Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Income Taxes (Tables)

v3.25.4
Income Taxes (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 25, 2025
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Schedule of Components of the Provision for Income Taxes
The components of income tax expense are as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended
in thousands
December 25,
2025		 December 26,
2024		 December 28,
2023
Current expense:
Federal
 $ 67,320  $ 40,764  $ 29,737 
State
 11,250  8,574  12,092 
Total current expense 78,570  49,338  41,829 
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal
 (18,160) 1,024  24,792 
State
 (2,396) (2,831) (1,070)
Total deferred (benefit) expense
 (20,556) (1,807) 23,722 
Income tax expense
 $ 58,014  $ 47,531  $ 65,551 
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Reconciliation
The following is a summary of the differences in amounts and percentages between the federal statutory tax rate of 21% and the Company’s effective tax rate for each of the last three fiscal years:
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25,
2025		 December 26,
2024		 December 28,
2023
dollars in thousands
Amount
Percent
Amount
Percent
Amount
Percent
U.S. federal statutory tax rate $ 55,999  21.0  % $ 53,215  21.0  % $ 65,421  21.0  %
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect (1) (2)
6,995  2.6  4,538  1.8  8,824  2.8 
Tax credits:
Energy-related tax credits
 (4,401) (1.6) (248) (0.1) (257) (0.1)
Other tax credits
 (1,736) (0.7) (2,029) (0.8) (1,762) (0.6)
Nontaxable or nondeductible items:
Share-based payment awards (1,433) (0.5) (10,769) (4.2) (8,748) (2.8)
Other
 2,244  0.8  3,013  1.2  1,714  0.6 
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits
 471  0.2  810  0.3  —  — 
Other adjustments
 (125) —  (999) (0.4) 359  0.1 
Effective tax rate $ 58,014  21.8  % $ 47,531  18.8  % $ 65,551  21.0  %
(1)For fiscal 2025, California, New Jersey, and New York contributed to the majority of the tax effect in this category. For fiscal 2024, California and Texas contributed to the majority of the tax effect in this category. For fiscal 2023, California, Georgia, and Illinois contributed to the majority of the tax effect in this category.
(2)Includes state excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation awards for fiscal years 2025, 2024, and 2023 of $0.3 million, $2.1 million, and $1.8 million, respectively.
Schedule of Net Cash Paid for Income Taxes
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds, consisted of the following:
Fiscal Year Ended
in thousands
 December 25,
2025		 December 26,
2024		 December 28,
2023
Federal
 $ 50,130  $ 33,100  $ 45,405 
State:
California
 2,692  2,313  3,629 
Other
 11,139  7,462  11,993 
Total
 $ 63,961  $ 42,875  $ 61,027 
Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities
The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred income tax assets and (liabilities) are presented below:
in thousands December 25,
2025		 December 26,
2024
Deferred tax assets:
Lease liabilities $ 454,752  $ 375,909 
Accruals not currently deductible for tax purposes 27,024  24,011 
Inventories 11,519  11,552 
Stock-based compensation 8,805  7,559 
Other intangibles
 2,539  8,292 
Gift card liability 2,286  1,682 
Other
 1,832  1,853 
Total deferred tax assets 508,757  430,858 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Right-of-use assets
 (406,371) (332,596)
Fixed assets (99,707) (116,400)
Intangible assets (27,506) (27,358)
Other (5,354) (5,254)
Total deferred tax liabilities (538,938) (481,608)
Net deferred tax liabilities $ (30,181) $ (50,750)
Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of unrecognized tax benefits for the periods presented:
Fiscal Year Ended
in thousands December 25,
2025		 December 26,
2024
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at beginning of fiscal year $ 810  $ — 
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year 471  334 
Additions for tax positions of prior years —  476 
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at end of fiscal year $ 1,281  $ 810