It has been more than a month since the last earnings report for Jack In The Box Inc. (JACK – Free Report). Shares have lost about 4% in that time frame.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to the stock’s next earnings release, or is it due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let’s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Jack in the Box Q4 Earnings & Revenues Lag Estimates

Jack in the Box reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results, with both earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Earnings and Revenue Discussion

Adjusted earnings per share of 73 cents lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents by 18%. Further, the bottom line declined 24.3% year over year primarily due to lower revenues and restaurant operating margins.

Revenues of $338.7 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $342.5 million by 1.1%. Moreover, the top line fell 15% on a year-over-year basis owing to lower Jack in the Box and Qdoba brand sales.

Behind the Headline Numbers

Comps at Jack in the Box company stores declined 2%, comparing unfavorably with the prior-year quarter fall of 0.5% and last quarter’s decline of 1.6%. Notably, a 5.4% decrease in transactions was partially offset by an average check growth of 3.4%.

Same-store sales at franchised stores declined 0.7%, comparing unfavorably with the gain of 2.4% in the year-ago quarter and the gain of 0.1% in the previous quarter. System same-store sales fell 1% against rise of 2% in the comparable period last year and prior-quarter comps decline of 0.2%.

Comps at company-owned Qdoba restaurants were down 4%, reflecting 6.4% decrease in transactions, partially offset by growth in average check and catering sales. This decline compared unfavorably with the prior-quarter decrease of 1.1% and the prior-year quarter rise of 1.2%.