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Factors Setting the Tone for BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) Q1 Earnings

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BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2022 results on Apr 21, after market close. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 900%.

How are Estimates Placed?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter loss is pegged at 26 cents. In the prior-year quarter, the company had reported an adjusted loss per share of 14 cents. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $297.9 million, which suggests an improvement of 33.4% from the prior-year quarter’s tally.

Let's take a look at how things have shaped up in the quarter.

Factors at Play

BJ's Restaurants’ first-quarter performance is likely to have been driven by improved traffic and comps. Comps in the quarter are likely to have been aided by improvement in dining room sales and a robust off-premise business. Robust off-premise sales owing to an expanded family feast and bundled offerings are likely to have aided the company’s performance. Focus on unit expansion, slow-roasted protein platform and Beer Club subscription services bodes well. The company is also benefiting from its focus on refining and streamlining its menu for improved traffic.

The company’s results in the quarter are also likely to have benefited from a robust loyalty program. The company’s loyalty guest database continues to grow well with the steady increase in transactions. However, higher pre-opening costs, marketing expenses and costs related to sales-boosting initiatives are likely to have dented the company’s margin in the quarter. Particularly, slow roasting ovens and handheld tablets add to the restaurants’ costs. A rise in meat and seafood costs, including ribs, prime rib, ribeye and tri-tip and salmon, is also hurting the company. BJRI has also been facing high general and administrative expenses.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. price-eps-surprise | BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Quote

 

What Our Model Says

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predicts an earnings beat for BJ's Restaurants this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: BJ's Restaurants has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector that investors may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the quarter to be reported:

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.08% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Shares of Chipotle's have gained 3.4% in the past year. CMG’s earnings beat the consensus mark in each of the trailing four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.2%, on average.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +11.33% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Shares of Cracker Barrel have declined 29.9% in the past year. CBRL’s has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 350.5%, on average.

Groupon, Inc. (GRPN - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +23.91% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Shares of Groupon have gained 169.1% in the past year. GRPN has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 396.7%, on average.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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