Earnings call transcript: Twin Hospitality Q2 2025 sees stock rise amid strategic shifts

Twin Hospitality Group, Inc. (TWNP) reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, revealing a mixed financial performance that saw a decline in overall revenue but growth in specific segments. The company’s stock rose by 6.49% to $4.47 in aftermarket trading, reflecting investor optimism about strategic initiatives and future growth prospects. According to InvestingPro data, the company’s overall financial health score is rated as WEAK, with particularly concerning metrics around debt levels and cash management. The stock has experienced significant volatility, having declined over 73% in the past year.

Key Takeaways

• Twin Hospitality’s total revenue decreased by 4.1% year-over-year to $87.8 million.
• Despite a net loss of $20.8 million, the company’s Twin Peaks segment showed positive growth.
• Strategic initiatives include menu streamlining and location conversions.
• The stock rose by 6.49% in aftermarket trading, signaling positive market sentiment.

Company Performance

Twin Hospitality faced a challenging quarter with a 4.1% decline in total revenue compared to the previous year. However, the Twin Peaks segment, a key driver for the company, reported a 5.8% increase in revenue to $51.1 million. This growth comes amidst a broader industry trend of menu simplification and operational streamlining, which Twin Hospitality is actively pursuing.

Financial Highlights

• Total revenue: $87.8 million, down 4.1% year-over-year
• Net loss: $20.8 million, compared to a $10.7 million loss in the previous year
• Adjusted EBITDA: $5.2 million, down from $7.0 million
• Twin Peaks revenue: $51.1 million, up 5.8%
• Twin Peaks restaurant-level contribution margin: 17.7%, a decrease of 30 basis points

Outlook & Guidance

Looking ahead, Twin Hospitality plans to open a new Twin Peaks Lodge in Fayetteville, NC by the end of the year, with additional company-owned conversions slated for early 2026. The company is targeting an equity raise of $75-100 million in 2025, which executives believe will support their growth strategy. The management remains optimistic about the potential revenue gains from a favorable sports calendar.

Executive Commentary

CEO Kim Vilrayma emphasized the company’s focus on its core pillars, stating, "We are focused on delivering [our core pillars] with excellence across every lodge and every shift." She also highlighted the strategic growth plans, saying, "We will grow with purpose entering new markets, growing share in existing ones." CFO Ken Kulik expressed confidence in achieving the company’s equity target, stating, "We are confident that we will achieve our full annual equity target raise over the next twelve months."

Risks and Challenges

• Market saturation: The restaurant industry is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for market share.
• Economic pressures: Inflation and economic downturns could impact consumer spending on dining out.
• Operational challenges: The conversion of Smoky Bones locations to Twin Peaks requires careful execution to avoid disruptions.
• Supply chain issues: Potential disruptions could impact the availability and cost of key ingredients.

Despite these challenges, Twin Hospitality’s strategic initiatives and positive market reaction indicate a cautiously optimistic outlook for the coming quarters. Based on InvestingPro’s Fair Value analysis, the stock appears to be overvalued at current levels, with concerning metrics around free cash flow yield and EBITDA valuation multiples. Investors seeking detailed valuation insights can access comprehensive analysis and compare TWNP with industry peers through InvestingPro’s advanced screening tools and detailed Pro Research Reports.

Full transcript - Twin Hospitality Group Inc (TWNP) Q2 2025:

Conference Operator: Greetings. Welcome to Twin Hospitality Group Inc. Second Quarter twenty twenty five Conference Call hosted by Chief Executive Officer Kim Vilrayma and Chief Financial Officer Ken Kulik. Also joining today’s call is Satbrand Inc. Chairman of the Board, Andy Wiederhorn.

At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen only mode. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, 07/30/2025. After the market closed, Twin Hospitality issued its quarterly financial results via press release. Please refer to this document which could be found in the Investors section of the company’s website at twinpeaksrestaurant.com, among other places. Before we begin, I must remind everybody that part of the discussion today will include forward looking statements.

These forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and therefore undue reliance should not be placed upon them. Twin Hospitality does not undertake to update these forward looking statements at a later date. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could impact future operating results and financial condition, please see today’s earnings release and recent SEC filings. During today’s conference call, the company will also discuss non GAAP financial measures, which it believes can be useful in evaluating its performance.

