benzinga’s weekly stock wars matches up two leaders in a major industry sector with the goal of determining which company is the better investment this week the duel is between two companies in the quickservice food trade jack in the box inc nasdaq jack and wingstop inc nasdaq wing the case for jack in the box this company can trace its roots to topsys drivein a san diego eatery that opened in 1941 founder robert peterson converted the venue to jack in the box in 1951 and pioneered the use of a twoway intercom system to accommodate drivein customers today jack in the box covers approximately 2200 restaurants in 21 states and guam the company has been publicly traded since 1987 among its recent corporate developments the company signed seven development agreements to open 47 new restaurants including an expansion into the salt lake city and louisville markets jack in the box also partnered with impossible foods to serve plantbased hamburgers at several of its phoenix locations while bringing back its celebrated monster taco on a limitededition basis during october during the course of the year the company underwent a csuite transformation with new executives being brought in to oversee its marketing investor relations human resources and technology endeavors in its most recent earnings report the fy fourthquarter data published on nov 23 jack in the box recorded revenues of 2784 million up from 2554 million with net earnings of 389 million up from 378 million in the previous year the company’s net earnings per share of 180 was higher than the previous year’s 164 and the 44cent dividend for the quarter was four cents more than the dividend from one year earlier looking forward jack in the box is seeking to fund five new companyowned restaurants in 2022 and between seven and 15 in 2023 “i am very proud of the execution and determination shown by our outstanding franchisees and corporate team members continuing to deliver for our guests during a challenging operating environment” said ceo darin harris “we closed the year with strong comps on a twoyear basis of 123 in q4 leading us to another recordsetting year of storelevel profitability a key element in driving results against our growth strategy in the near future “we continue to focus heavily on making significant progress on our strategic pillars growth objectives and unlocking substantial value for jack shareholders” harris added jack in the box opened for trading on wednesday at 8260 closer to its 52week low of 8085 than its 52week high of 12453 the case for wingstop this company traces its origins to garland texas in 1994 when antonio swad opened an eatery with a prejet aviation décor the first wingstop franchise opened in 1997 and the company has been publicly traded since 2015 today wingstop boasts 1673 wingstop in 44 states and 10 countries this included 1493 us restaurants with all but 32 being franchised and 180 franchised restaurants overseas among its recent corporate developments the company announced plans to establish itself in the heart of new york city with a mix of 20 traditional locations and ghost kitchens opening between 2022 and 2025 the company theorized that ghost kitchens offer the opportunity to penetrate markets where real estate costs are conspicuously high in september the company debuted thighstop as a virtual brand this came in response to the rising costs and supply chain disruptions to the supply of its trademark wings whereas there was no similar shortage of chicken thighs available for sale back in april the company announced plans to extend into canada through an agreement with jpk capital to develop 100 wingstop locations over the next 10 years with the first set to open in toronto in its most recent earnings report the thirdquarter data released on nov 3 wingstop recorded revenues of 657 million up from 639 million one year earlier and net income of 112 million up from 10 million in the previous year wingstop’s latest earnings per share of 38 cents was a fourcent uptick from 12 months earlier chairman and ceo charlie morrison noted that while “chicken prices remain high due to macro inflationary factors including a labor shortage we were able to achieve another record quarter for new restaurant development with 49 net new restaurants we also continued our strong topline momentum and grew domestic samestore sales by 39 or 293 on a twoyear basis which is on pace for our 18th consecutive year of positive samestore sales growth for the brand” wingstop opened for trading on wednesday at 16060 closer to its 52week high of 18735 than its 52week low of 11249 the verdict one has to show deep respect for restaurant operators during this time of supply chain disruptions labor shortages and anythingbuttransitory inflation that influences consumers to shy away from takeout and eating out and we still have no idea what havoc the omicron variant of the coronavirus will have on the economy at the risk of pessimistic one has to believe that both companies will have a rough road ahead for the next several quarters that being said wingspan has the more ambitious game plan of the two and maybe the more curious new york city’s restaurant scene is extremely challenging and the pandemic made a rough situation even worse the ghost kitchen concept makes sense but unless there is a massive marketing push to attract the attention of new yorkers who have no shortage of dining choices and for whom the wingspan brand rings no bells this endeavor will not be as easy as a walk in central park on the other hand jack in the box’s shares are trading much too close to their 52week low for a chain with a long and mostly positive history this recent stock performance is discouraging to witness also the companys plans for future locations are a little too modest conservative growth is one thing but why are there only five new restaurants planned for 2022 in view of what these companies are working with perhaps this stock wars duel should end with a waitandsee result after the current economic hiccups fade away and a less chaotic economic situation takes shape it would be a good idea to track how jack in the box and wingstop emerge and at that point one can determine which is the stronger for portfolio inclusion