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Cracker Barrel said it expects to meet or exceed its full-year revenue guidance after divesting from its Maple Street Biscuit Co. business and completing a sale-leaseback transaction.
The company said it had entered into the transaction with an institutional real estate investor for 26 of its company-owned Cracker Barrel locations. The deal generated net proceeds of about $77 million, which the company said it plans to put toward debt reduction.
Cracker Barrel also said it sold the MSBC trademark and assets in 35 MSCB locations to Biscuit Belly, and plans to close 16 remaining MSBC locations not covered in the deal.
The divestiture of MSBC, which made up less than 2% of the company’s annual revenue, is expected to incur between $37 million and $39 million in non-cash charges during the current fiscal fourth quarter. Cracker Barrel also expects to incur between $6 million and $8 million in cash charges in the current fourth quarter and into fiscal 2027.
The divestiture is expected to be accretive of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization beginning in the next fiscal year, the company said.
As a result of the strategic actions, Cracker Barrel said, it expects to meet or exceed the high end of its revenue outlook and exceed its adjusted Ebitda outlook for the current fiscal year, which ends on July 31.
It had previously projected revenue between $3.27 billion and $3.3 billion, with adjusted Ebitda between $120 million and $125 million, for the fiscal year.
Cracker Barrel also said that the quarter to date has seen a 2.5% decline in same-store restaurant sales and a 0.5% increase in same store retail sales compared to the same period last year.
“Our sale-leaseback transaction will allow us to opportunistically reduce debt while monetizing a portion of our owned real estate at an attractive valuation. Divesting Maple Street sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability,” Cracker Barrel Chief Executive Officer Julie Masino said.”Combined with our improved fiscal 2026 outlook and reduced leverage, these actions demonstrate the progress we are making against our strategic priorities.”
Shares in Cracker Barrel jumped 9% to $58.20 in after-hours trading on Monday.
Biscuit Belly said Monday that it had acquired 34 MSBC locations, which it plans to convert to the Biscuit Belly brand over the next two years.
Write to Elias Schisgall at [email protected]
