Latest news with #DavidGordon
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cheesecake Factory adds value-oriented bowls and bites to menu
You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. The Cheesecake Factory Inc., already known for its large menu, is expanding it with two new menu categories aimed at value-conscious customers: bowls and small-plate bites, the company said. Executives at the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based casual-dining company, said in a second quarter earnings call Tuesday that 'strategic menu innovation remains core to our success.' 'Our new bowl selection includes six thoughtfully crafted options, such as the teriyaki salmon bowl, Orange-Color Flower Bowl and the Peruvian Chicken Bowl,' said David Gordon, The Cheesecake Factory president. The Cheesecake Factory also introduced eight new 'bites,' or smaller plates offered at lower price points. In total, the brand is adding 14 new dishes across the two categories. 'These are designed to drive interest and offer new ways to enjoy the menu,' Overton said. 'With items like New Orleans Cajun Shrimp, chicken and biscuits, and meatball sliders, these new offerings reinforce the relevance of our menu and the strength of our innovation strategy.' Matthew Clark, Cheesecake Factory's chief financial officer, said the company raised prices by about 4% in the second quarter and traffic was down about 1.1% 'We're really focused on getting that traffic back to the positive side of the ledger,' Clark said. 'The bowls are in the $15 to $16 range,' he explained. 'We're driving significant value for the consumer.' Gordon added that Cheesecake Factory is 'taking all of the new menu items and putting them on a separate card to ensure that guests see them, and they don't get lost in the menu.' Overton said The Cheesecake Factory saw record average weekly sales in the second quarter, supported by off-premises sales of 21%. Those off-premises sales were consistent with the average of the prior four quarters, he said. At North Italia, second--quarter average unit volumes increased by 2%, reaching $8 million. Same-store sales declined 1%, reflecting some continued impact from the Los Angeles fires. Clark said average North Italia unit volumes are about $8 million. Etienne Marcus, The Cheesecake Factory's vice president of finance, said North Italia's price increases were 4% in the second quarter and traffic was negative 4%. Flower Child, the fast-casual concept, saw same-store sales increase by 4%. The improvement resulted in average weekly sales of $91,400 for an annualized average unit volume of more than $4.8 million. Experiential dining remains important, Gordon added. 'We think we provide that at all of our concepts, from Cheesecake Factory to a higher-end fast-casual Flower Child, which very much is an experience, not just a transaction,' he said. Gordon said younger customers especially are moving away from transactional purchases. He added that The Cheesecake Factory's concepts offer sophisticated design and 'high-touch hospitality. Today's consumer appreciates that.' For the second quarter ended July 1, The Cheesecake Factory's net income was $54.8 million, or $1.14 a share. Second-quarter revenues of $955.8 million were up from $904 million in the same period of 2024. Second-quarter net income was $54.8 million, and diluted net income per share was $1.14. The Cheesecake Factory owns and operates 363 restaurants throughout the United States and Canada. Another 34 Cheesecake Factory restaurants operate internationally under licensing agreements. Contact Ron Ruggless at Follow him on X/Twitter: @RonRuggless Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cheesecake Factory Inc (CAKE) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Sales and Strategic ...
