Jack in the Box apparently didn’t wait long to name its new CEO.
The owner of its namesake brand as well as Del Taco is removing the “interim” tag from Lance Tucker’s title, naming him permanent CEO. The move also comes just two months after Tucker returned to the company as CFO in the first place.
Dave Goebel, Jack in the Box’s chairman, cited Tucker’s “decades of experience” in the restaurant industry and his “financial mind,” which he called “well-timed to match with the company’s current priorities.”
“We are confident that Lance will position our company to perform at high levels and drive returns that shareholders expect from our iconic brands and profitable business model,” Goebel said.
Harris left the company in February, vaulting Tucker into the top spot. Jack in the Box followed that up with a mixed earnings report. Same-store sales at its flagship brand increased 0.4% in the quarter ended Jan. 19. But Del Taco’s same-store sales fell 4.5%, its fourth straight quarter of negative sales results.
Tucker had previously been CFO at Jack in the Box from 2019 through 2020 before returning to the company more recently.
The statement from Goebel, and another one from Tucker himself, suggests the company is prioritizing improving financials. Tucker said that “there are many priorities to address quickly,” including “capital allocation, free cash flow acceleration and returning the business to an asset light model.”
Tucker in February said the company is slowing capital spending down and moving away from share repurchases right now. “In my mind, we should have some higher priorities,” he said, according to a transcript on the financial services site AlphaSense. He also suggested the company is “looking very hard” at bringing down its debt levels.
Jack in the Box as of last quarter had $1.7 billion in long-term debt and another $1.3 billion in long-term operating leases. The company spent $24.4 million on interest on its debt last quarter.
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