Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.10), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $349.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.73 million. Jack In The Box had a negative net margin of 8.69% and a negative return on equity of 7.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Jack In The Box’s conference call:

• Completed the sale of Del Taco and used proceeds to partially pay down debt (a $105M prepayment); total debt was $1.6B at quarter-end and management plans an additional $200M of paydowns under the Jack OnTrack plan.
• System same-store sales fell 6.7% (franchise -7.0%, company -4.7%) and consolidated adjusted EBITDA dropped to $68.2M from $88.8M, with restaurant-level margin compressing to 16.1% from 23.2%, signaling near-term performance pressure.
• Management cites early sequential improvement beginning in January and strong consumer response to 75th‑anniversary activations (e.g., Munchie Meals and collectible Jibbies), which lifted average checks and supports reaffirmed guidance for steady improvement through 2026.
• Operational initiatives under “Jack’s Way” — a restructured field support team, aligned training and audits, completed POS/back‑of‑house tech rollouts, and low‑cost restaurant mini‑refresh tests (sub‑$20K) — are delivering early efficiency and low single‑digit sales lifts in pilots.
• Input costs pressured margins in Q1 — food and packaging rose to 29.7% of sales (a 380bp increase) from ~7.1% commodity inflation with beef up double digits, while labor and occupancy also increased; management expects commodity pressure to moderate but remains a headwind near term.

Jack In The Box Stock Performance

Shares of JACK traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.49. 206,089 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 524,557. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.04 million, a PE ratio of -2.85, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.14. Jack In The Box has a 52 week low of $13.99 and a 52 week high of $41.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on JACK. Mizuho set a $20.00 target price on shares of Jack In The Box in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Jack In The Box from $17.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Jack In The Box from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Jack In The Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Jack In The Box from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah L. Super sold 2,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.08, for a total value of $40,335.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,771.20. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Carl Mount sold 1,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $26,467.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,700. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $247,352 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack In The Box

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JACK. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Jack In The Box by 96.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Jack In The Box by 3,604.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,852 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Jack In The Box by 882.5% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Jack In The Box in the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Jack In The Box by 206.6% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 11,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack In The Box Company Profile

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is a publicly traded quick-service restaurant company best known for its Jack in the Box brand of fast-food restaurants. Founded in 1951 by Robert O. Peterson and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company has operated for decades as a franchisor and operator of drive-thru and dine-in restaurants. Its business model combines company-owned locations with franchise arrangements, and the company focuses on building brand recognition through menu innovation, marketing and service convenience.

The company’s core offerings center on a broad fast-food menu that includes hamburgers (notably the Jumbo Jack), tacos, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, sides and specialty limited-time items.