Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) reported Q4 EPS of $0.06, $0.06 better than the analyst estimate of $0.00. Revenue for the quarter came in at $151.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $153.14 million.

• Fourth Quarter Total Revenue Grew 21.9%
• Fiscal 2019 Total Revenue Grew 29.4%
• Fiscal 2019 Same-Shack Sales Increased 1.3%
• System-wide Year-Over-Year Unit Growth of 32%

Financial Highlights for the Fourth Quarter 2019:

Total revenue increased 21.9% to $151.4 million.
Shack sales increased 20.8% to $145.8 million.
Same-Shack sales decreased 3.6%.
Licensed revenue increased 58.6% to $5.6 million.
Shack system-wide sales increased 31.4% to $235.0 million.
Operating income was $0.5 million, or 0.3% of total revenue, and Shack-level operating profit*, a non-GAAP measure, increased 9.4% to $29.7 million, or 20.4% of Shack sales.
Net loss and net loss attributable to Shake Shack Inc. were $2.1 million, or $(0.06) per diluted share, respectively, primarily driven by sales performance, food and labor headwinds and investments across the business.
Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, increased 2.3% to $14.8 million.
Adjusted pro forma net income*, a non-GAAP measure, was $2.2 million, or $0.06 per fully exchanged and diluted share.
25 system-wide Shack openings, including 12 domestic company-operated Shacks and 13 licensed Shacks. Four licensed Shack closures, which included three closures in Russia.

Randy Garutti, Chief Executive Officer of Shake Shack, stated, “2019 was another milestone year at Shake Shack. We opened our largest class of Shacks ever, with 73 across the globe, 39 company-operated and 34 licensed. A total of 49 of those new Shacks were here in the United States, and internationally, we unlocked tremendous revenue growth by entering important new markets for the first time, namely Shanghai, Mexico City, Singapore and Manila. These launches were greeted with incredible local reception and fanfare and were a reminder of the global strength and potential of the Shake Shack brand. In addition to this expansion, we invested in our digital infrastructure, both for our back-office operations, and our guest touchpoints. Total revenue increased by almost 30% to $595 million, and system-wide sales by 33% to nearly $900 million, and we delivered adjusted EBITDA growth of 11% to $82 million, while continuing to make strategic investments for the significant opportunities that lie ahead."

Garutti concluded, “Looking forward, we expect 2020 will be another year of strong unit growth, domestically and internationally, with 40 to 42 new company-operated Shacks and 20 to 25 net new licensed Shacks. Beyond expansion, we believe this year will be defined by our innovation pipeline with focused investments across our digital products. We’re committed to building guest experiences that are more engaging, more convenient and that will provide us with more insights throughout the purchase process. On the menu side, we’re excited about new products making the leap from our innovation test kitchen to Shacks everywhere, through LTOs and core menu additions. Long term, we expect to deliver double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth over the coming years as we continue to grow top line sales, as well as ultimately delivering leverage across various cost line items over time. We recognize this level of growth and investment, at times, can have a near-term impact on same-Shack sales and other aspects of our financial performance, but we believe the company will ultimately benefit from this strategy over time. We are excited about our future and the significant runway we have ahead, as we quickly approach a billion dollars in total system-wide sales and build a company not just for quarters, but for years to come.”

GUIDANCE:

Shake Shack sees FY2020 revenue of $712-720 million, versus the consensus of $737.1 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Shake Shack (SHAK) click here.