William Blair Issues Optimistic Forecast for CAKE Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair has raised its Q2 2025 earnings per share estimate for The Cheesecake Factory to $1.07, reflecting an increase from a previous estimate of $1.05.
• Wells Fargo & Company and Argus both issued new target prices of $60.00 for Cheesecake Factory, while Morgan Stanley set a lower price objective of $45.00.
• Recent insider transactions include significant stock sales by executives, with EVP Scarlett May offloading 18,800 shares, representing a 45.11% decrease in her position.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at William Blair upped their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report issued on Tuesday, July 22nd. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.07 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.05. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory's current full-year earnings is $3.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Cheesecake Factory's Q3 2025 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.97 EPS.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $927.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CAKE. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.21. The stock had a trading volume of 368,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,620. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.53. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $33.50 and a 52 week high of $69.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,121 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,772 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 4.0% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. This trade represents a 45.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992 over the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.