The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations comparable GAAP measures are available in today’s earnings release. I would now like to turn the call over to Kim Borrema, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining us today. I am excited to be here today on my first earnings call as CEO of Twin Hospitality Group. I joined Twin Hospitality in May, bringing with me three decades of proven restaurant industry expertise with a particular focus on scaling and optimizing high volume, full service operations. Most recently, I served as President and COO of Perry’s Pizzeria and Tap House, where I helped lead the brand through significant expansion growing from 10 to 30 locations. Prior to that, I held key leadership positions including COO of California Pizza Kitchen and Regional Vice President at Texas Roadhouse where I oversaw operations of 125 units across 22 states.

Over the past two months, I spent time in the field listening to our teams, getting to understand the business firsthand and shaping a focused growth strategy. What I have discovered has only strengthened my conviction in the tremendous potential of this organization. I believe Twin Peaks has the best franchisees, operators and partners in the business. We also have a powerful brand, a strong team with passionate people and clear opportunities to enhance performance and accelerate growth. While our second quarter results reflected some short term pressures, we are acting with urgency around six clear priorities.

First, we are focusing on the fundamentals of great operations. This means reinforcing operational excellence that built this company. Speed, hospitality, energy, and consistency. We must have an unwavering commitment to an exceptional guest experience that defines our brand and drives our success. This is why we are going to double down on guest engagement, Twin Peaks Hospitality, and execution.

We are also recommitting to the five core pillars of Twin Peaks experience, scenic views, scratch made food, 29 degree draft beer, lodge decor, and immersive vibe and wall to wall TVs for unbeatable sports viewing. These elements define our unique value proposition and we are focused on delivering them with excellence across every lodge and every shift. Second, we are reducing complexity and eliminating redundant systems. We are conducting a comprehensive review of our tools and processes to eliminate redundancies and reduce friction points. This will allow our operators to focus more time on enhancing guest experience and team leadership.

Third, we are sharpening our cost discipline across the business. We have launched a full internal spending across both Twin Peaks and Smoky Bones. Our goal is to eliminate inefficiencies and refocus our resources on initiatives that drive returns. Fourth, we are streamlining and strengthening our menu offerings. This quarter, we will be testing a streamlined menu aimed at improving execution, increasing speed of service and enhancing productivity in the kitchen.

This will empower our team to deliver a more consistent and elevated guest experience. We are optimistic that we will see a clear path to maintaining guest satisfaction while simplifying operations. We will also continue to evolve our menu by embracing trends that align with the brand’s identity. Even as we complete our menu simplification initiative, we remain committed to introducing exciting new food and bar innovations. Burgers, wings, and flatbreads remain core drivers of our food mix.

But to keep the brand fresh and future ready, we will explore bold on trend topping and flavor profiles, especially for burgers and wing flavors. Notably, burger pricing is locked in our food cost control while flatbreads are a low cost award winning category that continues to deliver strong performance. Fifth, we are taking a measured market informed approach to pricing. In today’s environment, we know the guests are feeling pressure, so we are being selective and moderate in our pricing adjustments. We have taken increases in targeted categories to help offset labor and commodity pressures while maintaining our barbell pricing strategy to offer strong value at the entry point and optionality for guests who want to trade up.

And finally, we are positioning the company to continue growth. We are working with our franchisees and real estate team on a value engineering exercise to reduce build out costs and improve return on investment. Our Smokey Bone real estate portfolio gives us significant near term opportunity to open new Twin Peak locations more efficiently. And we are focused on accelerating the opportunity during Q3 and Q4 in a disciplined cost effective way to finalize the plans for those stores that will be converted as well as plans for those that will not. We will grow with purpose entering new markets, growing share in existing ones and exploring new formats to reach even more fans.

