BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $38.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.32. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $47.02. The firm has a market cap of $804.65 million, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BJRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.38.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, Director C Bradford Richmond bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $42,120.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at $586,170. This trade represents a 7.74% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $91,078.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,321.86. The trade was a 33.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $722,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 49.7% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 14,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $376,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $291,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $256,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More BJ’s Restaurants News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Comparable-restaurant sales grew 2.4% and management reiterated its fiscal 2026 financial outlook, signaling stable top-line momentum and confidence in the year. GlobeNewswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue was essentially in line with expectations (reported $358.1M vs. ~$357M consensus), showing modest YoY growth (+2.9%) and reducing concerns about demand. Yahoo Finance: Q1 Revenue In Line
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary from the Q1 earnings call provides operational color on traffic, pricing and cost pressures — useful for modeling margins but not a clear catalyst by itself. Investors will parse the transcript for margin recovery timing. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed estimates: $0.57 vs. consensus $0.61 (and down from $0.59 a year ago). The miss, highlighted by Zacks and other outlets, is the primary near-term negative catalyst pressuring the stock. Zacks: Q1 Earnings Lag
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains thin (net margin ~3.5%); EPS decline and relatively low liquidity metrics (quick ratio ~0.33, current ratio ~0.40) may concern investors focused on margin recovery and balance-sheet flexibility. Business Insider: Q1 Results

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.