Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.82 EPS

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.82, Zacks reports. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store had a return on equity of 2.78% and a net margin of 0.79%.The firm had revenue of $849.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s conference call:

• Operational trends improved: Q4 adjusted EBITDA rose 11.4% to $62.1 million, while guest metrics strengthened, including higher Google ratings and significant improvements in food taste, service, and temperature scores.
• Restaurant comparable sales declined 2.1%, driven by a 6.1% traffic decrease, although the company said traffic trends improved sequentially. Retail comparable sales increased 0.7%, the strongest growth since fiscal Q2 2023.
• Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $3.325 billion-$3.4 billion, restaurant comparable-sales growth of approximately 3%-5%, and adjusted EBITDA of $180 million-$200 million, supported by traffic recovery, menu-mix initiatives, and cost efficiencies.
• Cracker Barrel ended the quarter with debt down $147.4 million year over year to $337.2 million and $541.3 million of available liquidity. Management said the stronger balance sheet provides flexibility to invest in stores and food while considering dividends and future share repurchases.
• The new CEO is prioritizing improved dinner food quality, guest experience, and employee training, while leveraging the 12.5 million-member loyalty program and retail business. However, management acknowledged continued pressure on lower-income consumers and plans no new restaurant openings in fiscal 2027.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Price Performance

Shares of CBRL opened at $47.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.83 and its 200-day moving average is $41.96. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a fifty-two week low of $24.85 and a fifty-two week high of $60.26.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $34.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.43.

Key Stories Impacting Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Here are the key news stories impacting Cracker Barrel Old Country Store this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large earnings beat: Fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS was $0.99, up from $0.74 a year earlier and well above the roughly $0.17-$0.20 analyst estimate. GAAP EPS also increased to $0.54 from $0.30. Revenue of $849.3 million exceeded the $834.6 million consensus, despite declining 2.2% year over year. Cracker Barrel fiscal 2026 results and fiscal 2027 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive fiscal 2027 outlook: Management forecast revenue of approximately $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion, restaurant comparable-sales growth of 3% to 5% and adjusted EBITDA of $180 million to $200 million. The outlook implies continued traffic improvement and potentially significant profitability growth if execution is successful. Cracker Barrel fiscal 2027 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Operating initiatives and shareholder return: Cracker Barrel is upgrading three popular menu items while focusing on food quality, guest experience and employees. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 2.1%. Cracker Barrel menu upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical momentum: Shares moved above the 200-day moving average, a potentially favorable technical signal, but the stock remains volatile and trades at a high valuation relative to its thin net margin.
• Negative Sentiment: Quality and macro concerns: Analysts note that some of the quarterly profit improvement came from nonrecurring items. Revenue still declined year over year, while labor, food and other cost pressures could make the projected EBITDA expansion difficult to achieve. Cracker Barrel post-earnings analysis

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc operates a chain of full-service restaurants and retail stores under the Cracker Barrel brand. Its restaurants offer Southern-inspired, homestyle meals, including breakfast served throughout the day, lunch, dinner and seasonal menu items.

The company’s adjoining country stores sell a variety of merchandise, including home décor, apparel, gifts, toys, games, candy, music and food products. Cracker Barrel’s locations are designed around a nostalgic country-store and roadside dining experience, with many restaurants featuring front porches and rocking chairs.

Founded in 1969 by Dan Evins, the company opened its first location in Lebanon, Tennessee.