Cracker Barrel vs Dave & Buster's
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Cracker Barrel and Dave & Buster's side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Cracker Barrel is the larger business, with $3.3B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $2.1B for Dave & Buster's, about 1.6 times as much.
- Dave & Buster's grew revenue faster (−1.4%, against −4.7%).
- Dave & Buster's kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (4.1% operating margin, against −0.4%).
- Cracker Barrel turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.7% FCF margin, against −4.8%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 7 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Cracker Barrel
CBRL
2/7
Net marginFCF margin
Dave & Buster's
PLAY
5/7
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CBRL FY26 | PLAY FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $1.5B | $264M |
| Revenue | $3.3B | $2.1B |
| Free cash flow | $88.4M | −$101M |
| Net income | $31.7M | −$48.7M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −4.7% | −1.4% |
| 5-year growth | 3.3% | 37.0% |
| Share count change | 0.4% | −13.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 69.1% | 85.7% |
| Operating margin | −0.4% | 4.1% |
| Net margin | 1.0% | −2.3% |
| FCF margin | 2.7% | −4.8% |
| Return on capital | — | 4.1% |
| Return on equity | 6.7% | — |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | — | $1.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 4.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $23.1M | $23.9M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.