Our robust pipeline of 100 committed lodges provides clear visibility to growth, with 75% coming from existing franchise partners. We are on track to open a franchise Twin Peaks Lodge in Fayetteville, North Carolina by year end, our third conversion from Smoky Bones to Twin Peaks. There are two additional company owned conversions planned for early twenty twenty six. Notably, our converted locations deliver significantly higher volume than they generated as Smokey Bones. Looking to the second half of the year, we are optimistic that stronger sports calendar will drive revenue gains.

As part of our football season strategy, we are positioning Twin Peaks as a premier destination for fantasy draft parties with new online reservation capabilities launched this year. Our restaurants will host weekly watch parties featuring gear giveaways, live DJs and localized specials. We are launching a weekly thousand dollar cash giveaway throughout the regular season. Select locations will offer burnt services to capture early game day traffic. Importantly, these draft parties serve as a launch pad for sustained engagement throughout the football season.

They help early momentum and drive repeat visits reinforcing Twin Peaks as the go to destination for the ultimate sports watching experience. Beyond football, our third quarter also brings a six to seven major boxing and UFC events promising high traffic watch parties. During gaps in the sports calendar, we are maintaining momentum through targeted happy hour promotions and lodge specific daily specials. Our six strategic priorities reflect our renewed focus on operational excellence, strong unit economics, and disciplined growth. Together, they will form the foundation for improving execution, rebuilding momentum and delivering long term value.

As the sports calendar strengthens, we see meaningful opportunities to drive traffic and engagement in the months ahead. I am more confident than ever in our brand strength and our path forward. In the months ahead, I will continue visiting locations, meet one on one with franchise partners and work closely with our support team to uncover opportunities for innovation and guest connection. I am committed to protecting what makes this brand great. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Ken to review our second quarter financial results.

Ken Kulik, Chief Financial Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Thanks, Kim. Before I discuss our second quarter results, as announced yesterday, the US Department of Justice has dropped all charges against FAT Brands, our parent company, Andy Wiederhorn, FAT Brands Chairman of the Board, and all other defendants. We are grateful to the US Attorney’s Office for taking a fresh look at this case, and we are glad to have it behind us. Now moving on to our results. In the second quarter, our system wide sales, which includes both Twin Peaks and Smoky Bones, were 181,900,000 a 3.3% decrease from last year’s quarter.

Of the total Twin Peaks system wide sales were $145,200,000 in the quarter, an increase from $144,800,000 in the prior year quarter, driven by new Twin Peaks lodges that have opened since the 2024, partially offset by a 4.4% decrease in same store sales and both Smoky Bones permanent closures as well as temporary closures for conversions. Total revenue was $87,800,000 in the quarter, a 4.1% decrease from $91,600,000 in last year’s quarter. Looking at revenue between Twin Peaks and Smoky Bones, Twin Peaks revenue was $51,100,000 in the quarter, up $2,800,000 or 5.8% from $48,300,000 in the prior year quarter. The increase was driven by the opening of new lodges, partially offset by the decline in same store sales. Twin Peaks results reflect some short term pressure as we experienced softer sales and traffic, primarily due to less favorable sports calendaring.

The NBA and NHL playoffs, which typically drive strong engagement, lacked key market teams like the Dallas Mavericks this year, impacting our usual momentum during these high stakes periods. International soccer also contributed less than expected with FIFA Club World Cup matches scheduled during off peak hours that limited our ability to capture broader audience engagement. Smoky Bones revenue was $36,700,000 in the quarter, down 15.2% from $43,300,000 in the prior year quarter. Smoky Bones revenue declined as we continue our strategic conversion of Smoky Bones locations into Twin Peaks lodges, which requires temporary closures. And as a reminder, approximately half of our Smoky Bones locations are part of this transition plan.

Since the 2024, we have completed the conversion of two Smoky Bones locations into Twin Peaks Lodges and those units are generating significantly higher AUVs than they did at Smoky Bones locations. Our third conversion is under construction and expected to open later this year or early next year. Finally, we have closed five of the nine underperforming Smoky Bones locations identified at the end of last year. Again, we plan to accelerate and execute on the Smoky Bones conversions during the third and fourth quarter. Total company owned restaurant sales were $79,600,000 in the quarter, a 4.9% decrease from $83,700,000 in last year’s quarter.

