Does CAKE Take The Cake?

Along with yesterday's feature on home-appliance behemoth SharkNinja (SN), today we wanted to feature another consumer-related company that reported a big earnings triple play this quarter: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE).

In case you weren't aware, CAKE has had a sweet run this year.  After its Q2 earnings triple play (beat EPS, beat sales, raised guidance) that sent shares up 13.5% on 7/29, the stock has more than doubled (+111%) in 2026.

Below is a look at quarterly revenues for CAKE since the early 2000s.  Aside from its dip during COVID, sales have been on a consistent upward trajectory for more than 20 years.

The second chart below shows where quarterly revenues came in versus consensus analyst estimates.  Along with strong comps, the company has been handily beating estimates over the last few quarters as well.

There are currently more than 200 Cheesecake Factory restaurants in the US.  The first was opened by founder David Overton in Beverly Hills in 1978, and by 1992, the company went public.

We thought it would be interesting to see how CAKE has done versus the biggest and most well-known publicly-traded restaurant stock, McDonald's (MCD), since CAKE went public.

As shown below, CAKE's sharp move higher this year and MCD's pullback has actually given CAKE the lead when looking at simple price change.  CAKE shares are up 2,834% versus MCD's gain of 2,356%.

Of course, dividends have to be taken into account, and when factoring in dividends that are re-invested back into the company over the years, McDonald's still holds the lead.  As shown below, MCD's total return since CAKE went public is 4,805%, while CAKE's total return is 3,732%.

If this year's trend continues, though, CAKE may soon take the cake.