TGI Fridays files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and bad news for TGI Fridays fans.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.

00:02Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:04The Dow Jones Industrial Average is getting a makeover of sorts.

00:08Intel is getting kicked out of the venerable index to make way for NVIDIA.

00:13Intel is down 55% year to date, while NVIDIA is up 177%.

00:19Dow Chemical is out as well, while Sherman Williams is in.

00:23All this, effective November 8th.

00:25Tuesday, of course, is Election Day, but investors will have other things to watch first.

00:30There's the ISM Services Index and quarterly results from Yum! Brands,

00:34the parent of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut.

00:38Speaking of food, TGI Fridays is the latest fallout from the lasting effects of the pandemic.

00:45The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to begin a, quote,

00:49restructuring process that it hopes will ensure the, quote, long-term viability of the brand.

00:55The casual dining chain, which has been around since 1965,

00:59has been unable to bounce back after the pandemic curtailed eating out.

01:04And then inflation forced diners to search for cheaper food options.

01:08That put TGI Fridays in a precarious situation, given its large real estate footprint.

01:14The company owns 39 restaurants in the U.S.

01:17and plans to keep all of them open during the process.

01:20There are another 56 independently owned TGI Friday locations in the U.S.

01:25that are not part of the bankruptcy process.

01:28There are a total of 461 TGI Fridays around the world.

01:33According to the bankruptcy filing, company assets and liabilities are roughly equal

01:38at around $100 million to half a billion dollars.

01:41TGI Fridays is not alone in its woes.

01:45Red Lobster is in bankruptcy protection.

01:47Meanwhile, Wendy's announced it will close an additional 140 fast food locations

01:52by the end of 2024, on top of the 100 already announced.

01:59That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange.

02:01I'm Conway Giddens with The Street.