Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (CBRL) reports preliminary financial results for the year ended 2012-07-31.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. recently reported its preliminary financial results based on which we provide a unique peer-based analysis of the company. Our analysis is based on the company’s performance over the last twelve months (unless stated otherwise). For a more detailed analysis of this company (and over 40,000 other global equities) please visit www.capitalcube.com.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.’s analysis versus peers uses the following peer-set: Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. Cl A (ARCO), Brinker International Inc. (EAT), Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE), Zensho Holdings Co. Ltd. (7550-JP), Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (BWLD), Domino’s Pizza Group PLC (DOM), Bob Evans Farms Inc. (BOBE), DineEquity Inc. (DIN), Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH) and Denny’s Corp. (DENN). The table below shows the preliminary results along with the recent trend for revenues, net income and returns.
| Annual (USD million) | 2012-07-31 | 2011-07-31 | 2010-07-31 | 2009-07-31 | 2008-07-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 2,580.2 | 2,434.4 | 2,404.5 | 2,367.3 | 2,384.5 |
| Revenue Growth % | 6.0 | 1.2 | 1.6 | (0.7) | 1.4 |
| Net Income | 103.1 | 85.2 | 85.3 | 66.0 | 65.3 |
| Net Income Growth % | 21.0 | (0.1) | 29.3 | 1.0 | (14.1) |
| Net Margin % | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| ROE % | 31.7 | 37.1 | 52.1 | 57.8 | 66.3 |
| ROA % | 7.4 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
Valuation Drivers
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.’s current Price/Book of 3.9 is about median in its peer group. We classify CBRL-US as Harvesting because of the market’s low expectations of growth (PE of 14.6 compared to peer median of 18.9) despite its relatively high returns (ROE of 31.7% compared to the peer median ROE of 17.5%).
The company’s profit margins are below peer median (currently 4.0% vs. peer median of 5.4%) while its asset efficiency is about median (asset turns of 1.9x compared to peer median of 1.7x). CBRL-US’s net margin is its highest relative to the last five years and compares to a low of 2.7% in 2008.
Economic Moat
Growth in CBRL-US’s revenues and earnings have been in-line with its chosen peers (annual revenue growth of 6.0% and earnings growth of 21.0% respectively). Its top-line performance seems to imply ‘more of the same’ for earnings. CBRL-US is currently converting every 1% of change in revenue into 3.5% change in annual reported earnings.
CBRL-US’s return on assets currently is around peer median (7.4% vs. peer median 7.4%) — similar to its returns over the past five years (6.0% vs. peer median 6.0%). This performance suggests that the company has no specific competitive advantages relative to its peers.
The company’s gross margin of 33.6% is around peer median suggesting that CBRL-US’s operations do not benefit from any differentiating pricing advantage. In addition, CBRL-US’s pre-tax margin of 5.7% is also around the peer median suggesting no operating cost advantage relative to peers.
Growth & Investment Strategy
While CBRL-US’s revenues growth has been around the peer median (2.9% vs. 3.0% respectively for the past three years), the stock’s below peer median PE ratio of 14.6 implies below median long-term growth as well. The market likely sees the company’s long-term growth prospects to be fading.
CBRL-US’s annualized rate of change in capital of 5.1% over the past three years is around its peer median of 5.1%. This median investment has likewise generated a peer median return on capital of 11.2% averaged over the same three years. This median return on investment implies that the company is investing appropriately.
Earnings Quality
CBRL-US reported relatively weak net income margins for the last twelve months (4.0% vs. peer median of 5.4%). This weak margin performance and relatively conservative accrual policy (4.5% vs. peer median of 3.7%) suggest the company might likely be understating its net income, possibly to the extent that there might even be some sandbagging of the reported net income numbers.
CBRL-US’s accruals over the last twelve months are positive suggesting a buildup of reserves. In addition, the level of accrual is greater than the peer median — which suggests a relatively strong buildup in reserves compared to its peers.
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