LEBANON, Tenn., May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. ("Cracker Barrel" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CBRL) today reported its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 ended April 26, 2024. Third Quarter Fiscal 2024 Highlights The Company reported third quarter total revenue of $817.1 million. Compared to the prior year third quarter, total revenue decreased 1.9%. Comparable store restaurant sales decreased 1.5%, while comparable store retail sales decreased 3.8%. GAAP earnings (loss) per diluted share were ($0.41), and adjusted1 earnings per diluted share were $0.88. GAAP net income (loss) for the third quarter was ($9.2) million, or (1.1%) of total revenue, and adjusted EBITDA1 was $47.9 million, or 5.9% of total revenue. Commenting on the third quarter results, Cracker Barrel President and Chief Executive Officer Julie Masino said, "As we indicated in our recent business update call, our third quarter results came in below expectations due to softer traffic than we originally anticipated, which underscores the importance of executing our strategic transformation. Our teams are fully committed to bringing these plans to life while continuing to deliver an exceptional guest experience and managing our business every shift, every day."  Third Quarter Fiscal 2024 Results Revenue The Company reported total revenue of $817.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, representing a decrease of 1.9% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Cracker Barrel comparable store restaurant sales decreased 1.5%, including total menu pricing increases of 4.0%. Comparable store retail sales decreased 3.8% from the prior year quarter.  Net Income, EBITDA, and Earnings per Diluted Share GAAP net income (loss) for the third quarter was ($9.2) million, or (1.1%) of total revenue, as compared to prior year third quarter GAAP net income of $14.0 million, or 1.7% of total revenue. Adjusted1 net income for the third quarter was $19.6 million, or 2.4% of total revenue, as compared to prior year quarter adjusted1 net income of $24.6 million, or 3.0% of total revenue. Adjusted EBITDA1 was $47.9 million, or 5.9% of total revenue, as compared to the prior year quarter adjusted EBITDA1 of $59.6 million, or 7.2% of total revenue. GAAP earnings (loss) per diluted share for the third quarter were ($0.41), as compared to the prior year third quarter GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.63. Adjusted1 earnings per diluted share were $0.88, a 20.7% decrease compared to the prior year quarter adjusted1 earnings per diluted share of $1.11. Quarterly Dividend DeclarationThe Company previously announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share on the Company's common stock. The quarterly dividend is payable on August 6, 2024 to shareholders of record as of July 19, 2024. Fiscal 2024 OutlookThe Company provided the following update to its fiscal 2024 outlook: Total revenue of $3.47 billion to $3.51 billion Two new Cracker Barrel stores and 8 to 10 new Maple Street Biscuit Company units Commodity inflation that is approximately flat compared to the prior year Hourly wage inflation of approximately 5% compared to the prior year Adjusted EBITDA1 of $200 million to $220 million, which includes the impact from the 53rd week in the fiscal 2024 year2 Capital expenditures of $120 million to $125 million The Company reminds investors that its outlook reflects a number of assumptions, many of which are outside the Company's control. In particular, uncertainties created by macroeconomic conditions, such as ongoing inflation, low consumer confidence and high interest rates may adversely affect consumer behavior and cause actual results to differ materially from those expected. 1 Adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per diluted share are non-GAAP financial measures. For definitions of these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the Reconciliation of GAAP-Basis Operating Results to Non-GAAP Operating Results section of this release.  2 The Company has determined to provide guidance focused on adjusted EBITDA because the Company believes it will be more useful to investors to evaluate the Company's performance prior to the impact of depreciation (given the expected increase in investments and the resulting higher expected depreciation expense), taxes, closure and impairment charges, and other items that management believes are not reflective of the Company's current operations. The Company is not able to reconcile the forward-looking estimate of adjusted EBITDA set forth above to a forward-looking estimate of net income, the most directly comparable estimated measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, without unreasonable efforts because the Company is unable to predict, forecast or determine the probable significance of certain items impacting these estimates, including interest expense, taxes, closure and impairment charges and share-based compensation, with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Accordingly, the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP estimate is not provided. Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter Conference CallAs previously announced, the live broadcast of Cracker Barrel's quarterly conference call will be available to the public online at investor.crackerbarrel.com today beginning at 11:00 a.m. (ET). The online replay will be available at 2:00 p.m. (ET) and continue through June 14, 2024. About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store®Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) is on a mission to bring craveable, delicious homestyle food and unique retail products to all guests while serving up memorable, distinctive experiences that make everyone feel welcome. Established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn., Cracker Barrel and its affiliates operate approximately 660 company-owned Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations in 44 states and own the fast-casual Maple Street Biscuit Company. For more information about the company, visit www.crackerbarrel.com.  CBRL-F Except for specific historical information, certain of the matters discussed in this press release may express or imply projections of items such as revenues or expenditures, statements of plans and objectives or future operations or statements of future economic performance. These and similar statements regarding events or results that the Company expects will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements concerning matters that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and performance of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking information is provided pursuant to the safe harbor established under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and should be evaluated in the context of these risks, uncertainties and other factors. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "trends," "assumptions," "target," "guidance," "outlook," "opportunity," "future," "plans," "goals," "objectives," "expectations," "near-term," "long-term," "projection," "may," "will," "would," "could," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "potential," "regular," "should," "projects," "forecasts," or "continue" (or the negative or other derivatives of each of these terms) or similar terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions underlying any forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, actual results may differ materially from those projected in or implied by the forward-looking statements. In addition to the risks of ordinary business operations, factors and risks that may result in actual results differing from this forward-looking information include, but are not limited to risks and uncertainties associated with inflationary conditions with respect to the price of commodities, transportation, distribution and labor; disruptions to the Company's restaurant or retail supply chain; the Company's ability to identify, acquire and sell successful new lines of retail merchandise and new menu items at its restaurants; the Company's ability to sustain or the effects of plans intended to improve operational or marketing execution and performance, including the Company's previously announced strategic transformation plan; the effects of increased competition at the Company's locations on sales and on labor recruiting, cost, and retention; consumer behavior based on negative publicity or changes in consumer health or dietary trends or safety aspects of the Company's food or products or those of the restaurant industry in general, including concerns about outbreaks of infectious disease, as well as the possible effects of such events on the price or availability of ingredients used in the Company's restaurants; the effects of the Company's indebtedness and associated restrictions on the Company's financial and operating flexibility and ability to execute or pursue its operating plans and objectives; changes in interest rates, increases in borrowed capital or capital market conditions affecting the Company's financing costs and ability to refinance its indebtedness, in whole or in part; the Company's reliance on limited distribution facilities and certain significant vendors; information technology-related incidents, including data privacy and information security breaches, whether as a result of infrastructure failures, employee or vendor errors, or actions of third parties; changes in or implementation of additional governmental or regulatory rules, regulations and interpretations affecting tax, wage and hour matters, health and safety, animal welfare, pensions, insurance or other undeterminable areas; the effects of plans intended to promote or protect the Company's brands and products; the actual results of pending, future or threatened litigation or governmental investigations and the costs and effects of negative publicity or the Company's ability to manage the impact of social media associated with these activities; the impact of activist shareholders; the Company's ability to enter successfully into new geographic markets that may be less familiar to it; changes in land, building materials and construction costs; the availability and cost of suitable sites for restaurant development and the Company's ability to identify those sites; the Company's ability to retain key personnel; the ability of and cost to the Company to recruit, train, and retain qualified hourly and management employees; uncertain performance of acquired businesses, strategic investments and other initiatives that the Company may pursue from time to time; the effects of business trends on the outlook for individual restaurant locations and the effect on the carrying value of those locations; general or regional economic weakness, business and societal conditions and the weather impact on sales and customer travel; discretionary income or personal expenditure activity of the Company's customers; economic or psychological effects of natural disasters or other unforeseen events such as terrorist acts, social unrest or war and the military or government responses to such events; changes in foreign exchange rates affecting the Company's future retail inventory purchases; workers' compensation, group health and utility price changes; implementation of new or changes in interpretation of existing accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"); and other factors described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, and other communications. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company herein, or elsewhere, speaks only as of the date on which made. The Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT (Unaudited) (In thousands, except share and per share amounts, percentages and ratios)  Third Quarter Ended Nine Months Ended 4/26/2024 4/28/2023 PercentageChange 4/26/2024 4/28/2023 Percentage Change Total revenue $817,135 $832,689 (2 %) $2,576,375 $2,606,076 (1 %) Cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation & rent) 245,070 262,191 (7) 815,480 870,286 (6) Labor and other related expenses 308,791 297,883 4 936,434 903,558 4 Other store operating expenses 200,390 196,886 2 618,131 602,447 3 General and administrative expenses 54,524 45,049 21 155,795 136,515 14 Impairment and store closing costs 22,942 13,890 65 22,942 13,890 65 Goodwill impairment 4,690 0 - 4,690 0 - Operating income (loss) (19,272) 16,790 (215) 22,903 79,380 (71) Interest expense 5,187 4,536 14 15,192 12,476 22 Income (loss) before income taxes (24,459) 12,254 (300) 7,711 66,904 (88) Provision for income taxes (income tax benefit) (15,260) (1,714) (790) (15,080) 5,316 (384) Net income (loss) ($9,199) $13,968 (166) $22,791 $61,588 (63) Earnings per share – Basic: ($0.41) $0.63 (165) $1.03 $2.78 (63) Earnings per share – Diluted: ($0.41) $0.63 (165) $1.02 $2.77 (63) Weighted average shares:     Basic 22,201,964 22,152,002 0 22,188,191 22,173,019 0     Diluted 22,201,964 22,254,511 (0) 22,307,646 22,266,333 0 Ratio Analysis Total revenue:     Restaurant 82.2 % 81.8 % 80.1 % 79.1 %     Retail 17.8 18.2 19.9 20.9 Total revenue 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation & rent) 30.0 31.5 31.7 33.4 Labor and other related expenses 37.8 35.8 36.3 34.7 Other store operating expenses 24.5 23.6 24.0 23.1 General and administrative expenses 6.7 5.4 6.0 5.3 Impairment and store closing costs 2.8 1.7 0.9 0.5 Goodwill impairment 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.0 Operating income (loss) (2.4) 2.0 0.9 3.0 Interest expense 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 Income (loss) before income taxes (3.0) 1.5 0.3 2.6 Provision for income taxes (income tax benefit) (1.9) (0.2) (0.6) 0.2