Cracker Barrel FY26: $849M Q4; FY27 non-GAAP outlook

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) reported fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results for the period ended July 31, 2026 on September 23, 2026, saying fourth-quarter revenue was $849.3 million, down 2.2 percent, with comparable store restaurant sales down 2.1 percent, while non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA rose to $62.1 million. The company also provided a fiscal 2027 outlook calling for revenue of $3.325 billion to $3.4 billion and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $180 million to $200 million.

Cracker Barrel furnished its earnings release as Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K AccNo 0001104659-26-109812 (Item 2.02). Fiscal 2026 results still include Maple Street Biscuit Company through the July 20, 2026 divestiture.

Fourth quarter and full year

Fourth-quarter revenue was $849.3 million, down 2.2 percent from $868.0 million a year earlier. Comparable store restaurant sales fell 2.1 percent, while comparable store retail sales rose 0.7 percent. GAAP net income was $12.2 million, or $0.54 per diluted share, versus $6.8 million, or $0.30, a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted net income was $22.4 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, versus $16.7 million, or $0.74. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $62.1 million versus $55.7 million and includes a benefit of approximately $9.1 million related to tariff refunds, net of investments — a benefit larger than the approximately $6.4 million year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA.

For the full fiscal year, revenue was $3.32 billion versus $3.48 billion. GAAP net income was $31.7 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, versus $46.4 million, or $2.06. Non-GAAP adjusted net income was $18.0 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, versus $70.9 million, or $3.16. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $147.7 million versus $224.3 million. Adjusted net income sits below GAAP net income because the EX-99.1 reconciliation excludes litigation-settlement income of about $47.4 million and a sale-leaseback gain of about $47.4 million, which more than offset add-backs such as the MSBC loss on sale.

Balance sheet, sale-leaseback, and dividend

Cracker Barrel ended fiscal 2026 with total debt of $337.2 million — its 1.75 percent Convertible Senior Notes due 2030, with no outstanding borrowings on the credit facility — down from $484.6 million at the end of fiscal 2025. Consolidated total leverage was 1.7x and consolidated senior leverage was 0.0x at quarter-end, with approximately $541.3 million of available capacity under the credit facility. During the fourth quarter the company repaid $150 million of 0.625 percent Convertible Senior Notes at their June 2026 maturity and completed a sale-leaseback of 26 company-owned Cracker Barrel stores that generated net proceeds of approximately $77 million deployed toward debt reduction.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable November 12, 2026 to shareholders of record as of October 16, 2026. As previously disclosed, the company announced during the fourth quarter that David Deno was appointed chief executive officer effective August 10, 2026, after the July 31, 2026 quarter-end.

Fiscal 2027 outlook

Management's fiscal 2027 outlook calls for total revenue of $3.325 billion to $3.4 billion, including comparable store restaurant sales growth of 3 percent to 5 percent and no new store openings; non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $180 million to $200 million; commodity inflation of approximately 3.0 percent; hourly wage inflation of 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent; and capital expenditures of $110 million to $125 million. The company says it is focusing FY27 guidance on non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA and is not reconciling that forward-looking range to net income without unreasonable efforts.

What this filing settles — and what it does not

The Form 8-K and EX-99.1 lock the reported Q4/FY26 revenue, GAAP and non-GAAP adjusted earnings figures, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA (including the stated tariff-refund benefit and its size relative to the Q4 year-over-year lift), the fiscal-year GAAP-to-adjusted bridge items noted above, year-end debt and leverage, the $0.25 dividend, and the FY27 outlook bands above. They do not print a market reaction, a sale price for the MSBC divestiture, or a GAAP net-income bridge for the FY27 non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA range.