Brinker International, based in Dallas, is a leading casual restaurant operator. The company owns or franchises more than 1,600 restaurants under the Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy brand names. It operates in the United States and 29 other countries and two U.S. territories. In 2020, Brinker launched virtual brand, It's Just Wings, which operates out of certain Chili's restaurants. It's Just Wings is only available for pickup or delivery. Brinker employees more than 80,000 people.

Wednesday saw another eruption in crude oil, with WTI exploding over 8% and trading at $108.50/barrel late in the day. Brent oil soared over 9% to $121.30/barrel. WTI is near its highest close since the war started, which was $113, while Brent hit a new high, taking out its prior high close near $113 from March 30. Gasoline futures popped over 5% to a new high of $3.61/gallon, up 80% since February 24 when it traded at just $2.00/gallon. Energy stocks have, of course, benefited. The Energy Select SPDR (XLE) ripped higher by 2.3%, the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (XOP) surged 3.5%, and the VanEck Oil Services (OIH) rose 'only' 1%. The OIH and the Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment & Services Index were the only oil indices to reach all-time highs on Wednesday. An oddity we discovered about the recent decline and (now) wicked reversal to the upside is the action of the S&P 500's daily Bollinger Bands (BB). Generally, the width of the BBs will peak near or at the bottom of a pullback or correction, this as declines are usually faster than uptrends. At the recent bottom, the BBs were almost 9% apart -- but during the ensuing rally, the BB width was over 15%. Looking at the period from February to June 2025, the width of the bands peaked on April 21, right near the bottom at nearly 18%. After the S&P 500 rallied back to the prior high, the width of the band was only 4%. Still, during the 2023 pullback, the peak in the width of the BB occurred during the rally phase. In the 2022 bear market, the BB width peaked in June, more than three months before the bottom.

Earnings season is winding down and the most-recent reports from S&P 500 companies have given us a chance to look at trends. For one, a number of companies have raised guidance - an indictor we monitor. We view management's ability to raise guidance as a likely catalyst for market-beating returns in the quarters ahead. (We note that it's even harder for companies to raise guidance during uncertain economic times.) The current list of companies that did raise guidance is not as hefty as normal, likely because many companies are cautiously initiating guidance for the new year. Here is a partial list of companies in our Fundamental Universe of Coverage that increased guidance during the recent reporting season.

Brinker International, based in Dallas, is a leading casual restaurant operator. The company owns or franchises more than 1,600 restaurants under the Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy brand names. It operates in the United States and 29 other countries and two U.S. territories. In 2020, Brinker launched virtual brand, It's Just Wings, which operates out of 1,200 Chili's restaurants. Its Just Wings is only available for pickup or delivery. Brinker employees more than 80,000 people.