First Watch Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. FWRG reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2024, with earnings missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues beating the same. The top line increased year over year while the bottom line declined. Following the results, the company’s shares fell 7% yesterday.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.FWRG’s Q4 Earnings & RevenuesFor the fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 1 cent, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents. The company reported an adjusted EPS of 4 cents in the prior-year quarter.Quarterly revenues of $263.3 million beat the consensus mark by 0.4%. The top line increased 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. The growth was primarily driven by new restaurant openings and menu price increases. However, this was partially offset by a 0.3% decline in same-restaurant sales and a 3% decrease in same-restaurant traffic.First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. QuoteFWRG Q4 Operating HighlightsDuring the fiscal fourth quarter, general and administrative expenses came in at $30.7 million compared with $30 million reported in the prior-year quarter.During the quarter, the Restaurant-level operating profit came in at $49 million compared with $46.8 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The Restaurant-level operating profit margin came in at 18.8%, down from 19.4% reported in the prior-year period.Net income during the quarter came in at $0.7 million compared with $2.6 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The net income margin during the quarter declined 80 basis points (bps) year over year to 0.3%.Adjusted EBITDA in the fiscal fourth quarter came in at $24.3 million compared with $24.6 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin declined 90 basis points (bps) year over year to 9.2%.FWRG’s Fiscal 2024 HighlightsTotal revenues in fiscal 2024 amounted to $1.02 billion compared with $891.6 million in fiscal 2023.Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2024 totaled $113.8 million compared with $99.5 million in fiscal 2023.In fiscal 2024, diluted EPS came in at 30 cents compared with 41 cents reported in the previous year.FWRG’s Fiscal 2025 OutlookIn fiscal 2025, the company anticipates same-restaurant sales growth in the low single digits, with traffic expected to remain flat to slightly positive. Total revenues are projected to increase by approximately 20%, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to range between $124 million and $130 million. The company foresees a blended tax rate between 31% and 33%.Expansion plans include opening 59 to 64 new system-wide restaurants, accounting for three company-owned closures. Capital expenditures are estimated between $150 million and $160 million, primarily allocated to new restaurant openings and planned remodels.Additionally, the company reaffirms its long-term financial targets, which include low double-digit percentage unit growth, approximately 3.5% same-restaurant sales growth, mid-teen restaurant sales growth and mid-teen percentage growth in adjusted EBITDA.FWRG’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksFirst Watch currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector have been discussed below.BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.BJRI has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of negative 84.7%, on average. The stock has gained 13.9% in the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJRI’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 3.3% and 17.7%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Brinker International, Inc. EAT presently flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1. EAT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.7%, on average. The stock has surged 106.8% in the past six months.The consensus estimate for EAT’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 18.7% and 98.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Portillo's Inc. PTLO currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. PTLO has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 62.7%, on average. The stock has risen 8.3% in the past six months.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JWN’s fiscal 2026 sales indicates a rise of 11.7% from the year-ago period’s levels.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 Brinker International, Inc. (EAT): Free Stock Analysis Report First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (FWRG): Free Stock Analysis Report Portillo's Inc. (PTLO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks