American restaurant chain BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) reported Q2 CY2026 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 6.4% year on year to $388.9 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.94 per share was 4.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy BJ's? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
BJ's (BJRI) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $388.9 million vs analyst estimates of $377 million (6.4% year-on-year growth, 3.2% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.94 vs analyst estimates of $0.90 (4.9% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $44.36 million vs analyst estimates of $43.86 million (11.4% margin, 1.1% beat)
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $148.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $147 million
- Operating Margin: 4.7%, down from 5.8% in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 219 at quarter end, in line with the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales rose 6.5% year on year (2.9% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $1.47 billion
Company Overview
Founded in 1978 in California, BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) is a chain of restaurants whose menu features classic American dishes, often with a twist.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years.
With $1.43 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, BJ's is a mid-sized restaurant chain, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale.
As you can see below, BJ's grew its sales at a sluggish 3.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last seven years as its restaurant footprint remained unchanged.
This quarter, BJ's reported year-on-year revenue growth of 6.4%, and its $388.9 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.2%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 2.3% over the next 12 months, similar to its seven-year rate. This projection doesn’t excite us and indicates its newer menu offerings will not catalyze better top-line performance yet.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE: The Next Palantir? One satellite company captures images of every point on Earth. Every single day. The Pentagon wants it. Hedge funds are using it to beat earnings. You’ve probably never heard of it.
This is what the early days of Palantir looked like before it became a giant. Same playbook. Different technology. If you missed Palantir, you need to see this. Claim The Stock Ticker for Free HERE.
Restaurant Performance
Number of Restaurants
A restaurant chain’s total number of dining locations influences how much it can sell and how quickly revenue can grow.
BJ's operated 219 locations in the latest quarter, and over the last two years, has kept its restaurant count flat while other restaurant businesses have opted for growth.
When a chain doesn’t open many new restaurants, it usually means there’s stable demand for its meals and it’s focused on improving operational efficiency to increase profitability.
Same-Store Sales
The change in a company’s restaurant base only tells one side of the story. The other is the performance of its existing locations, which informs management teams whether they should expand or downsize their physical footprints. Same-store sales provides a deeper understanding of this issue because it measures organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year.
BJ’s demand has been healthy for a restaurant chain over the last two years. On average, the company has grown its same-store sales by a robust 3% per year. Given its flat restaurant base over the same period, this performance stems from a mixture of higher prices and increased foot traffic at existing locations.
In the latest quarter, BJ’s same-store sales rose 6.5% year on year. This growth was an acceleration from its historical levels, which is always an encouraging sign.
Key Takeaways from BJ’s Q2 Results
We were impressed by how significantly BJ's blew past analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also excited its same-store sales outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin. Overall, we think this was a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. The stock remained flat at $73.94 immediately after reporting.
So do we think BJ's is an attractive buy at the current price? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).