Cheesecake Factory vs Cracker Barrel
Cheesecake Factory reported revenue of $3.8 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Cracker Barrel's $3.3 billion in fiscal 2026. Cheesecake Factory's revenue grew 4.8% in its latest year, and Cracker Barrel's fell 4.7%. Cheesecake Factory had an operating margin of 5.0%, against -0.4% at Cracker Barrel. Free cash flow was $155 million at Cheesecake Factory and $88 million at Cracker Barrel. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 30 and July 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Cheesecake Factory | Cracker Barrel | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 30, 2025 | FY2026, Jul 31, 2026 |
| Revenue | $3.8B | $3.3B |
| Revenue growth | 4.8% | −4.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 13.6% | 3.3% |
| Gross margin | — | 69.1% |
| Operating margin | 5.0% | −0.4% |
| Net margin | 4.0% | 0.9% |
| Free cash flow | $155M | $88M |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.1% | 2.7% |
| Return on capital | 20.5% | — |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.4x | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $206M | $23M |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.9% | 0.4% |
| Last close | $110.13 | $68.84 |
| P/E at the last close | 29.8× | 49.2× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $30.1 million | sold $17.3 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 8 | — |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Cheesecake FactoryCracker Barrel
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Cheesecake FactoryCracker Barrel
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Cheesecake FactoryCracker Barrel
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Cheesecake Factory and Cracker Barrel pages.