Cheesecake Factory sales fall short of expectations

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Assorted cheesecakes at Cheesecake Factory (Wikimedia Commons)
Assorted cheesecakes at Cheesecake Factory (Wikimedia Commons)

Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, but same-store sales growth was softer than Wall Street estimates.

Same-store sales, a key metric for restaurants, grew at a disappointing 1.5% which was below estimates of 1.9% growth.

Revenue also came in weaker than Wall Street projections at $580.9 million versus $585.3 million.

Nevertheless, the restaurant chain’s earnings came in above estimates at 62 cents per share versus consensus at 58 cents per share, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.

“Our operators executed on our objectives, wage inflation moderated from the second quarter and group medical insurance costs normalized … these factors, coupled with comparable sales performance at The Cheesecake Factory restaurants within our expectations, drove solid profitability during the third quarter,” David Overton, Chairman and CEO said in a statement.

Cheesecake Factory slashed its full-year outlook in August, and the company expects earnings per share between $2.40 and $2.48 which was revised lower from the $2.62 to $2.74 range that was previously anticipated.

Heidi Chung is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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