Total Revenue: $956 million. Adjusted Net Income Margin: 5.8%. Cheesecake Factory Sales: $683.3 million, up 1% year-over-year. Cheesecake Factory Comparable Sales: Increased 1.2%. North Italia Sales: $90.8 million, up 20% year-over-year. Flower Child Sales: $48.2 million, up 35% year-over-year. Flower Child Comparable Sales: Increased 4%. Restaurant Openings: Eight new restaurants opened in Q2. Cheesecake Factory Restaurant Margin: Increased to 18.5%, up 80 basis points year-over-year. North Italia Restaurant Margin: Improved 290 basis points to 18.2%. Flower Child Restaurant Margin: Reached 20.4%. Cash Balance: $148.8 million. Total Debt: $644 million. Capital Expenditures: Approximately $42 million in Q2. Shareholder Returns: $14.3 million returned via dividends. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with KRC. Release Date: July 29, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ:CAKE) reported second quarter results that exceeded expectations, with consolidated revenues and adjusted earnings per share setting new milestones. The company achieved a record high average weekly sales and realized unit volumes of nearly $12.8 million for the quarter. Cheesecake Factory's four-wall restaurant margin increased to 18.5%, the highest level recorded in eight years. The company successfully opened eight new restaurants in the second quarter and plans to open as many as 25 new restaurants in 2025. Flower Child, a concept under Cheesecake Factory Inc, saw second quarter comparable sales increase by 4%, significantly outperforming the Black Box fast casual dining index. Negative Points Comparable sales for North Italia declined by 1%, partly due to the impact of Los Angeles fires and sales transfer from new restaurants. Cheesecake Factory's traffic was down 1.1% in the second quarter, despite a 4% increase in net effective pricing. Other operating expenses increased by 40 basis points, primarily driven by higher facility-related costs. Pre-opening costs rose to $9 million in the quarter compared to $7 million in the prior year period. The company recorded a pre-tax net expense of $1.2 million related to FRC acquisition-related items and impairment of assets and lease termination expenses. Q & A Highlights Q: As it relates to the increase in the net income margin for 2025 from 4.75% to 4.9%, is this primarily operationally driven at the store level? A: Matthew Clark, CFO: Yes, the improvement is operationally driven. Our expectations for the four-wall margin have increased due to better-than-expected Q2 results, reflecting operational excellence and stable sales trends. Q: Can you provide some perspective on labor retention levels relative to pre-pandemic or prior peaks? A: David Gordon, President: Our staff and management retention levels are as good as or better than pre-pandemic levels, driven by our strong company culture and career growth opportunities. This retention helps reduce overtime and training costs, contributing to labor productivity. Q: On Cheesecake Factory, can you share the Q2 breakdown related to price and mix and the implied traffic? A: Matthew Clark, CFO: The net effective pricing in Q2 was about 4% for Cheesecake Factory. Traffic was down 1.1%, and mix accounted for the balance. We aim to improve traffic while maintaining stable sales. Q: Did the February menu update lead to a noticeable customer response in terms of innovation? A: David Gordon, President: Yes, the new menu items were highlighted on a separate card to ensure visibility. The previous menu change in February showed good stickiness, and we expect the new menu to be equally or more successful. Q: Can you provide insights on Flower Child's profitability and unit economics? A: Matthew Clark, CFO: Flower Child's mature unit margins reached 20.4%, with AUVs approaching $5 million. The concept is performing exceptionally well, with returns in the mid-30s, and we expect it to play a larger role in our results going forward. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
RNZ News
24-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Auckland rail disruptions expected until Christmas, KiwiRail admits
Many rail services are being replaced by buses. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Aucklanders can expect rail closures and disruptions up until Christmas, KiwiRail admits, as final preparations are made for the City Rail Link. The Southern Line will be closed between Otahuhu and Pukekohe from 28 June to 13 July, many services replaced by buses. "We will have trains running on the other lines during the break, other than for a couple of days just before the end," KiwiRail's chief capital planning and asset development officer David Gordon told Morning Report . "Originally we had permission to shut all the lines but we don't need to do that, we just need to do the heavy invasive work on that section of line." He acknowledged the work would be disruptive for many commuters. "A lot of people are going to be affected, there's no doubt about it, and we don't take lightly the decision to do the closures," he said. "It is disruptive for people; they don't want to get on a bus, they want to get on a train. We wouldn't be doing this unless it was regarded by us and by parties on all sides in terms of funding and support [to be] necessary to do the type of work we're doing, which realistically should have been done over the past twenty years." Though there was light at the end of the tunnel, Gordon admitted this wouldn't be the last of the disruption in 2025. "This isn't it, but we're getting close to 'it'. Our objective is to have this scale of disruption totally over and done with by the end of Christmas," he promised. "Thereafter there will be shuts, etcetera, associated with testing City Rail Link