestment of all dividends paid during the period of the securities comprising the indices.

Note: The stock price performance shown on the graph below does not indicate future performance.

Comparison of Cumulative Total Return Since December 25, 2012

Among Texas Roadhouse, Inc., the Russell 3000 Index and the Russell 3000 Restaurant Index

 

 

ITEM 6—SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We derived the selected consolidated financial data as of and for the years 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013 from our audited consolidated financial statements.

The Company utilizes a 52 or 53 week accounting period that typically ends on the last Tuesday in December. The Company utilizes a 13 or 14 week accounting period for quarterly reporting purposes. Fiscal year 2013 was 53 weeks in length while fiscal years 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 were 52 weeks in length. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of our results for any future period.