Jack In The Box (JACK) reported earnings on Wed 22 Feb 2017 (a/h)

** charts before earnings **

 

** charts after earnings **

 

Jack In The Box misses by $0.07, misses on revs; guides FY17 EPS below consensus:

• Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.25; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $487.9 mln vs the $499.52 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Company same-store sales increased 0.6 percent in the first quarter, with average check up 4.9 percent.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $4.25-4.45, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.70 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our first quarter results were mixed, with solid results at the Jack in the Box brand offset by lower than expected sales and disappointing margins at Qdoba. We are intent on improving the performance of the Qdoba brand with priorities focused on driving sales growth and managing labor and food costs more effectively. We were pleased that Jack in the Box system same-store sales outperformed sluggish industry trends during the quarter. And despite the weaker Qdoba results, our commitments to reduce G&A and to return cash to shareholders contributed to a 27 percent increase in operating earnings per share for the quarter. Consistent with restaurant and retail industry data, we've seen an abrupt downturn in February sales trends for both brands. We believe some of this slowdown may be attributable to delayed tax refunds, as well as record rainfall and flooding in California over the past few weeks which have impacted our Jack in the Box results.

Comp guidance:

• For Q2, same-store sales of flat to down 2.0 percent at Jack in the Box system restaurants versus flat same-store sales in the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales of down 1.0 to 3.0 percent at Qdoba company restaurants versus a 3.1 percent increase in the year-ago quarter.
• For fiscal 2017: Same-store sales increase of approximately 2.0 percent at Jack in the Box system restaurants. Same-store sales of approximately flat at Qdoba company restaurants.