Cracker Barrel (CBRL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $670.07M
• Dividend Yield: 3.54%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.96M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 40.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.87
• Revenue Growth: -1.61%
• EPS Growth: -58.09%
• Country: US
• Employees: 77,600
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Sector Strength: 84
• Industry: Restaurants
• EPS (TTM): -0.74
• Shares Outstanding: 22,328,094
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,544,886
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,964,713
• PEG Ratio: 2.20
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.88
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.38
• P/FCF Ratio: 22.06
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 3.02
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.59
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.10
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 17.15
• 1Y Price Target: $28.86
• Price Target Upside: -11.09% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 8
• EPS Forecast (FY): -1.42
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $3.26B

• Rating: 45 Neutral
• Price Target: $29.00 ▼(-10.66% Downside)

The score is held down primarily by deteriorating financial performance (compressed margins and sharply weaker free cash flow) and an expensive P/E relative to current earnings strength. Technicals are mixed with a short-term bounce but a longer-term downtrend, while management’s cost actions and liquidity steps provide some offset but do not yet outweigh the operational declines highlighted in the latest results and guidance.

Positive Factors

Large, growing loyalty program

A loyalty base exceeding 10M members that already drives ~40% of tracked sales provides a durable channel for re-engaging guests, improving marketing ROI, and stabilizing revenue. Over months this supports traffic recovery, targeted promotions, and higher-repeat visitation versus ad hoc marketing.

Differentiated restaurant + retail model and scale

A dual-format model (in-store dining plus Americana retail) across 600+ U.S. locations diversifies revenue streams and leverages in-store traffic for higher-margin merchandise sales. Scale across geographies supports purchasing economics and brand recognition that help sustain cash flow over quarters.

Improved covenant structure and available liquidity

Revising covenant testing to exclude convertible debt and maintaining substantial available liquidity materially reduces near-term covenant risk and gives management runway to retire convertible maturities. This structural change improves solvency flexibility and reduces forced deleveraging risk over the medium term.

Negative Factors

Severely compressed margins and weak FCF

Margins and free cash flow have compressed to levels that leave little buffer for operational volatility. With FCF massively reduced, the company has less capacity to reinvest, pay down debt, or absorb cost inflation, making sustained turnaround execution and capital allocation more difficult over coming months.

Elevated leverage vs weakened returns

High leverage combined with falling returns raises refinancing and interest-service risks. When profitability is thin, elevated debt limits strategic flexibility, increases fixed costs and reduces capacity to invest in operations or absorb shocks, pressuring the recovery timeline and balance-sheet resilience.

Declining traffic and retail weakness

Sustained declines in traffic and notably weak retail sales indicate structural demand headwinds, not just short-term noise. Lower guest counts and retail mix erosion reduce unit economics, hinder operating-leverage recovery, and make margin restoration and cash-generation targets harder to achieve over the medium term.

Cracker Barrel Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. develops and operates the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store concept in the United States. The company's Cracker Barrel stores consist of a restaurant with a gift shop. Its restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as dine-in, pick-up, and delivery services. The company's gift shops comprise various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, cookware, and various other gift items, as well as various candies, preserves, and other food items. As of September 15, 2021, it operated 664 Cracker Barrel stores in 45 states. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.

How the Company Makes Money

Cracker Barrel generates revenue primarily through its restaurant operations, where it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to customers. The company’s revenue model is heavily reliant on food and beverage sales, which account for the majority of its income. Additionally, the retail segment contributes to earnings by selling various products, including home goods, toys, and clothing, enhancing the overall customer experience. Key revenue streams include dine-in sales, takeout orders, and retail merchandise sales. The company also benefits from seasonal promotions and partnerships with suppliers for exclusive products, which can drive additional traffic and sales. Furthermore, Cracker Barrel has implemented strategies such as loyalty programs and targeted marketing to increase customer retention and boost overall sales.

Cracker Barrel Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Cracker Barrel's financial performance reflects challenges in profitability and leverage management. The income statement shows declining profit margins and inconsistent revenue growth. The balance sheet indicates high leverage, while cash flow generation is improving but still has room for enhancement.

Income Statement

Cracker Barrel's income statement shows a mixed performance. The gross profit margin is stable, but the net profit margin has decreased over the years, indicating pressure on profitability. Revenue growth has been inconsistent, with a notable decline in the most recent year. The EBIT and EBITDA margins have also declined, suggesting challenges in operational efficiency.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet reveals a high debt-to-equity ratio, indicating significant leverage which could pose financial risk. Return on equity has decreased over time, reflecting reduced profitability for shareholders. The equity ratio is relatively low, suggesting a reliance on debt financing.

