Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

What they do

Each Cracker Barrel store is a freestanding building combining a full-service restaurant serving home-style country food with a gift shop selling decorative and functional items such as rocking chairs, holiday gifts, toys, apparel and foods. Restaurants serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer dine-in, pick-up and delivery; approximately 93% of restaurants also serve beer and wine. As of September 12, 2025, no Cracker Barrel stores were franchised. The company also owns Maple Street Biscuit Company, a breakfast and lunch fast-casual concept.

Revenue drivers

• Cracker Barrel restaurant — Generated approximately 81% of total revenue in 2025; menu prices ranged from $6.99 to $21.99 for breakfast and $5.19 to $25.99 for lunch and dinner, with an average check per guest of $15.23, up 6.8% over the prior year.
• Cracker Barrel retail gift shop — The remaining roughly 19% of revenue comes from gift shops in each store, which occupy about 20% of store space and sell rocking chairs, holiday and seasonal gifts, toys, apparel, cookware and foods.
• Maple Street Biscuit Company — A breakfast and lunch fast-casual concept with 68 locations in ten states as of September 12, 2025, reduced to 52 locations in ten states as of May 01, 2026; no separate revenue figure was disclosed in the excerpts.

Recent performance

Third quarter fiscal 2026 total revenue was $797.4 million, down 2.9% from the prior-year quarter, with comparable store restaurant sales down 2.6% and comparable store retail sales down 1.8%. GAAP net income was $42.8 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, including a $47.4 million benefit from an interchange fee litigation settlement; adjusted net income was $6.5 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, and adjusted EBITDA was $40.3 million versus $48.1 million a year earlier. Full-year fiscal 2025 revenue was $3.48 billion with net income of $46.4 million and diluted EPS of $2.06. Operating cash flow was $218.9 million in fiscal 2025.

Strategy

In 2024 the company announced a multi-year strategic plan anchored on three imperatives: driving relevancy, delivering food and an experience guests love, and growing profitability. The plan is built on five pillars: refining the brand, enhancing the menu, evolving the store and guest experience, winning in digital and off-premise, and elevating the employee experience. Actions cited in 2025 included an updated brand identity under "the goodness of country hospitality," a partnership with NASCAR, new menu items such as Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie and a reintroduced Campfire Meals platform, new retail allocation software, and expanded loyalty and off-premise programs. The company said its Remodel Program has been suspended based on guest feedback gathered through testing.

Risks

• Inflation and commodity costs — Management cites continued inflationary pressure on food, ingredients, retail merchandise, transportation, distribution, labor and utilities, and notes that offsetting measures such as menu price increases may not succeed.
• Tariffs and trade policy — The company incurred approximately $2.4 million of tariff-related costs in the fourth quarter of 2025 and said further changes in tariff rates or trade policy could materially affect results.
• Store traffic and sales softness — Third quarter fiscal 2026 comparable store restaurant sales fell 2.6% and comparable store retail sales fell 1.8%, with total revenue down 2.9% year over year.
• Debt and refinancing — The company ended the third quarter with $486.6 million of total debt, including $149.9 million of 0.625% convertible notes due June 2026 that it intends to repay by drawing on its revolving credit facility.

Outlook

Management raised fiscal 2026 guidance to total revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion, from $3.24 billion to $3.27 billion, and adjusted EBITDA of $120 million to $125 million, from $85 million to $100 million. Commodity inflation is now expected in the low 2% range and hourly wage inflation in the low 2% range, both lower than prior guidance. Capital expenditures are still planned at $105 million to $115 million, and both of the two planned new Cracker Barrel stores have opened.