“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary believes Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) struck marketing gold despite widespread backlash over its failed rebranding attempt.
“Cracker Barrel rebranded and caught fire online, suddenly everyone’s talking about them,” O’Leary posted on X. “Sometimes bad news is good news. A screw-up can create more buzz than a billion-dollar ad spend.”
Check out the current price of CBRL stock here.
The restaurant chain’s $700 million rebrand removing its iconic “old timer” logo triggered massive social media fury, with over 500,000 X posts calling the move “woke.”
Significant Market Fluctuations
From its one-month peak on August 14, the Tennessee-based country hospitality chain's shares fell 13.23% to a monthly low before rebounding 14.85% between August 25 and August 27. According to Benzinga Pro data, CBRL closed at $59.82 on Friday.
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President Donald Trump weighed in, calling the controversy “a billion dollars worth of free publicity” and urging the company to revert to its original logo. The Republican Party’s official account later posted “Make Cracker Barrel Great Again.“
Co-Founder Blasts ‘Pitiful’ New Direction
Company co-founder Tommy Lowe, criticized the rebrand as “pitiful” and questioned CEO Julie Felss Masino‘s Taco Bell background. “What’s Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food?” Lowe told Nashville media.
Peers Significantly Outperform Post-COVID
CBRL dramatically underperforms restaurant sector competitors in the post-COVID period. Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) surged over 2,000% since its 2020 lows, while Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) gained 702%. Cracker Barrel managed just 3% growth during the same period.
O’Leary sees opportunity in the chaos. “The free press was outstanding,” he said, comparing the situation to Anheuser-Busch‘s (NYSE:BUD) Bud Light controversy. “Now people are saying, ‘What the hell is that? I’m gonna go check that out.'”
Known for its Southern hospitality, Cracker Barrel has traded between $33.85 and $71.93 over the past year. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, with an average daily trading volume of about 1.29 million shares. Its price-to-earnings ratio stands at 23.22.
With a strong Momentum in the 88th percentile, Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CBRL is experiencing short-term consolidation along with medium and long-term upward movement. Here is how the stock fares on other parameters.
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Photo Courtesy: Edgar Lee Espe / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