This decline was attributed to the closure of five underperforming Smoky Bones locations, the temporary closure of one Smoky Bones location for conversion into a Twin Peaks Lodge and lower same store sales. This was partially offset by the opening of new Twin Peaks Lodges. Franchise revenue increased 4.2% to $8,200,000 in the quarter compared to $7,900,000 in last year’s quarter related to the growth from our new Twin Peaks franchise openings, partially offset by the decline in same store sales. Turning to costs and expenses. Food and beverage costs in the quarter decreased 30 basis points to 27.1% as menu price increases were substantially offset by higher food costs.

Commodity inflation during the second quarter was in the low single digits and we expect these trends to continue for the remainder of 2025. Labor and benefits costs in the quarter increased 20 basis points to 31.8% as wage inflation and sales deleveraging were mostly offset by menu price increases and labor efficiencies. Other operating costs increased 150 basis points to 21.4% in the quarter compared to 19.9% in the prior year quarter due to sales deleveraging. Occupancy costs increased 10 basis points to 8% in the quarter compared to 7.9% in last year’s quarter also due to sales deleveraging. Restaurant level contribution margin decreased 160 basis points to 11.8% from 13.4% in last year’s quarter.

Looking at individual brand performance, Twin Peaks restaurant level contribution margin decreased 30 basis points to 17.7 from 18% in last year’s quarter, reflecting a decline in same store sales. Smoky Bones restaurant level contribution margin decreased four ten basis points to 4.9% from 9% in last year’s quarter. And as we continue to close higher performing Smoky Bones locations for conversion to Twin Peaks lodges, we expect continued pressure on Smoky Bones restaurant level contribution margins. General and administrative expense was $19,900,000 compared to $6,900,000 in the year ago quarter, reflecting non cash share based compensation related to our public listing earlier this year. Total other expense net, which consisted primarily of interest expense was $11,300,000 compared to $12,200,000 in last year’s quarter.

Net loss in the quarter was $20,800,000 compared to $10,700,000 in last year’s quarter. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $5,200,000 compared to $7,000,000 in last year’s quarter. Twin Peaks adjusted EBITDA was $7,200,000 compared to $7,900,000 in last year’s quarter. And Smokey Bone’s adjusted EBITDA was negative 1,900,000 in the quarter compared to a positive $12,000 in last year’s quarter. Turning to the balance sheet, following our bond refinancing in the fourth quarter of last year, we committed to raise between 75,000,000 and $100,000,000 of equity in 2025 and using 75% of that to reduce outstanding debt.

While we anticipated securing the first one third of that amount by April, the volatile market conditions in the second quarter and completing our CEO search impacted our ability to do so. Despite this temporary timing adjustment, we are confident that we will achieve our full annual equity target raise over the next twelve months. And with that, I’ll turn it back over to Kim for closing remarks.

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Thank you, Ken. Before we open for questions, I wanted to highlight our recent Twin Peaks Idea Exchange held at the Fountain Blue Miami Beach, celebrating twenty years of Twin Peaks. Over 600 attendees including franchise owners, general managers, and vendor partners gathered for three days of alignment, inspiration, and celebration. As our largest annual gathering, the Idea Exchange continues to be a vital forum for aligning on growth strategies, sharing best practices, and strengthening the culture that drives our success. Attendees left energized, inspired, and more excited than ever about the future of Twin Peaks.

I’m also pleased to report that Twin Peaks has earned the ninety seventh spot on the twenty twenty five Technomic Top 500 list of the largest restaurant chains in The US. Additionally, as part of our commitment to the communities we served, we raised over $100,000 for Texas flood relief efforts. These milestones along with our strategic initiatives and financial discipline underscore our confidence in Twin Peaks continued growth and success. With that, I’d like to thank you again for your interest in Twin Hospitality. Ken and I are now happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Operator, please open the line for questions.

Conference Operator: Thank Our first question is from Roger Lipton with Lipton Financial Services. Please go ahead, sir.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: Yeah. Hi, Ken. And hi, Kim. And Kim, I’m looking forward to meeting you sometime real soon.

