Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) reported Q4 EPS of $0.95, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.96. Revenue for the quarter came in at $221.24 million versus the consensus estimate of $222.82 million.

Jack in the Box® system same-store sales increased 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Company same-store sales increased 3.5 percent, driven by average check growth of 2.8 percent and transaction growth of 0.7 percent.

Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our 2019 operating results demonstrate the momentum in the Jack in the Box brand, with same-store sales improving to the strongest performance in four years. We have now achieved our ninth consecutive year of positive same-store sales.

"We plan to build on these results by improving the guest experience through operations consistency and reducing wait times, serving indulgent food our guests crave, and targeting investments designed to maximize our returns. With our refranchising initiative complete, we have a renewed focus on expanding unit growth. We look forward to sharing additional details about these initiatives on tomorrow morning's earnings call."

Fiscal Year 2020 Guidance

The following guidance and underlying assumptions reflect the company’s current expectations for the fiscal year ending September 27, 2020. Fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 are 52-week years, with 16 weeks in the first quarter, and 12 weeks in each of the second, third and fourth quarters.

• System same-store sales growth of approximately 1.5 to 3.0 percent.
• Restaurant-Level Margin of approximately 25.0 percent of company restaurant sales, which includes expected commodity cost inflation of approximately 4.0 percent, and high-single-digit wage inflation.
• SG&A as a percentage of revenues of approximately 8.0 to 8.5 percent.
• G&A as a percentage of system-wide sales of approximately 1.7 to 1.9 percent.
• Approximately 25 to 35 new restaurants opening system-wide, substantially all of which will be franchise locations.
• Capital expenditures and tenant improvement allowances of approximately $45 to $55 million, collectively, excluding purchases of assets held for sale and leaseback.
• Tax rate of approximately 26.0 to 27.0 percent, subject to fluctuations arising from the impact of excess tax benefits from share-based compensation arrangements.
• Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $265 to $275 million.

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