Cracker Barrel Stock Slides After Mixed Q1 Results; Dodges FY22 Earnings Outlook Citing Inflation

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc CBRL reported first-quarter FY22 revenue growth of 21% year-on-year, to $784.93 million, beating the analyst consensus of $774.55 million. Adjusted EPS of $1.52 missed the consensus of $1.55.

• Comparable retail sales increased 29.1%, and comparable restaurant sales rose 19% versus Q1 FY21.
• Comparable retail sales increased 17.6%, and comparable restaurant sales rose 1.4% compared to Q1 FY19.
• General and administrative expenses for the quarter rose 3% Y/Y to $40.9 million. The operating margin was 5.5%, and operating income for the quarter declined 81.9% to $42.9 million.
• Cracker Barrel held $125.8 million in cash and equivalents as of October 29, 2021.
• The company's board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share on the common stock, payable on February 1, 2022, to shareholders of record on January 14, 2022.
• "Although we still face an uncertain business environment, our sales trends give us confidence that we should see further improvement in our comparable store sales in the second quarter," said Sandra B. Cochran.
• Outlook: Cracker Barrel did not provide customary annual earnings guidance for FY22 at this time, citing continued uncertainties in the current environment, most notably concerning commodity and wage inflation.
• Cracker Barrel expects FY22 commodity and wage inflation in the high single digits.
• Price Action: CBRL shares are trading lower by 8.02% at $131.5 on the last check Tuesday.