BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) reported fiscal fourth-quarter results highlighted by another period of traffic-led comparable sales growth, continued margin expansion, and an outlook that calls for further gains in 2026 despite elevated commodity inflation in the near term.
Quarterly results: traffic strength offsets lower check
Chief Executive Officer and President Lyle Tick said the fourth quarter marked BJ’s sixth consecutive quarter of sales and traffic growth and its fifth consecutive quarter of profit and margin expansion. Comparable restaurant sales rose 2.6% in the quarter, driven by traffic growth of 4.5%. The increase was partially offset by a 1.9% decline in average check, which management attributed to a mix shift toward lower-check occasions rather than an increased reliance on discounting.
Chief Financial Officer Todd Wilson said total revenue was $355.4 million, up 3.2% year-over-year. Restaurant-level operating margin improved to 16.1% from 15.4% a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA margin was 10%, up 40 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $35.6 million, up 7.4% from $33.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income was $12.6 million, compared with a loss of $5.3 million a year ago, and adjusted EPS rose to $0.66 from $0.47.
Menu and marketing: Pizookies, pizza platform, and social engagement
Tick said seasonal Pizookie LTOs were a key driver of quarter-to-quarter mix changes, with some customers visiting primarily for dessert and drinks or skipping entrées—factors that pressured average check. He also noted BJ’s featured salmon instead of ribeye during the holiday season due to steak costs, which carried a lower check but better margin.
In Q4, BJ’s brought back the Monkey Bread Pizookie and introduced the Dubai Chocolate Pizookie along with a related martini. The company also launched a renovated pizza platform, which Tick said performed in line with test markets, with pizza “incidents up just under 10%.” BJ’s ended fiscal 2025 with a net reduction of six menu items and four ingredient SKUs, and management discussed ongoing efforts to simplify the menu and operations.
On marketing, Tick said the company leaned more heavily into word-of-mouth and social channels to support product news, while using broader paid media to communicate value through the Pizookie Meal Deal. He said the Pizookie launches generated a fourfold increase in Pizookie impressions quarter-over-quarter and drove organic social impressions up 12 times year-over-year in Q4. Tick also said the company has shifted from “brand-produced” content toward more influencer-produced content, and increased social and influencer investment as a share of overall spend.
Costs and margins: commodity inflation, efficiencies, and G&A items
Wilson said cost of sales was 25.5% of revenue in Q4, 40 basis points favorable to the prior year, helped by menu price increases and continued progress in the “gross to net” initiative aimed at simplifying execution. That improvement outweighed commodity pressures, including beef costs that were approximately 14% higher year-over-year and higher produce costs, partially offset by favorable poultry pricing.
Total labor expense was 35.8% of sales, flat year-over-year, as efficiency gains and simplification efforts were offset by higher restaurant management bonus costs tied to sales and profit growth. Wilson also cited higher workers’ compensation expense due to rising medical costs, even as claim counts improved.
General and administrative expense rose to $25.1 million, or 7.1% of sales, up 20 basis points year-over-year. Wilson said the increase was driven by expensing certain previously capitalized costs that “no longer held future value” and costs related to leadership transition in the finance function. Excluding those items, he said the quarter’s run rate would have been about $22 million, or 6.2% of sales.
Capital allocation: buybacks, remodels, and new unit pipeline
During Q4, BJ’s repurchased and retired about 167,000 shares for $5.4 million. For fiscal 2025, the company repurchased about 2 million shares at an average price of $33.80. Wilson said BJ’s had more than $90 million remaining under its board authorization and reiterated that management views repurchases as attractive when shares trade at a meaningful discount to intrinsic value.
The company ended Q4 with net funded debt of $61.2 million, consisting of $85 million of debt and $23.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Tick said BJ’s completed 19 remodels in 2025, bringing remodel penetration to just under 50% of the pre-2016 fleet. He also described updates to the facilities program, including tagging and tracking equipment and shifting from reactive to more planful maintenance.
2026 outlook: modest comp growth, profit expansion, and up to two openings
Management said early Q1 trends, including impacts from Winter Storm Finn in late January, were in line with the company’s annual guidance. BJ’s issued the following fiscal 2026 outlook:
- Comparable restaurant sales: growth of 1% to 3%, driven by continued traffic growth and a “marginal” increase in average check as the company anniversaries promotions and takes “prudent pricing action” to address inflation.
- Restaurant-level operating profit: $221 million to $233 million, supported by sales leverage and efficiency initiatives (including gross to net, activity-based labor management, and supply chain initiatives), offsetting expected inflation.
- Adjusted EBITDA: $140 million to $150 million, with G&A expected to normalize near $90 million (about 6.2% of sales), including roughly $11 million in stock-based compensation.
- Capital expenditures: $85 million to $95 million, reflecting incremental IT investment and a restart of the new restaurant opening pipeline.
- Share repurchases: up to $50 million, depending on market conditions.
Wilson said inflation accelerated in the second half of 2025, led by beef, and is expected to remain elevated in the first half of 2026 before moderating in the second half. In Q4, BJ’s total commodity basket inflation was about 2.5%, and labor inflation was in the 2% to 3% range, according to management. For the first half of 2026, Wilson said the company expects total inflation in the 3% to 4% range.
Operationally, Tick said the company deployed its AI-based activity-based labor model to about 30% of the system by year-end and intends to roll it out across the system in 2026, though he cautioned the company would be “judicious” about avoiding disruption during key seasonal periods. He said early results show improvement across metrics versus control groups, with the biggest gains in pace.
Looking to growth, Tick said BJ’s is targeting up to two new restaurant openings in the second half of 2026 to pilot a refreshed prototype, with additional restaurants under construction in 2026 slated to open in 2027. He described the prototype as a “familiar but contemporized” version of the brand and said the company is evaluating a flexible approach, including potentially smaller footprints and conversions in certain markets.
In Q&A, management also noted that dine-in traffic was up a little over 7% in Q4, while off-premise has been declining and remained a headwind. Tick added that late-night strength continued into Q1, which he attributed more to BJ’s positioning and broader supply-and-demand dynamics than to a specific promotional push.
About BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI)
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.
