Cracker Barrel Stock (CBRL) Plunges After Controversial Logo Redesign Slashes Sales

Cracker Barrel's stock takes a nosedive as rebranding backlash hits the bottom line.

The Fallout

Sales cratered following the chain's polarizing logo overhaul—turns out customers preferred their nostalgia served without a side of corporate identity crisis.

Market Reaction

Investors dumped shares faster than cold gravy. The dip highlights how even established brands aren't immune to tone-deaf marketing moves.

Finance Irony

Another case of a boardroom thinking branding matters more than biscuits—because nothing says 'down-home cooking' like a focus-grouped logo that alienates your core demographic.

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Cracker Barrel ultimately reversed course after the backlash, but it took the restaurant chain roughly a week before it did so. If the credit card transactions from that period are anything to go by, the company switched back to the old logo after it saw the effects of switching to a modernized design.

It wasn’t just customers who expressed concern about the switch to a new logo. Cracker Barrel co-founder Tommy Lowe also criticized the change in an interview. He said the company was “throwing money out the window” with its redesign. Lowe also said “If they don’t get back to keeping it country, then it ain’t gonna work.”

Cracker Barrel Stock Movement Today

Cracker Barrel stock was down 0.42% on Wednesday, but remained up 4.47% year-to-date. The company’s shares have also rallied 41.43% over the past 12 months. While the redesign was done to appeal to a larger audience, the opposite was true. The real question now is: Can Cracker Barrel win back the trust of its customers?

Is Cracker Barrel Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Cracker Barrel is Hold, based on one Buy, four Hold, and two Sell ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average CBRL stock price target of $56.17, representing a potential 3.08% upside for the shares.