Fast-food chain Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales falling 4.3% year on year to $254.3 million. Its GAAP profit of $0.53 per share was 23.7% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Jack in the Box (JACK) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $254.3 million vs analyst estimates of $256.4 million (4.3% year-on-year decline, 0.8% miss)
- EPS (GAAP): $0.53 vs analyst expectations of $0.70 (23.7% miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $51.32 million vs analyst estimates of $50.09 million (20.2% margin, 2.5% beat)
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $230 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $225.9 million
- Operating Margin: 13.9%, up from -59.1% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow was -$24.78 million compared to -$49.44 million in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 2,128 at quarter end, down from 2,774 in the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales fell 3.8% year on year, in line with the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $258.3 million
“Second quarter results did not meet expectations, however trends have improved into the third quarter. Jack in the Box is an iconic brand, and I'm eager to dive in with our passionate team and franchisees to further improve operating results. After being on the Board and now as interim CEO, my excitement for the potential of this brand has only grown,” said Mark King, Jack in the Box Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Company Overview
Delighting customers since its inception in 1951, Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is a distinctive fast-food chain known for its bold flavors, innovative menu items, and quirky marketing.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years.
With $1.12 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Jack in the Box is a mid-sized restaurant chain, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale.
As you can see below, Jack in the Box’s sales grew at a weak 2.4% compounded annual growth rate over the last seven years as it closed restaurants.
This quarter, Jack in the Box missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 4.3% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $254.3 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 1.1% over the next 12 months, similar to its seven-year rate. This projection is underwhelming and suggests its menu offerings will see some demand headwinds.
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Restaurant Performance
Number of Restaurants
A restaurant chain’s total number of dining locations influences how much it can sell and how quickly revenue can grow.
Jack in the Box operated 2,128 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, the company has generally closed its restaurants, averaging 6.4% annual declines.
When a chain shutters restaurants, it usually means demand for its meals is waning, and it is responding by closing underperforming locations to improve profitability.
Same-Store Sales
The change in a company's restaurant base only tells one side of the story. The other is the performance of its existing locations, which informs management teams whether they should expand or downsize their physical footprints. Same-store sales provides a deeper understanding of this issue because it measures organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year.
Jack in the Box’s demand has been shrinking over the last two years as its same-store sales have averaged 4.2% annual declines. This performance isn’t ideal, and Jack in the Box is attempting to boost same-store sales by closing restaurants (fewer locations sometimes lead to higher same-store sales).
In the latest quarter, Jack in the Box’s same-store sales fell by 3.8% year on year. This performance was more or less in line with its historical levels.
Key Takeaways from Jack in the Box’s Q1 Results
It was encouraging to see Jack in the Box’s full-year EBITDA guidance beat analysts’ expectations. We were also happy its EBITDA outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS missed and its same-store sales fell slightly short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded up 2.1% to $13.07 immediately following the results.
Is Jack in the Box an attractive investment opportunity right now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
