Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw its shares climb more than 10% intra-day on Thursday, even as the fast-food chain reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that missed expectations and posted steep same-store sales declines across its brands.
Adjusted earnings per share were $0.30, below analyst estimates of $0.46. Revenue of $326.2 million was slightly above the $324.77 million consensus, but represented a 6.6% year-over-year decline.
Same-store sales at the Jack in the Box brand fell 7.4%, with company-operated restaurants down 5.3% and franchised locations down 7.6%. Del Taco — which the company is in the process of divesting — recorded a 3.9% decline in system-wide same-store sales.
Restaurant-level margin at Jack in the Box was 16.1%, declining from 18.5% a year ago, partly due to operational inefficiencies related to the company’s expansion in Chicago, where it opened eight new restaurants during the quarter.
For fiscal 2026, the company projected same-store sales between –1% and +1%. It warned that first-quarter results were expected to remain pressured before recovering sequentially over the remainder of the year. Jack in the Box plans to open around 20 new restaurants and close 50 to 100 locations, most of which will be franchised units.
