BJ's Restaurants, Inc.

What they do

BJ's owns and operates 219 restaurants in 31 states as of July 30, 2026, all company-owned. The menu has approximately 90 items built around deep-dish pizza, slow roasted entrees and wings, and the Pizookie dessert. It also sells proprietary craft beers produced at four in-house brewing facilities, two standalone brewpubs, and by third-party brewers, alongside a full bar. Revenues are food and beverage sales, including takeout, delivery and catering, plus gift card and loyalty program activity.

Revenue drivers

• Restaurant food and beverage sales — All revenue comes from company-owned restaurants; second quarter 2026 total revenues were $388.9 million, up 6.4%, with comparable restaurant sales up 6.5%.
• Guest traffic — Second quarter 2026 comparable sales growth was driven by an 8.3% traffic increase, which the company described as its eighth consecutive quarter of sales and traffic growth.
• Proprietary craft beer and bar program — BJ's craft beers are produced at four in-house brewing facilities, two standalone brewpubs and by independent third-party brewers using proprietary recipes, sold alongside cocktails in company restaurants.
• Off-premise and other sales — Takeout, delivery and catering sales are included in restaurant sales and recognized when payment is tendered.

Recent performance

For fiscal second quarter 2026 ended June 30, 2026, total revenues rose 6.4% to $388.9 million and comparable restaurant sales rose 6.5%. Restaurant level operating profit was $66.8 million, up 7.6%, with margin at 17.2% versus 17.0% a year earlier. Diluted net income per share was $0.86 and adjusted diluted net income per share was $0.94. Adjusted EBITDA was $44.4 million, up 5.5% from $42.1 million. The company repurchased and retired about 64,000 shares for roughly $2.4 million in the quarter.

Strategy

Management frames the business around four strategic pillars and a 'Gold Standard of Operational Excellence' commitment to service and consistency. The company has been remodeling restaurants since 2022 with several remodel iterations based on restaurant age and condition. Menu offerings and prices are evaluated two to three times a year, supplemented by seasonal and limited-time items. It also continues share repurchases, with about $85.5 million available under its authorized program as of July 30, 2026.

Risks

• Full-service restaurant competition — BJ's competes in the highly fragmented full-service segment, which the 10-K estimates at over $100 billion in annual sales.
• Commodity and sales-mix cost pressure — Cost of sales is variable and can be affected by commodity prices, a shift in sales mix to items with different cost structures, or promotional activity.
• Labor and benefit cost inflation — Labor and benefit costs include hourly and management wages, payroll taxes, fringe benefits, stock-based compensation and workers' compensation for restaurant team members.
• Guidance and forward-looking uncertainty — The company's fiscal 2026 outlook is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, as stated in its 10-Q and earnings release.

Outlook

On July 30, 2026, management raised fiscal 2026 guidance: comparable restaurant sales to an increase of 3.0% to 4.0% from 1.0% to 3.0%, restaurant level operating profit to $228 million to $235 million, and Adjusted EBITDA to $145 million to $152 million. Capital expenditures were unchanged at $85 million to $95 million and share repurchases at up to $50 million, depending on market conditions. Management attributed second quarter incremental general and administrative costs of $2.9 million to deferred compensation, legal and leadership transition costs.