Finances

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) announced its second quarter earnings on Monday, September 15. The arcade company reported lower than anticipated sales, causing the company’s stock to fall more than 15% following the earnings release.

Revenue reached $557.4 million for the second quarter. This was a slight increase from revenue of $557.1 million reported in the same quarter last year but below analysts’ expectations of $563.0 million.

“I am deeply honored to take the helm and collaborate with this talented team to drive innovation, growth, and the company’s next chapter,” said Dave & Buster’s CEO, Tarun Lal. “My immediate focus is clear: reinforce our guest-first culture, deliver memorable experiences, and drive meaningful growth in sales, cash flow and shareholder value. I am truly excited to help guide this business to realize it is obvious and full potential with purpose, passion and excellence.”

Dave & Buster’s reported a quarterly net income of $11.4 million or $0.32 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, the company reported a net income of $40.3 million or $0.99 per adjusted share.

Dave & Buster’s comparable store sales decreased 3% compared to the same time last year. The company’s entertainment segment reported revenue of $364.5 million and food and beverage revenue of $192.9 million for the quarter. Store operating income before depreciation and amortization was $155.4 million, reflecting a 28% decrease from $173.5 million in the prior year. The company opened three new domestic stores in the quarter for a total of 237 locations by the end of the second quarter.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) shares closed at $19.61, down 20% for the week.

General Mills Announces Quarterly Earnings

General Mills, Inc. (GIS) posted its first quarter earnings on Wednesday, September 17. The company’s stock fell about 2% despite exceeding sales expectations for the quarter.  

Net sales totaled $4.52 billion for the quarter, down 7% from $4.85 billion one year ago. Quarterly revenue beat analysts’ estimates of $4.51 billion.

“Our primary goal in fiscal 2026 is to restore organic sales growth by investing in greater value, innovation, and product news for consumers,” said General Mills CEO, Jeff Harmening. “I am pleased that we are seeing the returns we expected on these investments, helping us grow or hold pound share in 8 of our top 10 U.S. categories while continuing to drive strong competitiveness in foodservice and international markets in the first quarter.”

The company reported net income of $1.20 billion or $2.22 per adjusted share for the quarter. This was up from $579.9 million or $1.03 per adjusted share during the same quarter last year.

General Mills reported that operating profit increased 108% to $1.7 billion for the quarter. In the first quarter, General Mills reported $2.63 billion in net sales for its North America Retail segment, which was down 13% from the year prior. The North America Pet segment increased 6% to $610 million during the quarter. The company’s International segment increased 6% to $760.2 million in net sales. For fiscal 2026, the company anticipates organic sales to be between 1% down and 1% up year-over-year.

General Mills, Inc. (GIS) shares ended the week at $50.35, remaining relatively unchanged for the week.

Cracker Barrel Serves Up Quarterly Earnings

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Wednesday, September 17. The Tennessee-based company’s stock fell about 10% following the earnings release as the company looks to rebound from backlash over its rebranding efforts.

Cracker Barrel posted quarterly revenue of $868.0 million. This was down 3% from $894.4 million reported during the same quarter last year and surpassed analysts’ expectations of $855.0 million. For the full year, Cracker Barrel reported revenue of $3.48 billion, relatively unchanged from the prior year.

"We thank our guests for sharing their voices and their passion for Cracker Barrel in recent weeks, and we have listened, switching back to our 'Old Timer' logo, hitting pause on remodels, and placing an even bigger emphasis in the kitchen and other areas that enhance the guest experience,” said Cracker Barrel CEO, Julie Masino. “Looking ahead, there is much to be optimistic about, and our teams are focused on getting back to the momentum we created last fiscal year."

Cracker Barrel reported fourth quarter net income of $6.8 million or $0.30 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, the company reported net income of $18.1 million or $0.81 per adjusted share. For the full year the company reported net income of $46.4 million.

Cracker Barrel’s comparable store restaurant sales increased 5.4%, while comparable store retail sales decreased 0.8%. The company ended the period with 657 Cracker Barrel stores and 68 Maple Street Biscuit Company stores, a net increase of one additional company-owned store compared to the prior year. The company confirmed it authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock payable on November 12, 2025, to shareholders of record as of October 17, 2025. The company announced its full-year 2026 guidance and anticipates revenue in the range of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion with a comparable store traffic decline between 4% to 7%.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) shares closed at $43.50, down 15% for the week.

The Dow started the week of 9/15 at 45,848 and closed at 46,315 on 9/19. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,603 and closed at 6,664. The NASDAQ opened the week at 22,243 and closed at 22,631.

U.S. Treasury yields rose early in the week as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in nine months. Yields continued to increase later in the week as the latest employment figures indicated a continuing slowdown of the labor market.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. At the meeting, policy makers agreed to lower the key federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points. The rate cut reduced the federal funds rate to between 4% to 4.25%, down from 4.25% to 4.5%. This marks the first rate cut since December 2024 as the U.S. experiences a weakening labor market and slower economic growth.

“The labor market is getting a little bit weaker, and so they thought it was appropriate to cut rates, but they are not going to cut rates fast, because they recognize that there is also an inflation problem out there,” said chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, David Kelly. “The fact that the Federal Reserve is taking its time, it is being balanced and measured in how it adjusts its rates, I think that that gives confidence to investors all around the world.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of September 15 at 4.07% and traded as high as 4.14% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.68% and traded as high as 4.75% on Thursday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased by 33,000 to 231,000 for the week ended September 13, below analysts’ expectations of 240,000. Continuing unemployment claims totaled 1.92 million, a decrease of 7,000 claims from the prior week.

"The steady trend in claims continues at a rate that is way too low to signal a recession,” said chief economist at High Frequency Economics, Carl Weinberg. “It also undermines calls for more and bigger rate cuts, both at the Fed and in the markets."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 9/15 at 4.13%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.75%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, September 18. The survey showed the 30-year mortgage rate falling to the lowest level in almost a year.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.26%, down from last week’s average of 6.35%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.09%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.41% this week, down from last week’s 5.50%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.15%.

“Mortgage rates decreased yet again this week, prompting many homeowners to refinance,” said Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater. “In fact, the share of mortgage applications that were refinances reached nearly 60%, the highest since January 2022.”

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.40% as of 9/15. The one-year CD averaged 1.70%.

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