It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL Quick QuoteCBRL - Free Report) . Shares have added about 29.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Cracker Barrel due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Cracker Barrel Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat, Tariff Refunds Aid EBITDA

Cracker Barrel posted fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results, with earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line declined year over year, while the bottom line increased.

Adjusted earnings were 99 cents per share, up 33.8% year over year and beating the consensus estimate of 20 cents by 395%. Revenues declined 2.2% to $849.30 million but topped the consensus mark of $831 million by 2.2%. Comparable store restaurant sales fell 2.1%, while retail comps rose 0.7%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.4%, aided by about $9.1 million of tariff refunds, net of investments.

CBRL’s Sales Mix Shows Retail Resilience

For Cracker Barrel stores, revenues were $836.99 million compared with $849.73 million a year earlier, down 1.5%. Restaurant revenues decreased 2% to $686.20 million, while retail revenues increased 0.7% to $150.80 million. At the consolidated level, restaurant sales represented 82.2% of revenues compared with 82.7% a year ago, while retail represented 17.8% compared with 17.3%.

Restaurant average unit volume declined 1.8% to $1,045.2 thousand from $1,064.3 thousand. Retail average unit volume rose 0.9% to $229.7 thousand from $227.7 thousand, underscoring the stronger retail trend during the quarter.

Cracker Barrel’s Cost Lines Show Mixed Trends

CBRL’s cost of goods sold, excluding depreciation and rent, fell 7.9% to $244.21 million. As a share of revenues, the line decreased to 28.8% from 30.5%. Other store operating expenses declined 6.8% to $201.64 million, with the ratio easing to 23.7% from 24.9%.

Within Cracker Barrel stores, restaurant cost of goods sold decreased 3.2% to $178.21 million, while retail cost of goods sold fell 17.8% to $62.77 million. Labor and other related expenses rose 0.6% to $318.20 million, representing 37.5% of revenues compared with 36.5%. General and administrative expense jumped 29.9% to $65.18 million, or 7.7% of revenues compared with 5.8%.

CBRL’s Portfolio Moves Reshape Reported Results

Fiscal fourth-quarter consolidated results included Maple Street Biscuit Company through its July 20 divestiture. It opened one namesake store and closed or divested three during the quarter, ending with 655 Cracker Barrel locations compared with 657 a year ago. The company sold 35 MSBC locations and closed the remaining 16 after one earlier closure. Total stores ended at 655 compared with 725 a year earlier.

GAAP net income increased to $12.20 million from $6.75 million. Reported results included a $47.42 million net gain on the sale-leaseback transaction, a $27.04 million loss on the sale of MSBC, $21.55 million of Cracker Barrel and MSBC impairment charges, $5.43 million of MSBC store closing costs and $6.68 million of CEO transition expenses. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 7.3% from 6.4%.

Cracker Barrel’s Balance Sheet Shows Debt Reduction

Cracker Barrel ended fiscal 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $36.54 million compared with $39.64 million a year ago. Inventories fell to $163.87 million from $180.59 million, while total assets declined to $2.02 billion from $2.16 billion.

Total debt fell to $337.23 million from $484.64 million. The company repaid $150 million of convertible notes that matured in June and deployed approximately $77 million of sale-leaseback proceeds toward debt reduction. It had no outstanding credit facility borrowings and approximately $541.3 million of available capacity at year-end.

Operating cash flow was $206.20 million for fiscal 2026 compared with $218.90 million a year earlier. Purchases of property and equipment, net of insurance recoveries, were $115.32 million compared with $158.65 million.

CBRL Sets Fiscal 2027 Outlook for Growth

CBRL expects fiscal 2027 revenues of $3.325 billion to $3.4 billion, including comparable store restaurant sales growth of 3% to 5%, with no new store openings. Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $180 million and $200 million.

Management expects commodity inflation of approximately 3% and hourly wage inflation of 2.5% to 3%. Capital expenditures are projected between $110 million and $125 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.

The consensus estimate has shifted 100.95% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

At this time, Cracker Barrel has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. It comes with little surprise Cracker Barrel has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Cracker Barrel belongs to the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry. Another stock from the same industry, Dave & Buster's (PLAY Quick QuotePLAY - Free Report) , has gained 12.7% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended July 2026.

Dave & Buster's reported revenues of $544.1 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -2.4%. EPS of -$0.27 for the same period compares with $0.40 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Dave & Buster's is expected to post a loss of $1.46 per share, indicating a change of -28.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.7% over the last 30 days.

Dave & Buster's has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.