BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share.

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

• 7th consecutive quarter of sales and traffic growth — comparable same-store sales +2.4% driven by +2.2% traffic, restaurant-level margins 16% and adjusted EBITDA margin 10.5% (up 30 bps), with sustained outperformance vs. Black Box casual dining benchmarks.
• Product momentum is driving results — the All‑American Smash Burger lifted burger sales ~30%, pizza sales are ~20% higher, the Pizookie Meal Deal is increasing traffic and younger guest frequency, and new premium items (Wagyu burger, chicken sandwich refresh) are rolling out into Q3 to drive mix and check.
• Strong cash generation was deployed to reinvest in the business ($15.8M capex, five remodels), return capital (repurchased ~$5.3M of stock), and reduce leverage (repaid $23M of debt), lowering net funded debt to $39.3M from $61.2M.
• Management reiterated full‑year guidance and expects Q2 to be the peak for commodity inflation with a mid‑year menu update and targeted pricing to offset pressures in H2, though workers’ compensation and weather caused near‑term cost and volatility headwinds (labor at 36.3%, ~70 bps weather impact).

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJRI stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.28. 375,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,756. The company has a market cap of $804.65 million, a PE ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.29. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $47.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.89 and a 200 day moving average of $38.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $91,078.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,321.86. This trade represents a 33.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director C Bradford Richmond purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $42,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at $586,170. This represents a 7.74% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670 over the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,709,000 after acquiring an additional 23,513 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,557,000 after acquiring an additional 306,930 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 388,779 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,869,000 after acquiring an additional 156,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 385,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,178,000 after acquiring an additional 30,269 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson started coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.88.

BJ’s Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comparable-restaurant sales and revenue growth — BJ’s delivered 2.4% comparable-restaurant sales growth and revenue was up ~2.9% year-over-year for the fiscal Q1 period, and management reiterated its 2026 financial outlook, which supports near-term revenue visibility. BJ’s Reports Fiscal Q1 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Operational metrics show profitability leverage — management reported a positive return on equity (13.8%) and maintained margin commentary; investors often reward consistent comp-sales growth paired with margin discipline in casual-dining names. Key Metrics vs. Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Company webcast/press materials available — management held a conference call and published its press release/transcript, which will be monitored for color on traffic, unit trends, and any guidance detail. Short-term reactions may hinge on commentary rather than headline numbers. Earnings Transcript / Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and expectations were mixed ahead of the print — previews (Seeking Alpha, Yahoo Finance) set modest expectations, so post-earnings sentiment depends on how forward guidance and unit-level trends are interpreted. Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss — BJ’s reported EPS of $0.57 vs. the consensus ~$0.61, and Q1 EPS declined from $0.59 a year ago; that shortfall is the primary near-term negative for sentiment and could pressure the stock if guidance slips or cost pressures persist. Q1 Earnings Miss

About BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc is a publicly traded casual dining chain known for its deep‐dish pizzas, California‐style thin crust offerings and in‐house craft beer selections. Operating under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand, the company combines a microbrewery concept with full‐service dining, offering an extensive menu that includes appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and the signature Pizookie dessert.

Founded in 1978 in Orange County, California, BJ’s Restaurants began as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria, bringing a Chicago‐style pizza experience to the West Coast.