Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.35% and a net margin of 4.33%.Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Cheesecake Factory’s conference call:

• Delivered a strong year — record annual revenue and adjusted diluted EPS of $3.77 for fiscal 2025, with Q4 adjusted diluted EPS of $1 and over $206 million returned to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.
• Accelerating unit growth: the company opened 25 restaurants in 2025 (~7% unit growth), opened 7 in Q4, and expects to open as many as 26 restaurants in 2026 (including 1–2 international licensed Cheesecake Factory locations).
• Margin improvement across concepts: The Cheesecake Factory’s adjusted restaurant-level profit margin rose 60 bps to 17.6%, with North Italia and Flower Child also reporting solid mid-to-high teens mature margins.
• 2026 outlook: management forecasts ~$3.9 billion in revenue at the midpoint and a ~5% net income margin, assuming low- to mid-single-digit inflation, roughly $210 million in cash CapEx, and ~26 net openings.
• Near-term headwinds and accounting items: Q1 includes an estimated ~1% weather-related sales drag, Q4 recorded a $24.6 million pre-tax charge (impairments, lease terminations and other items), a $17.3 million gift-card breakage revenue benefit affected comparisons, and the company has $69 million of convertible notes due June 2026.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.25. 951,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,379,113. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $42.69 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Key Cheesecake Factory News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.30 (11.1% increase), payable Mar. 17 to shareholders of record Mar. 4; annualized yield ~1.9% — supports shareholder returns and offsets some near-term concerns.
• Positive Sentiment: Company gave FY‑2026 revenue guidance around $3.9B and Q1 revenue guidance of $955M–$970M (roughly in line to slightly above consensus), showing revenue stability heading into the year.
• Positive Sentiment: Management expanded capital returns: increased share repurchase authorization and signaled plans for up to ~26 new units in 2026, indicating growth and buyback support for the stock. Expansion, dividend and buyback article
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reiterated a Buy rating, citing resilient fundamentals and margin strength — a bullish voice among mixed analyst views. William Blair Buy note
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo bumped its price target to $60 and kept an Equal Weight rating — a modest PT lift but still a cautious stance. Wells Fargo note
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens downgraded CAKE from Overweight to Equal Weight (PT $65), reflecting trimmed conviction from a prior bullish stance. Stephens downgrade Finviz
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction focused on a decline in comparable sales at the flagship Cheesecake Factory brand and margin/expense pressures despite revenue growth — several outlets note shares fell after the print. This operational softness is the main driver of the stock pullback. Comparable sales coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst landscape remains mixed with a wide range of price targets (median noted near ~$56 by some data aggregators), signaling limited consensus and leaving stock vulnerable to negative sentiment if comps or margins weaken further. Analyst and PT summary

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAKE. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 92,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 21,887 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 112,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.