Wall Street is punishing Cracker Barrel yet again. 

On Wednesday, the rustic-style chain with 660 locations announced mixed results, including a $30 million decline in sales compared to the previous year. This decrease is comparable to 2.3 million servings of its country fried steak.

Profit plunged nearly 47 percent as costs climbed and retail sales continued to shrink. 

But not all numbers were bad: the controversial chain posted $3.48billion in yearly revenue, outpacing its 2024 numbers by 2.2 percent. 

In after-hours trading, investors quickly sold off the stock, sending the share price down 10 percent after the bell. 

It’s the latest blistering result for a brand that has been at the center of controversy for the past month. 

Since 2024, Cracker Barrel has been striving to update its image. With leadership from Julie Felss Masino, formerly at Taco Bell, the company aimed for a fresh look by investing $700 million in renovations.

Change was urgently needed. At that point, the company faced store closures, an aging customer base, and—according to the CEO—waning “relevance.”

Cracker Barrel attempted to modernize its brand with a sign revamp – but MAGA influencers labeled the change as ‘woke’

But the rollout didn’t go as planned. 

On August 19, the company revealed a new logo that nixed the cross-legged old man sitting on a rocking chair. Instead, new branding had a simple yellow background. 

Customers, staffers, and conservative commentators initially complained about new designs, saying they removed a piece of classic culture from the popular chain.

Cracker Barrel quickly announced a U-turn on the branding reboot, and decided to keep the old signs. 

But controversy followed. The company had to announce a second reversal on its restaurant modernization plans.  

Fans found the new floorplans — featuring fewer items on the walls and more white paint — to be dull and lifeless. 

‘You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,’ the company said.

The company spent an estimated $700million on the modernization plans.  

Critics compared the failed rebrand to Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco. In 2023, the beer producer jumped into the limelight when it featured Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, in some of its advertisements. 

Shoppers revolted against the alcohol brand, sending sales spiraling for months. That might not be the case with Cracker Barrel.

Experts tell the Daily Mail that the restaurant chain, which has reported mixed sales results in the last couple of quarters, might benefit from all of the attention.

‘Cracker Barrel has received a lot of publicity over the past couple of weeks,’ Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData, told the Daily Mail.

‘That is helpful for brand visibility, but it probably won’t drive sales by all that much.’

Surveys agree: a recent YouGov poll found that 65 percent of Americans were aware that the brand went through a logo change. But, only 29 percent of respondents said the changes made them less likely to dine there.

Other analysts are putting the company’s PR nightmare squarely at the executives’ feet.

The company was caught flat-footed in the glare of their customers’ headlights,’ Jerry Thomas, the CEO of Decision Analyst, a restaurant advising firm, told the Daily Mail.

‘It’s a major failure of Cracker Barrel’s senior management.’

This is a breaking news story. Updates incoming.