Fast-food chain Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales falling 1.8% year on year to $257.7 million. Its GAAP profit of $1.03 per share was 16.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Jack in the Box (JACK) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $257.7 million vs analyst estimates of $264.3 million (1.8% year-on-year decline, 2.5% miss)
- EPS (GAAP): $1.03 vs analyst estimates of $0.88 (16.6% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $61.2 million vs analyst estimates of $54.79 million (23.8% margin, 11.7% beat)
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $227.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $224.9 million
- Operating Margin: 20.5%, up from 15.5% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 11.6%, down from 14.2% in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 2,115 at quarter end, down from 2,753 in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $340.7 million
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
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about 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 grew its sales 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 1.8% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $257.7 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to remain flat over the next 12 months, a slight deceleration versus the last seven years. This projection is underwhelming and indicates its menu offerings will see some demand headwinds.
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Restaurant Performance
Number of Restaurants
Jack in the Box operated 2,115 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, the company has generally closed its restaurants, averaging 9.3% 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
A company’s restaurant base only paints one part of the picture. When demand is high, it makes sense to open more. But when demand is low, it’s prudent to close some locations and use the money in other ways. 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 4.4% 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).
Note that Jack in the Box reports its same-store sales intermittently, so some data points are missing in the chart below.
Key Takeaways from Jack in the Box’s Q2 Results
We were impressed by how significantly Jack in the Box blew past analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its revenue missed. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock traded up 4.2% to $19.61 immediately after reporting.
So do we think Jack in the Box is an attractive buy at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
