Zacks Research Expects Lower Earnings for Cheesecake Factory

Key Points

• Zacks Research slightly lowered its Q3 2026 earnings estimate for Cheesecake Factory to $0.70 per share from $0.71, signaling modestly weaker near-term expectations.
• Cheesecake Factory’s latest quarterly results were still solid, with EPS of $1.05 beating estimates and revenue of $978.83 million topping forecasts while rising 5.6% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.94, even though some firms recently raised their price targets.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) - Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will earn $0.70 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.71. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory's current full-year earnings is $4.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Cheesecake Factory's FY2026 earnings at $3.87 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.12 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.28 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.24 EPS.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $964.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CAKE. Argus set a $72.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $59.49 on Monday. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $43.07 and a 1 year high of $69.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 183.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 133,921 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,072,000 after buying an additional 86,705 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 28,159 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,366,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,800,388 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $98,373,000 after buying an additional 96,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 469,225 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,638,000 after buying an additional 120,719 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total transaction of $459,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,713. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total value of $6,346,080.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 124,582 shares of company stock worth $7,684,016 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Trending Headlines about Cheesecake Factory

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cheesecake Factory from underweight to neutral and raised its price target to $68 from $58, signaling improved confidence in the stock’s outlook. Cheesecake Factory NASDAQ: CAKE Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Positive Sentiment: Another market note highlighted Cheesecake Factory as a restaurant chain that may be better positioned to serve a broad customer base, including GLP-1 users and more cautious consumers, which supports the investment case for the company. Analysts say this restaurant chain has figured out how to feed everyone — GLP-1 users included
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed near- and medium-term earnings estimates, including Q2 2026 EPS to $1.15 from $1.20 and Q4 2026 EPS to $0.97 from $1.05, which is a mild headwind but not a major deterioration. Research estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also nudged down its Q1 2028 and Q4 2027 EPS forecasts, while slightly raising FY2028 EPS to $4.82 from $4.78, suggesting longer-term expectations remain broadly stable. Long-term earnings estimate changes

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ: CAKE is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.

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