Cheesecake Factory Stock Surges Following Strong Q4 Earnings, Plans For New Restaurants: Retail’s Excited

Shares of Cheesecake Factory rose more than 2% on Wednesday as the restaurant chain posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, lifting retail sentiment.

Comparable restaurant sales in the fourth quarter increased 1.7% year-over-year, the company said noting increased traffic at its namesake ‘The Cheesecake Factory’ restaurants versus the broader casual dining industry.

The restaurant chain’s Q4 earnings per share came in at $1.04, beating Wall Street estimates by 13.27%. Revenues stood at $920.96 million, above the consensus estimate of $912.93 million, according to Stocktwits data.

“While our fourth quarter results were led by the strength of The Cheesecake Factory 
restaurants, we delivered impressive performance across our portfolio of concepts,” said David Overton, chairman and CEO of Cheesecake Factory.

He added that demand for the “distinct, high-quality” dining experiences gives the company confidence in the long-term growth potential of its portfolio.

During the fourth quarter, the company opened nine new restaurants bringing the total of 23 new openings, surpassing the company’s growth expectations. In 2025, it plans to open up to 25 new restaurants, including three to four ‘The Cheesecake Factory’ restaurants, six to seven North Italia, and six to seven Flower Child outlets.

Sentiment on Stocktwits moved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ a week ago. Message volume jumped to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high.’

One bullish commenter praised the company’s “blowout” earnings, predicting a 20% increase in its stock price.

The Cheesecake Factory recently received an upgrade from Oppenheimer, which raised its rating to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Perform.’ The firm expects a “breakout performance in 2025” and highlighted the North Italia and Flower Child chains as “crown-jewel-like growth assets.”

The company operates 352 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, including The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia, Flower Child, and other FRC brands.

Cheesecake stock is up 14% year-to-date.

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