Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK)
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Our Rating
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Whoever buys today is betting that guests return before falling same-restaurant sales catch up with the leveraged cash flow — and pays for an optically cheap stock whose firm value belongs mostly to the bondholders, not the shareholders. Whoever is in checks four things in every quarterly report (10-Q): do systemwide same-restaurant sales turn positive, or do guest counts keep falling? How does the remaining Class A-2 Notes balance develop (last $1.586 billion)? Does the continuing business stay profitable? And do the dividend or buybacks return — a signal that the coverage covenants leave room again? Until then this is a heavily indebted turnaround without an equity net, not a defensive consumer bet. The decision is yours.
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
Jack in the Box (Nasdaq: JACK) out of San Diego is the burger chain everyone in the western U.S. has pulled up to: 2,136 restaurants, 93 percent of them franchised, an asset-light royalty business. But behind the everyday brand sits a Wall Street construction — about $1.6 billion of securitized debt and negative equity of $922 million that comes entirely from $3.2 billion of share buybacks, not from losses. Del Taco, acquired in 2022, was offloaded again in December 2025 for $115 million after roughly $372 million of write-downs. On Reddit the stock is only a whisper: 2 mentions in 24 hours (ApeWisdom, as of July 23, 2026). We read the annual reports (10-K) and the quarterly report (10-Q). Not investment advice — just a tape measure held against the gap between a familiar brand and a hard balance sheet.
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 11 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners
Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
NeutralKein wesentlicher KI-Bezug in den ausgewerteten SEC-Filings: Der Geschäftsbericht 10-K für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 und der Quartalsbericht 10-Q zum 12. April 2026 enthalten keine belastbaren Treffer zu „artificial intelligence“, „machine learning“, „generative“ oder „LLM“ — die einzigen Fundstellen sind „business intelligence systems“ (Betriebsdaten-Auswertung, keine KI) und „artificial … trans fats“ (Zutaten, keine KI). Als franchise-lastige Schnellrestaurantkette (QSR) ist Jack in the Box weder KI-Umsatzquelle noch nennt sie KI als konkretes Geschäftsrisiko fürs eigene Modell; dokumentierter Negativ-Befund.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2025-11-19 · 10-K 2024-11-21 · 10-Q 2026-05-13 · 10-Q 2026-02-18
Rated on July 23, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 1.65 | 13.80 | 369 | -7.00 | -33.10 | 45 | 21 |
| 2024: Q3 | 1.16 | 6.40 | 349 | -6.20 | 6.30 | 30 | 0 |
| 2024: Q4 | 1.92 | -1.50 | 469 | -3.70 | 7.20 | 106 | 71 |
| 2025: Q1 | 1.20 | -17.80 | 337 | -7.80 | -42.20 | -37 | -58 |
| 2025: Q2 | 1.02 | -38.20 | 333 | -9.80 | 6.60 | 60 | 37 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.30 | -74.10 | 326 | -6.60 | 1.80 | 34 | 16 |
| 2025: Q4 | 1.00 | -47.90 | 350 | -25.50 | -0.70 | 19 | -5 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.76 | -36.70 | 254 | -24.50 | 4.00 | -15 | -27 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
A well-known burger chain with 2,136 restaurants (93 percent franchised) and a capital-light royalty, rent and advertising cash flow of about $838 million (FY2025). In FY2023 the company still earned $130.8 million of net income — the brand earnings power is real.
Revenue down three years running (1.69 → 1.57 → 1.47 billion), same-restaurant sales negative (JITB company minus 3.7 percent FY2025, minus 2.8 percent Q2 FY2026) — driven by 4 to 6 percent fewer guests at higher prices. That is a managing regime, not a growth one.
About $1.6 billion of securitized debt (Class A-2 Notes) with restrictive covenants and roughly $79 million of interest a year; negative equity of $922 million (04/12/2026). The deficit stems from $3.2 billion of buybacks (retained earnings plus $1.78 billion), but there is no equity cushion left.
Del Taco (bought 2022) written down by about $372 million and sold on 12/22/2025 for $115 million (a further $47.4 million loss on the sale); at the same time $3.2 billion poured into often expensively bought own shares. Two net-loss years, dividend cut, buybacks nearly halted.
After exiting Del Taco, the continuing business is profitable again in the first half of FY2026 (net income plus $26.9 million); the cash-preservation plan (dividend stop, throttled new builds, location cleanup) targets debt reduction. Whether it works depends on guests returning — open.
Jack in the Box is the familiarity trap in its purest form: a well-known everyday brand up front with a real, capital-light franchise cash flow — a highly leveraged financial construction out back, with about $1.6 billion of securitized debt and negative equity of $922 million that stems entirely from $3.2 billion of share buybacks. Revenue has fallen three years running, same-restaurant sales are negative, and the last big capital decision — the 2022 Del Taco acquisition — ended, after about $372 million of write-downs, in a sale for $115 million. On the plus side: the cleaned-up core business is profitable again, the dividend is cut, and the focus is on debt reduction. Whoever buys is betting on guests returning before the leveraged cash flow shrinks. Not investment advice.
- JACK reached our research list via the Reddit hype scanner (2 mentions in 24 hours, ApeWisdom, as of July 23, 2026) — unlike the momentum darlings of this series, Jack in the Box is an optically cheap, heavily indebted turnaround case, not a rally name.
- Fiscal-year note: a 52/53-week year ending in late September (FY2025 ended 09/28/2025); the first quarter is 16 weeks, the others 12 each. Del Taco has been reported as discontinued operations since the sale on 12/22/2025 — revenue and earnings series are delineated accordingly.
- Valuation figures are deliberately given as orders of magnitude and evergreen: metrics carry an annual, quarterly or data cut-off reference; daily prices are not a buy argument. Not to be confused: "JACK" (Jack in the Box) is not the Del Taco buyer Yadav Enterprises and is not the same as other QSR securitization issuers.
About the Company
Jack in the Box Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants (QSR) in the United States. It operates through Jack in the Box and Del Taco segments. The company engages in the operation of a hamburger chain under the Jack in the Box brand; and a Mexican-American QSR chain under the Del Taco brand. The company was formerly known as Foodmaker, Inc and changed its name to Jack in the Box Inc. in November 1999. Jack in the Box Inc. was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
| Employees | 1,316 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | San Diego, CA |
| Website | jackinthebox.com |
| IPO Date | 24. Feb 1987 |
| Next Earnings | 5. Aug 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn E. Hooper | Executive VP & CFO | 1971 |
| Sarah L. Super | Executive VP, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1977 |
| Carl Mount | Senior VP & Chief Supply Chain Officer | 1964 |
| Mark James King | Interim CEO & Executive Chairman | 1960 |
| Shannon McKinney | Senior VP & COO | – |
| Richard D. Cook | Senior VP & CTO | 1973 |
| Rachel Webb | Senior Vice President of Finance, Investor Relations & Analytics | – |
| Katelyn Zborowski | Senior VP & Chief Marketing Officer | – |
| Steven Piano | Senior VP & Chief People Officer | 1966 |
| Van Ingram | Senior VP & Chief Development Officer | 1965 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 24, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.