Q3 2026 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) exceeded expectations with Q3 sales of $797 million and adjusted EBITDA of $40 million.
- The company reported strong improvements in guest metrics, including a 4% increase in Google star ratings and a 5% rise in food taste and service scores.
- The loyalty program has grown to nearly 12 million members, with member tracked sales remaining above 40%, indicating strong engagement.
- Retail comps outperformed restaurant comps for the first time in over four years, driven by successful initiatives such as SKU rationalization and improved merchandising.
- The company is effectively managing costs, with a corporate restructuring expected to deliver $20 million to $25 million in annualized G&A savings.
- Comparable store restaurant sales decreased by 2.6%, with a traffic decline of 6.7%, indicating ongoing challenges in attracting diners.
- Labor and related expenses increased to 37.9% of revenue, up from 37.1% in the prior year, primarily due to sales deleverage.
- General and administrative expenses rose to 6.2% of revenue, driven by higher incentive compensation, professional fees, and employee separation costs.
- The company faces potential headwinds from elevated gas prices, which could impact discretionary income and distribution costs.
- Comparable store retail sales decreased by 1.8%, reflecting lower traffic despite improvements in average unit retail and units per transaction.
Good day, and welcome to the Cracker Barrel fiscal 2026 third-quarter conference call. (Operator Instructions) . Please note, this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Adam Hannon, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to Cracker Barrel's third-quarter fiscal 2026 conference call and webcast.
This afternoon, we issued a press release announcing our third-quarter results. In this press release and on this call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter ended May 1, 2026. Please refer to the footnotes in our press release for further details about these metrics.
The company believes these measures provide investors with an enhanced understanding of the company's financial performance. This information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or earnings per share information
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