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The Joint (JYNT) Rises 30% as Q4 Earnings Beat on Higher Clinics
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The Joint Corp. (JYNT - Free Report) shares have jumped 30% since it reported fourth-quarter 2023 financial results. The strong quarterly results were primarily due to continued organic growth and an increased number of clinics, partially offset by higher expenses.
In the quarter under review, it witnessed an adjusted earnings per share of 7 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents. The bottom line also improved from adjusted earnings of 4 cents per share a year ago.
Revenues of The Joint amounted to $30.6 million, which increased 10.6% year over year. The top line beat the consensus mark by 3.3%.
For the full year, revenues of $117.7 million rose 16% year over year. Patient visits rose to 13.6 million from 12.2 million in 2022. It reported an operating loss of $2.1 million against operating income of $0.8 million in 2022. However, adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents doubled from 8 cents a year ago.
2024 Guidance
The company expects 2024 system-wide sales to be within $530-$545 million, up from $488 million in 2023. It expects to open 60-75 franchised clinics in 2024 compared with 104 opened last year.
4Q Performance
Revenues from company-owned or managed clinics increased 8.6% year over year to $17.9 million. Royalty fees garnered $8 million in the fourth quarter, up 11.3% from a year ago. Advertising fund revenues rose 11.7% from a year ago to $2.3 million. Software fees jumped 19.2% year over year to $1.3 million. Also, franchise fees increased 49.3% from a year ago to $0.7 million.
Total cost of revenues rose 16.5% year over year to $2.9 million in the fourth quarter due to increased regional developer royalties and commissions. General and administrative expenses jumped 16.2% from a year ago to $21.3 million due to higher costs to support clinic growth and increased payroll to stay competitive in the tight labor market. As such, total SG&A costs jumped 11.3% to $26.4 million.
The Joint reported a net loss of $11 million in the quarter under review against net income of $0.8 million a year ago due to higher impairment charges from its refranchising efforts and increased income tax expense.
System-wide sales jumped 11% in the quarter to $133.1 million. By 2023-end, the company increased the total clinic count to 935, which was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 948. The number of franchised clinics grew to 800, which was lower than the consensus mark of 812. Company-owned or managed clinics were at 135, missing the consensus estimate of 136.
Adjusted EBITDA of $4 million in the fourth quarter remained stable compared with the year-ago period.
Financial Update (as of Dec 31, 2023)
JYNT exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $18.2 million, which jumped from $9.7 million at 2022-end. Total assets of $87.2 million decreased from $93.5 at 2022-end.
Debt under the credit agreement remained flat at $2 million from 2022-end.
Total equity of $24.8 million fell from $32.6 million at 2022-end.
In 2023, the operating cash flow of $14.7 million improved from $8.2 million a year ago.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Universal Health Services’ 2024 bottom line suggests 19.9% year-over-year growth. UHS has witnessed three upward estimate revisions over the past 30 days against one movement in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 5.9%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cigna’s full-year 2024 earnings indicates a 13% year-over-year increase. CI beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 2.9%. The consensus mark for revenues predicts 20.4% growth from the year-ago period.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Health Catalyst’s 2024 full-year earnings implies a 93.3% increase from the year-ago reported figure. HCAT beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 247.9%. The consensus mark for its current-year revenues is pegged at $308 million, which calls for a 4.1% year-over-year increase.
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The Joint (JYNT) Rises 30% as Q4 Earnings Beat on Higher Clinics
The Joint Corp. (JYNT - Free Report) shares have jumped 30% since it reported fourth-quarter 2023 financial results. The strong quarterly results were primarily due to continued organic growth and an increased number of clinics, partially offset by higher expenses.
In the quarter under review, it witnessed an adjusted earnings per share of 7 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents. The bottom line also improved from adjusted earnings of 4 cents per share a year ago.
Revenues of The Joint amounted to $30.6 million, which increased 10.6% year over year. The top line beat the consensus mark by 3.3%.
The Joint Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Joint Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Joint Corp. Quote
2023 Results
For the full year, revenues of $117.7 million rose 16% year over year. Patient visits rose to 13.6 million from 12.2 million in 2022. It reported an operating loss of $2.1 million against operating income of $0.8 million in 2022. However, adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents doubled from 8 cents a year ago.
2024 Guidance
The company expects 2024 system-wide sales to be within $530-$545 million, up from $488 million in 2023. It expects to open 60-75 franchised clinics in 2024 compared with 104 opened last year.
4Q Performance
Revenues from company-owned or managed clinics increased 8.6% year over year to $17.9 million. Royalty fees garnered $8 million in the fourth quarter, up 11.3% from a year ago. Advertising fund revenues rose 11.7% from a year ago to $2.3 million. Software fees jumped 19.2% year over year to $1.3 million. Also, franchise fees increased 49.3% from a year ago to $0.7 million.
Total cost of revenues rose 16.5% year over year to $2.9 million in the fourth quarter due to increased regional developer royalties and commissions. General and administrative expenses jumped 16.2% from a year ago to $21.3 million due to higher costs to support clinic growth and increased payroll to stay competitive in the tight labor market. As such, total SG&A costs jumped 11.3% to $26.4 million.
The Joint reported a net loss of $11 million in the quarter under review against net income of $0.8 million a year ago due to higher impairment charges from its refranchising efforts and increased income tax expense.
System-wide sales jumped 11% in the quarter to $133.1 million. By 2023-end, the company increased the total clinic count to 935, which was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 948. The number of franchised clinics grew to 800, which was lower than the consensus mark of 812. Company-owned or managed clinics were at 135, missing the consensus estimate of 136.
Adjusted EBITDA of $4 million in the fourth quarter remained stable compared with the year-ago period.
Financial Update (as of Dec 31, 2023)
JYNT exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $18.2 million, which jumped from $9.7 million at 2022-end. Total assets of $87.2 million decreased from $93.5 at 2022-end.
Debt under the credit agreement remained flat at $2 million from 2022-end.
Total equity of $24.8 million fell from $32.6 million at 2022-end.
In 2023, the operating cash flow of $14.7 million improved from $8.2 million a year ago.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
The Joint currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Medical space are Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS - Free Report) , The Cigna Group (CI - Free Report) and Health Catalyst, Inc. (HCAT - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Universal Health Services’ 2024 bottom line suggests 19.9% year-over-year growth. UHS has witnessed three upward estimate revisions over the past 30 days against one movement in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 5.9%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cigna’s full-year 2024 earnings indicates a 13% year-over-year increase. CI beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 2.9%. The consensus mark for revenues predicts 20.4% growth from the year-ago period.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Health Catalyst’s 2024 full-year earnings implies a 93.3% increase from the year-ago reported figure. HCAT beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 247.9%. The consensus mark for its current-year revenues is pegged at $308 million, which calls for a 4.1% year-over-year increase.