Dallas-based Brinker International Inc.'s EBITDA margins weakened in the first half of fiscal 2023 ended December 2022, resulting in S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage rising to 4.8x. Though we expect stabilizing costs to drive margin improvement over the coming quarters, we see risk of weakening demand amid a softening macroeconomic environment. We affirmed our 'BB-' issuer credit rating on Brinker and revised the outlook to negative from stable. The negative outlook reflects our expectation for leverage to remain near the mid-4x area through fiscal 2023 before improving to 4x and below in fiscal 2024. The negative outlook reflects our expectation of S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage to remain near the mid-4x area through fiscal 2023 before improving to 4x and below in
