Likely Coronavirus Impact on BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) Q1 Earnings
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI is likely to witness a decline in the bottom line when it reports first-quarter 2020 results. In the last-reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 21.6%. Further, it has a trailing four-quarter beat of 28.5%, on average.
How Are Estimates Placed?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter bottom line is pegged at a loss of 8 cents against earnings of 62 cents recorded in the year-ago quarter. For quarterly revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at $276.3 million, suggesting a decline of 4.9% from the year-earlier figure.
Let's take a look at how things have shaped up in the quarter.
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. price-eps-surprise | BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Quote
Factors at Play
Decline in store traffic due to the coronavirus outbreak in the second half of March is expected show on first-quarter 2020 results. To contain the spread of the deadly virus, the company has closed its dine-in services and is operating only through pick-up and delivery. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for same-store restaurant sales in the quarter suggests a decline of approximately 1.1%.
The company’s earnings in the quarter are likely to have impacted by increased expenses due to costs pertaining to labor, marketing and sales-boosting initiatives.
However, the company’s off-premise sales are likely to have benefited from the pandemic on advanced cooking methods, modification of restaurant services, enhancement of guest experience and technology-driven convenience.
What Our Model Says
Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for BJ's Restaurants this time around. A stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to beat estimates. This is not the case here, as you will see below.
Earnings ESP: BJ's Restaurants has an Earnings ESP of -410.41%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates
Here are some stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale space that investors may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. SFM has a Zacks Rank #1 and an Earnings ESP of +21.28%.
Wayfair Inc. W has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +2.62%.
Yum China Holdings Inc. YUMC has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +18.37%.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Wayfair Inc. (W) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (SFM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Yum China Holdings Inc. (YUMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
