BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI Quick QuoteBJRI - Free Report) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 16, after market close. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.7% and 2.4%, respectively.

How Are Estimates Placed?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth-quarter bottom line is pegged at 7 cents per share compared with a loss of 20 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

For revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at nearly $344 million, suggesting an increase of 18.2% from the prior-year quarter’s reported value.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. price-eps-surprise | BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Quote

Let’s analyze the factors that are likely to make an impact this earnings season.

Factors at Play

BJ's Restaurants’ fourth-quarter top line is likely to have benefited from a solid increase in comparable restaurant sales and technology-driven initiatives. The company’s focus on new restaurant openings and remodeling initiatives is likely to have aided the results. Per the Zacks Consensus Estimate, comparable restaurant revenues are likely to witness 7.8% year-over-year growth.

The company has been gaining from its new restaurant openings in Las Vegas and Nevada. Also, the restaurant’s remodel initiatives provide continuous growth in sales and investment prospects.

However, BJ’s Restaurants is consistently bearing increased expenses, which has been affecting margins of late. Higher food inflationary costs, marketing expenses and costs related to sales-boosting initiatives are weighing on the company’s margins. We expect the cost of sales, labor and benefits, as well as occupancy and operating expenses to increase 19.8%, 10.1% and 14.5%, respectively, year over year.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model predicts a likely earnings beat for BJ's Restaurants this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: BJ's Restaurants has an Earnings ESP of +16.67%. 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.

Other Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some other stocks from the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry that investors may consider as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the quarter to be reported:

Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. currently has an Earnings ESP of +12.50% and a Zacks Rank #3.

RUTH’s earnings beat the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters and missed on the other occasion. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19%, on average. Earnings for the to-be-reported quarter are expected to decline 5.9% year over year.

Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK Quick QuoteSHAK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.06% and a Zacks Rank #3.

SHAK’s earnings beat the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters and met the same on the remaining occasion. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 37.2%, on average. Earnings for the to-be-reported quarter are expected to remain flat year over year.

Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA Quick QuotePZZA - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.10% and a Zacks Rank #3.

PZZA’s earnings beat the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters and missed on one occasion. It has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 0.7%, on average. Earnings for the to-be-reported quarter are expected to decline 13.3% year over year.

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