Over the barrel

Cracker Barrel had its biggest daily decline in almost three years after the restaurant chain missed Wall Street’s first-quarter profit targets and lowered its forecast.

Profit per share came in at 99 cents for Tennessee-based Cracker

Barrel, considerably below the $1.22 analysts were expecting. Sales met expectations, but operating margin and profits were gutted by higher costs for just about everything, including labor, commodities and maintenance.

Cracker Barrel executives expect the challenging environment to last longer than previously thought and lowered the bottom end of the company’s revenue growth outlook to 6% from 7% previously.

“While the increased macroeconomic uncertainty and persistent inflationary pressures merit caution, we believe our value proposition and strong guest experience position us well to navigate the environment,” said CEO Sandra Cochran.