Cash Flow

Cash flow analysis shows a positive trend in free cash flow growth, recovering from previous declines. The operating cash flow to net income ratio is stable, indicating good cash generation relative to net income. However, the free cash flow to net income ratio is moderate, suggesting room for improvement in cash flow management.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	3.48B	3.47B	3.44B	3.27B	2.82B
Gross Profit	1.15B	1.11B	1.11B	1.07B	973.06M
EBITDA	197.33M	156.87M	239.10M	315.07M	366.66M
Net Income	46.38M	40.93M	99.05M	131.88M	254.51M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.16B	2.16B	2.22B	2.29B	2.39B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	39.64M	12.04M	25.15M	45.10M	144.59M
Total Debt	1.13B	1.20B	1.12B	1.20B	1.08B
Total Liabilities	1.70B	1.72B	1.73B	1.78B	1.73B
Stockholders Equity	461.69M	440.15M	483.82M	511.48M	663.63M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	60.25M	40.69M	125.07M	108.15M	231.77M
Operating Cash Flow	218.90M	168.98M	250.46M	205.25M	301.90M
Investing Cash Flow	-156.70M	-124.33M	-124.32M	-98.50M	78.33M
Financing Cash Flow	-34.59M	-57.77M	-146.10M	-206.24M	-672.64M

Cracker Barrel Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Neutral
• Last Price: 32.46
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CBRL, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 32.46 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 27.16, above the 50-day MA of 28.36, and below the 200-day MA of 45.65, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.39 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 68.72 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 93.27 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CBRL.

Cracker Barrel Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
EAT	70 Neutral	$7.11B	17.39	249.07%	―	23.18%	138.17%
CAKE	66 Neutral	$2.87B	17.49	39.14%	2.11%	4.90%	27.14%
NATH	61 Neutral	$371.12M	16.34	―	2.09%	7.81%	4.58%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$18.38B	12.79	-2.54%	3.03%	1.52%	-15.83%
PZZA	57 Neutral	$1.22B	32.89	―	4.72%	-0.64%	-60.71%
CBRL	45 Neutral	$670.07M	40.36	3.89%	3.54%	-1.61%	-58.09%
GENK	41 Neutral	$86.61M	-9.76	-8.89%	1.27%	9.36%	-249.08%

Cracker Barrel Corporate Events

Cracker Barrel Highlights Turnaround Actions at 2026 ICR Conference

From January 12–14, 2026, Cracker Barrel management is meeting with investors at the 2026 ICR Conference, using a January 2026 investor presentation that highlights the company’s operational reset, balance sheet position, and guest-experience trends. The presentation outlines a suite of “decisive actions” aimed at returning performance to a positive trajectory, including back-of-house optimization, retraining, leadership changes, marketing and menu initiatives, and corporate cost-cutting and capital-spend reductions, all centered on improving food quality and the guest experience. Management emphasizes the growing importance of the Cracker Barrel Rewards loyalty program—now approaching 11 million members—as a key tool for delivering value and maintaining customer connection, and reports that key guest-satisfaction metrics and Google star ratings have improved year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to their best levels in several years. Financially, the company ended its first quarter of fiscal 2026 on October 31, 2025, with total debt of about $550 million and roughly $485 million in available liquidity, and in December 2025 it exercised an option under its credit agreement to shift from a total leverage covenant to a senior leverage covenant, effectively excluding convertible debt from the leverage test and leaving the senior leverage ratio at a low 0.3x versus a 3.0x cap, while planning to use its revolving credit facility to retire its remaining June 2026 convertible notes closer to maturity.

The most recent analyst rating on (CBRL) stock is a Buy with a $45.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cracker Barrel stock, see the CBRL Stock Forecast page.

Cracker Barrel Shareholders Approve Key Proposals at Meeting

On November 20, 2025, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. held its annual meeting of shareholders, where several key proposals were approved. These included the amendment to the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, the election of nine directors, and the ratification of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the independent auditor for the 2026 fiscal year. Additionally, shareholders approved various advisory proposals related to executive compensation and bylaw provisions, reflecting strong shareholder engagement and support for the company’s governance and strategic direction.

The most recent analyst rating on (CBRL) stock is a Sell with a $24.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cracker Barrel stock, see the CBRL Stock Forecast page.