One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$17.56 our estimate vs market $70.27
Wall Street consensus: $50.71 (188.8% higher than our fair-value estimate)
300% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
CBRL · NMS · Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants
Current price
$70.27
52-week range
$24.85 - $73.67
Market cap
$1.57B
Balance sheet
Distressed
-0.11x Concerning
Net debt $999.52M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
2 Risks
2 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
- Reward Dividend yield is 1.5% with 41-year payout history.
- Risk Stock trades 67.7% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 3.9% to 2.4% over 3 years.
What this company does
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Cracker Barrel sells comfort food and country-themed gifts in its restaurants, with money coming from both food sales and merchandise. This mix is important because it helps them make more money overall (their margins - the percent of each sales dollar left after costs) and gives customers more reasons to visit.
How the company got here
Cracker Barrel was founded in 1969 by Dan Evins with the idea of creating a place that felt like home for travelers on the go. The first store opened in Lebanon, Tennessee, combining a country-style restaurant with a gift shop. This unique concept aimed to offer a consistent, comforting experience that resonated with people looking for a taste of Southern hospitality. Over the decades, Cracker Barrel grew steadily, becoming a familiar roadside destination across the United States.
What it actually does
Cracker Barrel operates a chain of restaurants that are also gift shops, offering a blend of Southern comfort food and unique retail items. The restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with options for dining in, picking up, or delivery. The attached gift shops sell a variety of merchandise, including apparel, home decor like rocking chairs, toys, cookware, and specialty food items such as candies and preserves. It's designed to be a one-stop shop for a meal and a souvenir.
Restaurants
This is the core of Cracker Barrel's business, where customers come to enjoy homestyle meals. The restaurants are known for their breakfast offerings, but also serve lunch and dinner with a menu featuring Southern classics. They cater to a wide range of customers looking for a sit-down dining experience, offering dine-in, convenient pick-up, and delivery services to reach more people. This segment is the primary driver of the company's revenue.
Retail / Gift Shop
Complementing the dining experience, the gift shop section offers a curated selection of merchandise. Shoppers can find items ranging from decorative pieces like rocking chairs and seasonal gifts to apparel, toys, and kitchenware. There's also a focus on unique food items, including candies, preserves, and other specialty food products, providing an additional revenue stream and enhancing the overall Cracker Barrel brand experience. This part of the business aims to capture impulse buys and offer unique gift options.
What management is betting on now
Cracker Barrel is focusing on enhancing its off-premise business, which includes pick-up and delivery options, to meet evolving customer needs. They are also working on improving the in-store experience by optimizing operations and menu offerings to drive traffic and sales. Management is also investing in their retail offerings to ensure the gift shop remains an attractive part of the overall visit. The goal is to strengthen both dining and retail sales while adapting to changing consumer habits.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2025 Q1
$22.05M
FY2025 Q2
$-43.35M
FY2025 Q4
$-13.62M
FY2026 Q1
$56.75M
FY2026 Q2
$24.47M
FY2026 Q4
$66.88M
Revenue
$797.37M
Net income
$42.81M
Diluted EPS
1.90
Operating cash flow
$94.67M
Free cash flow
$66.88M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$874.82M
Net income
$1.28M
Diluted EPS
0.06
Operating cash flow
$51.26M
Free cash flow
$24.47M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$868.01M
Net income
$6.75M
Diluted EPS
0.29
Operating cash flow
$102.22M
Free cash flow
$56.75M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$821.15M
Net income
$12.57M
Diluted EPS
0.56
Operating cash flow
$22.98M
Free cash flow
$-13.62M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$845.09M
Net income
$4.84M
Diluted EPS
0.22
Operating cash flow
$-4.39M
Free cash flow
$-43.35M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$894.39M
Net income
$18.14M
Diluted EPS
0.80
Operating cash flow
$69.52M
Free cash flow
$22.05M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $17.56 vs current price $70.27
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $50.71 (188.8% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $17.56 a share — about 75.0% below today's price of $70.27, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $999.5M. Interest coverage -0.1x.
Net debt
$999.52M
Interest coverage
-0.11x
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
CBRL
BASELINE
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Total debt $1.04B Interest coverage -0.11x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $1.09B Interest coverage 3,831.36x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CBRL does not.
Total debt $8.59B Interest coverage 8.18x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CBRL does not.
Total debt $1.92B Interest coverage 2.44x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CBRL does not.
Total debt $434.66M Interest coverage 10.12x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CBRL does not.
What you should know
The case for and against CBRL
2 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 1.5% with 41-year payout history.
Risks
-
Stock trades 67.7% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 3.9% to 2.4% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
48.80x
Forward P/E
31.94x
P/B
3.28x
P/S
0.47x
EV/EBITDA
21.16x
PEG ratio
1.56x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
31.8%
Operating margin
2.4%
Net margin
1.0%
ROE
6.7%
ROA
-0.0%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
2.17x
Current ratio
0.58x
Quick ratio
0.16x
Total debt
$1.04B
Total cash
$36.53M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$3.32B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
0.4%
EPS TTM
1.44
EPS 5Y CAGR
-32.0%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$206.20M
Free CF TTM
$88.42M
FCF margin
2.7%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.5%
Payout ratio
71.4%
Last ex-div date
2026-10-16