Ken Kulik, Chief Financial Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Hey, Roger.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: Yeah. There are obviously a lot of moving parts here as as you get your feet on the ground, Kim. I I could you provide us with just a a rough estimate relative to Smokey Bones? What the channel look like say, as best you can tell, rough estimate, nobody’s holding it to it, say six months from now, by the end of this year, you’ve closed a handful, you’ve converted a couple, And so of the remaining smoky bones that you’re managing, how will that change over the next six months? If you want to take out another year, fine, but obviously your visibility isn’t the greatest right now yet.

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Yeah, I would say there’s going to be moderate changes. As I have a chance to work with the team there to assess where our leases are and what opportunities are out there to convert. I think there’s going to be very moderate change until we can figure out really how to balance our performance there from a top line sales perspective and quality of profits at the bottom line. I’m going to say there’s going to be minimal change. We do have some leases that once they expire this year, will close, but it’s only a handful at this point.

So it’s going to be minimal change.

Ken Kulik, Chief Financial Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Okay. Doctor. I’ll just add couple of things to that. So again, of the 60 Smokey Bunch restaurants, half of them or about 30 of them will be converted into twin locations. Of the thirty, ten of them will be company owned and and 20 will be franchise locations.

And of the 20 franchise locations, 10 are in existing franchise markets and 10 are in markets that we’re not in yet. We’ve done two conversions so far, two company owned conversions. There’s a franchise conversion in Fayetteville that will be completed this year. We’re in process on a company owned location in Kissimmee, Florida. We have a couple of additional company owned locations for early next year, several more franchise locations to be converted over the next six to nine months.

So I would say over the next twelve months or twelve months from now, we’ll have most of the conversions completed or underway. We identified at the end of the year nine underperforming smoky loans locations. We closed five of them through the end of the second quarter. We closed an additional three of them in the third quarter. So those will be closed by the end of the year.

We’ll continue to make assessments on the restaurants that are left, but that’s I would say we would think we’d be in the next twelve months. Okay.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: And the G and A is the biggest, the increase in the G and A year to year is the biggest single negative line item. I know of course a great deal out of Smokey Bones G and A. What, as a percentage of sales, as a percentage of Twin Peaks sales, what is a rough percentage number?

Ken Kulik, Chief Financial Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Yes. So first of all, on the comment of G and A in the second quarter, the majority of that $12,500,000 of that increase was equity grants that were granted after the listing of Twin Peaks. So most of that is in the second quarter. So that expense will go down significantly going forward. On the G and A side overall, we’re continuing to be focused on consolidating the G and A between Smoky Bones and Twin Peaks.

And we think we’ll get that done by the end of the year. And we’re looking to greatly reduce our G and A overall.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: All right. Okay. Okay. And can you have any thoughts in terms of the store level at 17.4% store level margin for the peaks, is not too shabby really. But what are your initial thoughts in terms of whether there’s room to improve that or whether it’s going to be perhaps a challenge just to maintain it?

What do you think?

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: I think, listen, I’m proud of the team. They’ve done a really good job managing our gap in sales decline. The team is committed. As I said, I think there’s some things that internally are causing some EBITDA gaps and flow through that we’re going to adjust and look at. And like I said in our read that we’re doing a deep analysis on all of our cost structure to make sure that everything that we’re doing is adding value both to the restaurant experience, the guest experience and to the bottom line.

So, this is a little bit of a process. There’s a lot between both brands that we’re looking at, but I am confident that we’re going to find some improvements both with sales as the sports calendar improves and with our performance on the bottom line.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: All right, for the moment that’s there’s not much more you can say you haven’t been there all that long. I’m sure a lot of great people that come into focus over the next three to six months. So I’ll look forward to following the progress.

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: You bet. Yeah, very excited to be here. I’m very proud of what the team is doing so far.

Roger Lipton, Analyst, Lipton Financial Services: Okay, thank you.

Ken Kulik, Chief Financial Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Thanks, Roger.

Conference Operator: There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the conference back over to Kim for closing remarks.

Kim Vilrayma, Chief Executive Officer, Twin Hospitality Group: Well, you very much. Thanks everybody for attending. We’ll talk to you in the next call. Thank you.

Conference Operator: Thank you. This will conclude today’s conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation.

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