Cracker Barrel Misses On Q4 Earnings; Plans $100M Stock Buyback, Raises Dividend To Pre-Pandemic Level

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc CBRL reported fourth-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 58.4% year-on-year, to $784.40 million, missing the analyst consensus of $794.03 million. Revenue decreased 0.3% versus Q4 of FY19.
Comparable retail sales increased 74.8%, and comparable restaurant sales rose 53.5% versus Q4 FY20.
Comparable retail sales increased 18.2%, and comparable restaurant sales decreased 6.8% compared to Q4 FY19.
General and administrative expenses for the quarter fell 9.8% Y/Y to $36.95 million. The operating margin was 8%, and operating income for the quarter rose 56% to $62.7 million.
Cracker Barrel held $144.6 million in cash and equivalents as of July 30, 2021.
Adjusted EPS of $2.25 missed the analyst consensus of $2.33.
Cracker Barrel's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a return to the pre-pandemic quarterly dividend level. The company's prior quarterly dividend was $1.00 per share.
The company plans to repurchase up to $100 million of outstanding common stock.
Outlook: Cracker Barrel expects FY22 commodity and wage inflation in the mid-to-high single digits.
Price Action: CBRL shares are trading lower by 2.36% at $135.625 on the last check Tuesday.