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what it is
It runs 656 highway restaurants with gift shops and 54 Maple Street Biscuit stores across 43 states.
how it gets paid
Last year Cracker Barrel made $3.5B in revenue. Cracker Barrel dining was the main engine at $2.62B, or 75% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 0.4% last year. The +91% revenue jump looks loud, but full-year revenue grew just 0.4%, so this quarter says more about comparison noise than a fixed business.
what just happened
Cracker Barrel reported $1.7B in quarterly revenue, but profitability still looked messy.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
9.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
16.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 49/100 — below average
What they do
It runs 656 highway restaurants with gift shops and 54 Maple Street Biscuit stores across 43 states.
You do not stop at Cracker Barrel for speed. You stop because 656 roadside locations make it familiar, easy, and weirdly comforting. The company also gets 19% of sales from gift shops, so one visit can sell you breakfast and a rocking chair.
How they make money
$3.5B
annual revenue · their business grew +0.4% last year
Cracker Barrel dining
$2.62B
Cracker Barrel retail
$0.61B
Maple Street dining
$0.22B
Maple Street other
$0.05B
The products that matter
full-service restaurant and store model
core operations
$3.5B revenue · +0.4% growth
it is the entire $3.5B business, and that is the point. there is no fast-growing segment here to bail out weak traffic.
100% of revenue
brand reset and menu execution
turnaround effort
0.4% net margin
the snapshot data is thin on segment detail, which means you should focus on the only number that matters: a 0.4% margin gives management almost no cushion while it tries to fix demand.
execution risk
capital return policy
dividend
3.2% yield · $401M debt
you are getting paid while you wait, but the trade-off is obvious: a business earning just 3.0% on capital does not have unlimited room for both debt and shareholder payouts.
income angle
Key numbers
9.9x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → so what: you are paying under 10 times trailing profit for a chain with a $48 18-month target.
$401M
long-term debt
Debt matters more when margins are 3.9%, because a small sales miss leaves less cash to cover fixed obligations.
16.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on invested money → so what: the core box can still work when management gets traffic right.
3.2%
dividend yield
You get paid to wait, but projected dividend growth is -17.0%, so the payout is not the safe part of this story.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $401M (36% of capital)
- net profit margin 3.9% — keeps 4 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 26% — $0.26 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in CBRL 3 years ago → it's now worth $3,050.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Cracker Barrel reported $1.7B in quarterly revenue, but profitability still looked messy.
EDGAR shows the latest quarter at $1.7B of revenue and EPS of -$1.05. Consensus data separately says the last earnings print was $0.25 versus a -$0.65 estimate, so you should focus on the bigger point: sales held up, earnings did not.
$1.7B
revenue
-$1.05
eps
+91%
revenue vs. last year
the number that mattered
The +91% revenue jump looks loud, but full-year revenue grew just 0.4%, so this quarter says more about comparison noise than a fixed business.
-
cracker barrel has shifted course to restore volume growth.previously, a company logo change, efforts to modernize restaurants, and menu modifications were not well received by customers.
-
food and retail goods sales dropped.
-
in recent months, management has returned the company to its traditional stance.cracker barrel has restored the favored ‘‘old timer’’ logo, reoffered popular meals, rehired an effective culinary leader, and halted modernization.
-
at the same time, a selective introduction of a breakfast burger has been made.too, an emphasis is being placed on reinforcing the cultural heritage, with a focus on a country theme, support of the military and, in a specific example, a stock-car racing tie-up (with nascar).
-
importantly, a rewards program is providing customer feedback.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is restaurant traffic failing to recover after the brand reset.
high
restaurant traffic does not recover
100% of the $3.5B revenue base depends on people showing up and spending. if the brand reset fails, the turnaround fails with it.
recent proof: quarterly revenue was down 8% from a year ago
high
food and labor costs eat the margin
a 0.4% net margin is basically no buffer. even small cost pressure can wipe out what little profit is left.
translation: less than half a cent of profit per revenue dollar
med
debt and dividend start pulling against each other
the company has $401M in long-term debt, equal to 36% of capital, while paying a 3.2% dividend. that balance works better in a healthy business than in a weak one.
if profitability stays thin, capital allocation gets tighter
med
the earnings picture stays messy
earnings predictability is 10/100 and the latest quarter showed a 94% drop in earnings from last year. low-quality recoveries tend to stay volatile.
you get more surprise risk than the low p/e suggests
with 100% of revenue tied to the core restaurant business and only a 0.4% net margin, even a modest sales or cost miss can hit profits fast.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
whether quarterly revenue can stop shrinking
the last quarter came in at $0.9B, down 8% from a year ago. first job is getting that number back to growth.
metric
margin, not just sales
a 0.4% net margin means better traffic alone is not enough. you need to see profits improve with it.
risk
whether the dividend stays comfortable
the 3.2% yield is attractive, but it matters less if weak earnings and $401M in debt start crowding out flexibility.
calendar
next earnings for proof, not promises
the story is now about execution. if another quarter shows weak revenue or another sharp earnings drop, the reset is not working yet.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — the stock is trading like a middle-of-the-pack name. in human-speak, analysts are not seeing a clear short-term edge.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — neither especially safe nor unusually dangerous, but the business quality is still thin.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — price action is not confirming the turnaround yet.
earnings predictability
10 / 100
earnings are hard to model here. that usually means a lower-quality story, not a hidden gem.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 119 buyers vs. 139 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 23.4M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$22
$74
$31
current price
$48
target midpoint · +53% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+155% · 28% ann'l return)
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