Cracker Barrel's earnings fall short as it works to draw customers back to its stores and restaurants

By Ciara Linnane

The stock of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. was flat premarket Thursday, after the rustic-themed restaurant and retail chain's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell short of estimates.

Lebanon, Tenn.-based Cracker Barrel (CBRL) had net income of 418.1 million, or 82 cents a share, for the quarter, down from $37.5 million, or $1.68 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company had EPS of 98 cents, below the $1.10 FactSet consensus.

Revenue rose 7% to $894.4 million from $836.7 million a year ago, also slightly below the $897.0 million FactSet consensus.

Same-restaurant sales rose 0.4%, while same-store sales fell 4.2%. FactSet was expecting a 0.1% decline in same-restaurant sales and a 1.8% decline in same-store sales.

The company had flagged that it expected to miss on earnings in its fiscal third and fourth quarters in May, when it said it was cutting its dividend and focusing on growing the business after it welcomed fewer diners to its restaurants earlier this year.

During the third quarter, Cracker Barrel said it completed a review of its portfolio, "which resulted in some store closures and related expenses and non-cash impairment charges that were incurred during the quarter."

Like many restaurant operators and retailers, Cracker Barrel has struggled as consumers battered by a long period of high inflation have become wary of spending on non-essentials such as eating out.

On Thursday, Chief Executive Julie Masino said the company was advancing its strategic transformation and was seeing progress from improvements made to the guest experience and lower pricing, among other measures.

The company is now expecting fiscal 2025 revenue to range from $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion, while FactSet is expecting $3.4 billion.

The stock is down 46% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 17.8%.

-Ciara Linnane

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09-19-24 0840ET

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