BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business had revenue of $358.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from BJ’s Restaurants’ conference call:

• Strong sales and traffic growth: Third-quarter comparable sales rose 8.1%, driven by 8.3% traffic growth, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of sales and traffic gains. Revenue increased 8.6% to $358.6 million, with growth across days, dayparts, revenue centers, and regions.
• Profitability improved, and full-year guidance was raised: Restaurant-level operating margin expanded 220 basis points to 14.7%, while adjusted EBITDA increased $10.3 million to $31.4 million. BJ’s raised its 2026 comparable-sales, restaurant-level operating profit, and adjusted EBITDA outlook, while lowering expected capital expenditures.
• Check trends and menu initiatives showed progress: Average check declined just 0.2%, improving from a 1.8% decline in Q2; management attributed the sequential improvement partly to menu renovations and more balanced growth drivers. The company said revamped pizza, burger, and chicken sandwich offerings are generating higher sales and margins.
• Q4 outlook includes a calendar headwind: Management said results to date are in line with expectations, but projected an approximately 100-basis-point Q4 comparable-sales headwind from holiday timing. It also expects occupancy and operating expenses to rise to about 23% of revenue, citing marketing, insurance, and repair and maintenance costs.
• Balance sheet strengthened as growth investment continues: BJ’s repaid $28 million of debt during the quarter and ended with approximately $4 million of net debt, down from $61 million at the start of the year. The company plans to open one restaurant in Q4 and one in Q1, with roughly four or five openings targeted for 2027.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI traded down $3.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.35. 775,501 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 482,452. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.23. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12-month low of $33.36 and a 12-month high of $74.60.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, Director C Richmond bought 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $47,627.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,245,375. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total value of $528,504.90. Following the sale, the director owned 71,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,881.70. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BJRI shares. Mizuho upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. William Blair raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc (NASDAQ: BJRI) operates and develops casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu centered on deep-dish pizza, along with appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, entrees, desserts and other American-style dishes.

The company is also known for producing and serving craft beer, including its proprietary BJ’s beers, at many of its locations. Its restaurants typically combine full-service dining with a brewery-inspired atmosphere and offer dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering services, depending on the location.

BJ’s traces its origins to 1978, when the first restaurant opened in Southern California.