but the scale of work we're doing [now] comes to an end before we open City Rail Link." He said the work being done was exhaustive. "The type of work we're doing at the moment should future-proof in those areas for 50 to 100 years. "We're digging right down to the foundations and some places we're having to dig out, swamps and stuff like that, we're doing about six metres deep," he said. "Of course rail will wear out on the top, but that's relatively easily fixed over a very short period. What we're doing is essentially digging up the foundations." That led to some unexpected discoveries, Gordon said. "We've found our fair share of gremlins. You never quite know what you're getting into when you dig these things out," he said. "But part of the reason why we've been so successful is you have to react, you have to have good people working for you, and you have to deal with what you find." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Catastrophic': Rural public media stations brace for GOP cuts
Public media stations around the country are anxiously awaiting the results of Thursday's House vote that could claw back $1.1 billion from public broadcasting, with leaders warning that the cuts present an existential crisis for public media's future. For smaller stations — many of which are in rural parts of the country — the funding makes up critical chunks of their yearly operating budgets. Many of them are being forced to plan how they'll survive the cuts, if they can at all, public media executives say. Local leaders say the cuts would not only deprive their audiences of news and educational programming, but could also lead to a breakdown of the emergency broadcast message infrastructure that is critical for communities with less reliable internet or cellular service. 'That would mean an almost immediate disappearance of almost half our operating budget,' David Gordon, executive director of KEET in Eureka, California, said of the rescission proposal. 'Assuming [KEET] would continue, it would be in a very, very different form than it is right now.' The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that distributes federal money to public media stations via grants, said about 45 percent of public radio and TV stations it provided grants to in 2023 are in rural areas. Nearly half of those rural stations relied on CPB funding for 25 percent or more of their revenue. But that funding is being targeted for a vote as part of a push from President Donald Trump that also aims to cut $8.3 billion in foreign aid. The rescissions package would cut CPB funding already approved by Congress for the next two fiscal years. The proposal, which only needs approval from a simple majority, must pass both chambers of Congress within 45 legislative days from the day it's introduced. The House is set to vote on Thursday. If the House and Senate follow their current schedules, the deadline to vote on the cuts is July 18. If the deadline passes and Congress has not approved the cuts, the White House will be required to spend the money — but funding could still be cut in future budgets. If approved, the package would codify a series of cuts first picked out by the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year. Both Trump and Elon Musk, former head of DOGE, have repeatedly accused NPR and PBS of bias against Republicans. In 2023, the Musk-owned social media site X labeled NPR as "state-affiliated media," falsely suggesting the organization produces propaganda. Trump regularly suggested cutting federal funding for public media during his first term. But his second term has brought increased hostility to mainstream media outlets, including the Associated Press, Voice of America, ABC News and CBS News. Approximately 19 percent of NPR member stations count on CPB funding for at least 30 percent of their revenue — a level at which stations would be unlikely to make up if Congress approves the rescissions, according to an NPR spokesperson. Ed Ulman, CEO of Alaska Public Media, predicts over a third of public media stations in Alaska alone would be forced to shut down 'within three to six months' if their federal funding disappears. PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in an interview she expects 'a couple dozen stations' to have 'significant' funding problems 'in the very near term' without federal funding. And she believes more could be in long-term jeopardy even if they survive the immediate aftermath of the cuts. 'A number of [stations] are hesitant to say it publicly,' she said. 'I know that some of our stations are very, very worried about the fact that they might be able to keep it pieced together for a short period of time. But for them, it will be existential.' Smaller stations with high dependency on federal funding may be forced into hard choices about where to make cuts. Some stations are considering cutting some of what little full-time staff they have, or canceling some of the NPR and PBS programming they pay to air. Phil Meyer, CEO of Southern Oregon PBS in Medford, Oregon, said his station will have to get creative just to stay afloat. 'If we eliminated all our staff, it still wouldn't save us enough money,' Meyer said. 'It becomes an existential scenario planning exercise where, if that funding does go away, we would have to look at a different way of doing business.' Some rural stations are worried they won't be able to cover the costs to maintain the satellite and broadcast infrastructure used to relay emergency broadcast messages without the federal grants. In remote areas without reliable broadband or internet coverage, public media stations can be the only way for residents to get natural disaster warnings or hear information about evacuation routes. After Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina last year, leaving the region without electricity for days, Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, North Carolina, provided vital information on road closure and access to drinking water for people using battery-powered and hand-cranked radios. 