Stock Alert: Shake Shack Down 4% On Q1 Prelim. Results; To Lay Off 1,000 Jobs

(RTTNews) - Shares of Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK) are currently slipping nearly 4% on Friday morning trade after the burger joint reported a preliminary results for the first quarter that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The company also announced it will lay off 1,000 workers.

SHAK is currently trading at $41.31, down $1.62 or 3.77%, on the NYSE.

Shake Shack reported preliminary first-quarter sales of $143.0 million, up from $132.6 million last year. However, it fell short of Thomson Reuters polled analysts' average estimate of $147.43 million.

First-quarter same-restaurant sales dropped 12.8% compared to same period last year, with January and February comps in line with expectations but March plunging 28.5%. "Given the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our business, our Shack teams have demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit and continued to adapt our operating models and business strategy. As a result, we've seen strong sequential sales increases on a weekly basis since the last week in March," said CEO Randy Garutti.