Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box's revenue fell 6.8% to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −1.2%, down from 5.2% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $74 million. It paid out $22 million in dividends and buybacks, 29% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 2.6%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
What Jack in the Box does
Jack in the Box Inc., based in San Diego, operates and franchises two quick-service restaurant chains. Jack in the Box serves burgers such as the Jumbo Jack, breakfast sandwiches, tacos, curly fries, egg rolls and shakes, and lets customers order any item at any hour. Del Taco serves Mexican and American dishes such as burritos and fries.
At the end of fiscal 2025 (September 28, 2025), Jack in the Box had 2,136 restaurants across 22 states, mainly in the western and southern U.S. Of those, 93% were franchised, which means independent owners run them and pay the company fees. Del Taco had 576 restaurants across 18 states.
In April 2025 the company began exploring strategic alternatives for Del Taco. On October 15, 2025, it agreed to sell Del Taco Holdings Inc., which owns and operates the Del Taco restaurant business, to Yadav Enterprises, Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $115 million in cash, subject to adjustments.
Its biggest risks, as it describes them
- Higher labor costs and changes in how many workers it can find.
- Rising food and commodity costs, and failed deliveries from a limited number of suppliers.
- A highly franchised business model, where franchisees' results affect the company.
- Strong competition in the food service industry, with fewer marketing resources than some rivals.
- The pending sale of Del Taco may not close on the expected terms or timeline.
Income statement
From fiscal 2016 to 2023, earnings per share grew 8.2% a year and net income 0.8% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 39%. Jack in the Box then lost money in fiscal 2024 and 2025.
Returns on capital
Balance sheet
Five years at a glance
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 55 | 109 | 158 | 25 | 52 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,274 | 1,830 | 1,755 | 1,735 | 1,704 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 1,219 | 1,721 | 1,597 | 1,711 | 1,652 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.6x | 5.7x | 4.7x | 12.0x | 41.1x |
| Debt to equity | — | — | — | — | — |
| Interest coverage | 4.8x | 3.5x | 3.5x | 1.1x | −0.2x |
| Current ratio | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.5x |
| Quick ratio | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.5x |
Cash flow
Projections
Project Jack in the Box's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.
Insider trades
No officer, director or 10% owner of Jack in the Box reported buying or selling its shares on the open market between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026.
Indicators
Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.
| Indicator | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piotroski F-score | 6 of 8 | 3 of 8 | 5 of 8 |
| Rule of 40 | 24.4% | −8.6% | −1.7% |
| Altman Z'' | 2.02 | 1.57 | 1.37 |
| Accruals ratio | −2.8% | −3.7% | −9.1% |
The nine F-score tests
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| F-score | 6 of 8 | 3 of 8 | 5 of 8 |
Compare
Put Jack in the Box side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack in the Box | FY25 | −6.8% | −1.2% | 5.1% | −1.8% | 41.1x | 5 | |
| Shake Shack | FY25 | 15.4% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 9.6% | −0.6x | 7 | Compare |
| Krispy Kreme | FY25 | −8.6% | −30.8% | −4.2% | −20.6% | — | 4 | Compare |
| BJ's Restaurants | FY25 | 3.1% | 3.3% | 2.9% | 11.1% | 0.5x | 7 | Compare |
| Dutch Bros | FY25 | 27.9% | 9.8% | 3.3% | 11.9% | 1.3x | 5 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 1,162 | 1,097 | 870 | 950 | 1,022 | 1,144 | 1,468 | 1,692 | 1,571 | 1,465 |
| Revenue growth | −24.5% | −5.6% | −20.7% | 9.2% | 7.5% | 12.0% | 28.4% | 15.3% | −7.2% | −6.8% |
| Gross profit | 574 | 555 | 540 | 702 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 192 | 245 | 233 | 202 | 231 | 290 | 248 | 279 | 82 | −18 |
| Net income | 124 | 135 | 121 | 94 | 90 | 166 | 116 | 131 | −37 | −81 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 3.63 | 4.38 | 4.21 | 3.62 | 3.86 | 7.37 | 5.45 | 6.30 | −1.87 | −4.24 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 34 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 104 | 134 | 104 | 168 | 144 | 201 | 163 | 215 | 69 | 162 |
| Capital expenditure | 43 | 39 | 38 | 48 | 20 | 41 | 46 | 60 | 91 | 88 |
| Free cash flow | 61 | 95 | 66 | 121 | 124 | 160 | 116 | 155 | −22 | 74 |
| Dividends paid | 40 | 49 | 45 | 41 | 28 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 34 | 17 |
| Share buybacks | 285 | 334 | 326 | 138 | 156 | 200 | 25 | 90 | 70 | 5 |
| Acquisitions | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 581 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Stock-based compensation | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 8 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 17 | 4 | 3 | 126 | 200 | 55 | 109 | 158 | 25 | 52 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 995 | 1,146 | 1,071 | 1,307 | 1,378 | 1,274 | 1,830 | 1,755 | 1,735 | 1,704 |
| Total assets | 1,345 | 1,235 | 823 | 958 | 1,906 | 1,750 | 2,922 | 3,001 | 2,736 | 2,593 |
| Total liabilities | 1,562 | 1,623 | 1,415 | 1,696 | 2,700 | 2,568 | 3,659 | 3,719 | 3,587 | 3,532 |
| Shareholders' equity | −217 | −388 | −592 | −738 | −793 | −818 | −736 | −718 | −852 | −938 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 49.4% | 50.5% | 62.1% | 73.8% | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 16.5% | 22.4% | 26.8% | 21.3% | 22.6% | 25.4% | 16.9% | 16.5% | 5.2% | −1.2% |
| Net margin | 10.7% | 12.3% | 14.0% | 9.9% | 8.8% | 14.5% | 7.9% | 7.7% | −2.3% | −5.5% |
| Free cash flow margin | 5.3% | 8.6% | 7.6% | 12.7% | 12.1% | 14.0% | 7.9% | 9.2% | −1.4% | 5.1% |
| Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin) | −19.3% | 3.0% | −13.1% | 22.0% | 19.6% | 26.0% | 36.3% | 24.4% | −8.6% | −1.7% |
| Return on capital | 16.5% | 20.4% | 21.3% | 34.8% | 40.7% | 55.2% | 25.6% | 20.7% | 7.5% | −1.8% |
| Return on equity | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Return on assets | 9.4% | 10.5% | 11.8% | 10.6% | 6.3% | 9.1% | 5.0% | 4.4% | −1.3% | −3.0% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.7x | 3.6x | 3.6x | 4.6x | 4.2x | 3.6x | 5.7x | 4.7x | 12.0x | 41.1x |