'I think it's pretty catastrophic,' Sherece Lamke, president and general manager of Pioneer PBS in Granite Falls, Minnesota, said of the potential consequences of losing the 30 percent of her station's budget supplied by CPB. Station managers around the country have made direct pleas to their home congressional delegations in the past year, urging them to protect public broadcasting from the rescission proposal and publicly opposing Trump's executive order calling on CPB to stop providing funding to stations. PBS, NPR and some local stations have sued the Trump administration to block the order. Brian Duggan, general manager of KUNR Public Radio in Reno, Nevada, said he's optimistic about the chances of the House voting down the funding cuts, particularly after talking with his local member of Congress, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who co-signed a statement opposing cuts to public media on Monday. 'I maintain optimism … based on my conversations with the congressman,' Duggan said. 'I will just hold out hope to see what happens ultimately on the House floor.' Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose public media stations are among the most dependent on federal grants in the country, told POLITICO on Wednesday she's concerned about stations in her state and is trying to get the package changed. In the wake of Trump administration pressure, some stations have seen an uptick in grassroots donations. But while larger stations in well-populated metro areas have broader, wealthier donor bases to draw on for additional support, many rural stations can only expect so much help from their community. Some of the stations in rural areas are forced to navigate the added complication of asking for donations from Republican voters as Trump rails against the public media ecosystem. 'We live in a very purple district up here,' Sarah Bignall, CEO and general manager of KAXE in Grand Rapids, Minnesota said. 'If we started kind of doing the push and the fundraising efforts that were done in the Twin Cities, it would be very off-putting to a lot of our listeners.' Increases in donations, sponsors and state funding — only some states fund public broadcasting, and other states are pushing their own cuts to public broadcasting — would be unlikely to cover the full loss of smaller stations with heavy dependence on federal grants. 'It's not like we can just go, you know, 'Let's find a million dollars somewhere else.'' Lamke said. 'If we knew how to do that, we would have.' Longtime public media employees have experience in managing the lack of certainty that comes with the nonprofit funding model. But some said that the federal cuts, along with the White House effort to eliminate the public media model, have made forecasting the future of their stations more difficult than ever. 'I think this is the biggest risk that we've had, certainly in the time that I've been in public broadcasting,' Kruger said. 'And I've been in this business 30 years.' Calen Razor contributed to this report.
Politico
12-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
‘Catastrophic': Rural public media stations brace for GOP cuts
Public media stations around the country are anxiously awaiting the results of Thursday's House vote that could claw back $1.1 billion from public broadcasting, with leaders warning that the cuts present an existential crisis for public media's future. For smaller stations — many of which are in rural parts of the country — the funding makes up critical chunks of their yearly operating budgets. Many of them are being forced to plan how they'll survive the cuts, if they can at all, public media executives say. Local leaders say the cuts would not only deprive their audiences of news and educational programming, but could also lead to a breakdown of the emergency broadcast message infrastructure that is critical for communities with less reliable internet or cellular service. 'That would mean an almost immediate disappearance of almost half our operating budget,' David Gordon, executive director of KEET in Eureka, California, said of the rescission proposal. 'Assuming [KEET] would continue, it would be in a very, very different form than it is right now.' The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that distributes federal money to public media stations via grants, said about 45 percent of public radio and TV stations it provided grants to in 2023 are in rural areas. Nearly half of those rural stations relied on CPB funding for 25 percent or more of their revenue. But that funding is being targeted for a vote as part of a push from President Donald Trump that also aims to cut $8.3 billion in foreign aid. The rescissions package would cut CPB funding already approved by Congress for the next two fiscal years. The proposal, which only needs approval from a simple majority, must pass both chambers of Congress within 45 legislative days from the day it's introduced. The House is set to vote on Thursday. If the House and Senate follow their current schedules, the deadline to vote on the cuts is July 18. If the deadline passes and Congress has not approved the cuts, the White House will be required to spend the money — but funding could still be cut in future budgets. If approved, the package would codify a series of cuts first picked out by the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year. Both Trump and Elon Musk, former head of DOGE, have repeatedly accused NPR and PBS of