Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) reported Q1 EPS of $1.92, $0.07 better than the analyst estimate of $1.85. Revenue for the quarter came in at $710.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $717.76 million. The Company estimates that hurricanes Harvey and Irma reduced first quarter diluted EPS by approximately $0.07 and will reduce second quarter diluted EPS by approximately $0.03.

Comparable restaurant sales of 0.2% and traffic of -1.8% outperformed the Casual Dining Industry, despite the negative impacts from hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Commenting on the first quarter and fiscal year outlook, Cracker Barrel President and Chief Executive Officer Sandra B. Cochran said, "We delivered positive comparable store restaurant sales in the first quarter, outperformed our casual dining peers, and exceeded our earnings expectations, despite the challenges presented by the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma on many of the communities in which we, our customers and our employees live and work. In addition, our field and leadership teams made significant progress on the introduction of several key business initiatives, including the system-wide rollout of our off-premise platform. While being more cautious in our industry outlook and in our expectations for continued wage and commodity pressure, we remain well-positioned to deliver top-line performance and earnings growth as a result of our fiscal 2018 initiatives."

GUIDANCE:

Cracker Barrel sees FY2018 EPS of $8.75-$8.90 reflecting the approximately $0.10 negative impact from hurricanes, versus the consensus of $8.81.

The Company expects to report earnings per diluted share for the second quarter of 2018 of between $2.15 and $2.25, versus the consensus of $2.25.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Cracker Barrel (CBRL) click here.