Chili’s Stock Soars 500% by Focusing on Tech Basics
While many companies chase artificial intelligence to transform their operations, Chili’s owner Brinker International took the opposite approach — and it’s paying off. The company’s stock has climbed more than 500% since June 2022, a run that Bank of America restaurant analyst Sara Senatore described as an exceptional turnaround.
Fixing the Foundation First
Chief Information Officer Chris Caldwell, who joined Chili’s in February 2024, said the chain is deliberately not going “all in” on AI. Instead, he redirected his technology budget toward fundamentals: strengthening restaurant Wi-Fi across 1,200 locations, renegotiating the company’s internet contract, and adding cellular backup for weaker connections. He also equipped every store manager with a new laptop and replaced aging tablets with 23,000 iPads for staff to take orders more efficiently, since the older devices struggled to last a full shift.
Trimming Flashy Tech, Not Service
Caldwell has also scaled back initiatives he considers more gimmick than useful, including robot servers and several generative AI tools. His standard is simple: any technology that doesn’t directly improve the dining experience gets cut. That philosophy has helped fuel 20 straight quarters of same-store sales growth.
The results show up in Brinker’s latest earnings too. For the quarter ending March 25, Chili’s restaurant sales rose 4% year-over-year, with total company sales reaching $1.46 billion, up from $1.41 billion a year earlier.
Caldwell’s approach suggests that for some legacy brands, meaningful digital transformation doesn’t start with cutting-edge AI — it starts with dependable Wi-Fi, functional devices, and systems that actually work for employees on the floor.