bias against Republicans. In 2023, the Musk-owned social media site X labeled NPR as 'state-affiliated media,' falsely suggesting the organization produces propaganda. Trump regularly suggested cutting federal funding for public media during his first term. But his second term has brought increased hostility to mainstream media outlets, including the Associated Press, Voice of America, ABC News and CBS News. Approximately 19 percent of NPR member stations count on CPB funding for at least 30 percent of their revenue — a level at which stations would be unlikely to make up if Congress approves the rescissions, according to an NPR spokesperson. Ed Ulman, CEO of Alaska Public Media, predicts over a third of public media stations in Alaska alone would be forced to shut down 'within three to six months' if their federal funding disappears. PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in an interview she expects 'a couple dozen stations' to have 'significant' funding problems 'in the very near term' without federal funding. And she believes more could be in long-term jeopardy even if they survive the immediate aftermath of the cuts. 'A number of [stations] are hesitant to say it publicly,' she said. 'I know that some of our stations are very, very worried about the fact that they might be able to keep it pieced together for a short period of time. But for them, it will be existential.' Smaller stations with high dependency on federal funding may be forced into hard choices about where to make cuts. Some stations are considering cutting some of what little full-time staff they have, or canceling some of the NPR and PBS programming they pay to air. Phil Meyer, CEO of Southern Oregon PBS in Medford, Oregon, said his station will have to get creative just to stay afloat. 'If we eliminated all our staff, it still wouldn't save us enough money,' Meyer said. 'It becomes an existential scenario planning exercise where, if that funding does go away, we would have to look at a different way of doing business.' Some rural stations are worried they won't be able to cover the costs to maintain the satellite and broadcast infrastructure used to relay emergency broadcast messages without the federal grants. In remote areas without reliable broadband or internet coverage, public media stations can be the only way for residents to get natural disaster warnings or hear information about evacuation routes. After Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina last year, leaving the region without electricity for days, Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, North Carolina, provided vital information on road closure and access to drinking water for people using battery-powered and hand-cranked radios. 'I think it's pretty catastrophic,' Sherece Lamke, president and general manager of Pioneer PBS in Granite Falls, Minnesota, said of the potential consequences of losing the 30 percent of her station's budget supplied by CPB. Station managers around the country have made direct pleas to their home congressional delegations in the past year, urging them to protect public broadcasting from the rescission proposal and publicly opposing Trump's executive order calling on CPB to stop providing funding to stations. PBS, NPR and some local stations have sued the Trump administration to block the order. Brian Duggan, general manager of KUNR Public Radio in Reno, Nevada, said he's optimistic about the chances of the House voting down the funding cuts, particularly after talking with his local member of Congress, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who co-signed a statement opposing cuts to public media on Monday. 'I maintain optimism … based on my conversations with the congressman,' Duggan said. 'I will just hold out hope to see what happens ultimately on the House floor.' Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose public media stations are among the most dependent on federal grants in the country, told POLITICO on Wednesday she's concerned about stations in her state and is trying to get the package changed. In the wake of Trump administration pressure, some stations have seen an uptick in grassroots donations. But while larger stations in well-populated metro areas have broader, wealthier donor bases to draw on for additional support, many rural stations can only expect so much help from their community. Some of the stations in rural areas are forced to navigate the added complication of asking for donations from Republican voters as Trump rails against the public media ecosystem. 'We live in a very purple district up here,' Sarah Bignall, CEO and general manager of KAXE in Grand Rapids, Minnesota said. 'If we started kind of doing the push and the fundraising efforts that were done in the Twin Cities, it would be very off-putting to a lot of our listeners.' Increases in donations, sponsors and state funding — only some states fund public broadcasting, and other states are pushing their own cuts to public broadcasting — would be unlikely to cover the full loss of smaller stations with heavy dependence on federal grants. 'It's not like we can just go, you know, 'Let's find a million dollars somewhere else.'' Lamke said. 'If we knew how to do that, we would have.' Longtime public media employees have experience in managing the lack of certainty that comes with the nonprofit funding model. But some said that the federal cuts, along with the White House effort to eliminate the public media model, have made forecasting the future of their stations more difficult than ever. 'I think this is the biggest risk that we've had, certainly in the time that I've been in public broadcasting,' Kruger said. 'And I've been in this business 30 years.' Calen Razor contributed to this report.
