Jack in the Box Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Jack in the Box (NAS: JACK) reported earnings on Feb. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 20 (Q1), Jack in the Box met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly. GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Jack in the Box booked revenue of $465.5 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $471.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 29% lower than the prior-year quarter's $652.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.54. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.39 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.54 for Q1 were 116% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.47 for Q1 were 74% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.27 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 23.5%, 920 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.1%, 520 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $370.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.58 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.56.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 330 members out of 365 rating the stock outperform, and 35 members rating it underperform. Among 132 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 125 give Jack in the Box a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Jack in the Box is outperform, with an average price target of $31.00.

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The article Jack in the Box Crushes Earnings Estimates originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Originally published