Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

CBRL

Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$57.65

+2.52 (+4.57%)

Market Cap

$1.29B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 1, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Weak

Valuation

Good

Dividends

Weak

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Share count falling — buybacks

−5.5% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 23.8M (2021) → 22.5M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store runs a chain of casual dining restaurants and retail gift shops, mostly located along U.S. highways and interstates. The company serves home-style American food — think biscuits, chicken, and pancakes — to travelers and families looking for a comfortable, nostalgic meal. It owns and operates around 660 locations across 45 states, making it one of the largest highway-focused restaurant chains in the country.

Cracker Barrel earns money through two streams: food and beverage sales in its restaurants, and merchandise sales in the attached retail stores. The retail side sets it apart from most restaurant competitors, but it also adds complexity and cost. The company has struggled with profitability recently, as shown by its slightly negative operating margin, driven by rising food and labor costs. The key challenge going forward is improving restaurant traffic and modernizing its menu without alienating its core, older customer base.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-2.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+242.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

1.8%ownership

↓ Declining

Insider ownership declining — could be dilution or selling

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$26M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

69.8%

Premium pricing power — 69.8% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

0.8%

Thin — 0.8% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

-2.2%

Weak — -2.2% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

-4.9%

Shrinking sales (-4.9% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-54.7%

Earnings shrinking (-54.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

743%

Turns 743% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

1.8%

Thin free cash flow (1.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

1.05

Elevated debt (1.05)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

49.0x

Expensive — P/E 49.0

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+12.3

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (49.0 → 36.7)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.73%

Small dividend — 1.73% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+0.0%

Dividend flat

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