BJ's Restaurants vs First Watch Restaurant Group
BJ's Restaurants reported revenue of $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as First Watch Restaurant Group's $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025. BJ's Restaurants' revenue grew 3.1% in its latest year, and First Watch Restaurant Group's grew 20.3%. BJ's Restaurants had an operating margin of 3.3%, against 2.2% at First Watch Restaurant Group. Free cash flow was $41 million at BJ's Restaurants and −$31 million at First Watch Restaurant Group. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 30 and December 28), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| BJ's Restaurants | First Watch Restaurant Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 30, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 28, 2025 |
| Revenue | $1.4B | $1.2B |
| Revenue growth | 3.1% | 20.3% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 12.4% | 29.0% |
| Gross margin | 74.8% | — |
| Operating margin | 3.3% | 2.2% |
| Net margin | 3.5% | 1.6% |
| Free cash flow | $41M | −$31M |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.9% | −2.5% |
| Return on capital | 11.1% | 3.3% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.5x | 2.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $68M | $0M |
| Change in diluted share count | −4.8% | 0.8% |
| Last close | $55.67 | $12.86 |
| P/E at the last close | 26.6× | 40.2× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $218,574, sold $8.4 million | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 4 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
BJ's RestaurantsFirst Watch Restaurant Group
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
BJ's RestaurantsFirst Watch Restaurant Group
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
BJ's RestaurantsFirst Watch Restaurant Group
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the BJ's Restaurants and First Watch Restaurant Group pages.