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Item 7.01.
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Regulation FD Disclosure.
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On March 18, 2020, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (the “Company”) announced that it is withdrawing its previously issued fiscal 2020 outlook, including fiscal 2020 earnings guidance, due to the uncertain impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Company’s top priority during this extraordinary time is the health and safety of its employees and guests, and the Company’s teams are diligently working to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to adjust the Company’s business accordingly. Given recent developments and significant ongoing uncertainty around the severity and duration of the pandemic, the Company is unable to reliably quantify the COVID-19 pandemic’s current and future impact on its future financial results and cannot presently predict when it will be able to do so. The Company therefore believes it is appropriate to withdraw its fiscal 2020 outlook, previously issued on February 25, 2020, at this time, and investors should no longer rely upon this guidance.
In light of the present environment, the Company is postponing its Analyst & Investor Day, which previously had been scheduled for June 2020. The Company will issue additional information about rescheduling as soon as it is available.
The information furnished under Item 7.01 in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing made by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for specific historical information, certain of the matters discussed in this Current Report on Form 8-K may express or imply projections of revenues or expenditures, statements of plans and objectives or future operations or statements of future economic performance. These, and similar statements are forward-looking statements concerning matters that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual performance of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. and its subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by this discussion. All forward-looking information is provided pursuant to the safe harbor established under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and should be evaluated in the context of these factors. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “trends,” “assumptions,” “target,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “opportunity,” “future,” “plans,” “goals,” “objectives,” “expectations,” “near-term,” “long-term,” “projection,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “potential,” “regular,” “should,” “projects,” “forecasts,” or “continue” (or the negative or other derivatives of each of these terms) or similar terminology and include the expected effects of operational improvement initiatives, such as new menu items and retail offerings. Factors which could materially affect actual results include, but are not limited to: the effects of uncertain consumer confidence, higher costs for energy, general or regional economic weakness, and weather on sales and customer travel, discretionary income or personal expenditure activity of our customers; information technology-related incidents, including data privacy and information security breaches, whether as a result of infrastructure failures, employee or vendor errors, or actions of third parties; our ability to identify, acquire and sell successful new lines of retail merchandise and new menu items at our restaurants; our ability to sustain or the effects of plans intended to improve operational or marketing execution and performance; uncertain performance of acquired businesses, strategic investments and other initiatives that we may pursue now or in the future, including our integration of Maple Street Biscuit Company and our non-controlling ownership interest in Punch Bowl Social; changes in or implementation of additional governmental or regulatory rules,
regulations and interpretations affecting tax, wage and hour matters, health and safety, pensions, insurance or other undeterminable areas; the effects of plans intended to promote or protect our brands and products; commodity price increases; the ability of and cost to us to recruit, train, and retain qualified hourly and management employees in an escalating wage environment; the effects of increased competition at our locations on sales and on labor recruiting, cost, and retention; workers’ compensation, group health and utility price changes; consumer behavior based on negative publicity or concerns over nutritional or safety aspects of our food or products or those of the restaurant industry in general, including concerns about epidemics and pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the possible effects of such events on the price or availability of ingredients used in our restaurants; the effects of our indebtedness and associated restrictions on our financial and operating flexibility and ability to execute or pursue our operating plans and objectives; changes in interest rates or capital market conditions affecting our financing costs and ability to refinance all or portions of our indebtedness; the effects of business trends on the outlook for individual restaurant locations and the effect on the carrying value of those locations; our ability to retain key personnel; the availability and cost of suitable sites for restaurant development and our ability to identify those sites; our ability to enter successfully into new geographic markets that may be less familiar to us; changes in land, building materials and construction costs; the actual results of pending, future or threatened litigation or governmental investigations and the costs and effects of negative publicity associated with these activities; practical or psychological effects of natural disasters or terrorist acts or war and military or government responses; disruptions to our restaurant or retail supply chain, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in foreign exchange rates affecting our future retail inventory purchases; implementation of new or changes in interpretation of existing accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”); and other factors described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, and other communications. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company herein, or elsewhere, speaks only as of the date on which made. The Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.