CAKE vs EAT Stock Comparison

Cheesecake Factory and Brinker International Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAKE Cheesecake Factory Inc
$108.37 +3.8% 1M +93.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.14B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.88B
Div. yield
0.01%
Full-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
EAT Brinker International, Inc
$182.72 -13.4% 1M +44.6% 1Y
Market cap
$8.17B
P/E
16.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.81B
Div. yield
–
Full-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Brinker International leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Brinker International 9, Cheesecake Factory 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAKEEATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.14B $8.17B EAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.8x 16.8x EAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x 13.2x EAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.7% +7.9% EAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% 8.4% EAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.1% 59.4% EAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.4x EAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +93.8% +44.6% CAKE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.7%/yr +32.6%/yr EAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.7% 49.4% CAKE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 79/100 EAT

Percentile Scorecard

CAKEEAT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCAKEEAT
Valuation 27 #37 of 50 67 #17 of 50
Growth 70 #15 of 47 94 #4 of 47
Profitability 60 #19 of 46 93 #4 of 46
Financial Health 46 #28 of 51 54 #24 of 51
Shareholder Returns 50 #17 of 33 88 #5 of 33
Overall 50 79
  • CAKE ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • EAT ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCAKEEATSPY
1 month +3.8%-13.4% -1.0%
3 months +27.9%-2.2% +2.9%
6 months +75.6%+31.8% +6.4%
Year to date +114.7%+27.3% +11.4%
1 year +93.8%+44.6% +13.1%
3 years +256.9%+463.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +52.9%+78.0% +21.5%
5 years +155.9%+309.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +20.7%+32.6% +10.9%
10 years +115.2%+252.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.0%+13.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCAKEEATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.7%49.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.5%46.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.480.73 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.360.90 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.3%-50.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.6%-28.1% -2.5%
52-week high $117.29$254.01 $779.14
52-week low $43.14$102.29 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCAKEEAT
P/E now vs peer median 28.3xmedian 20.6x 16.4xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 13.3x 9.6xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.1xmedian 17.3x 13.8xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 10.4xmedian 3.1x 17.4xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.70median 1.04 0.24median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCAKEEAT
Revenue $3.88B $5.81B
Gross profit – $4.32B
Operating income $204.16M $619.90M
Net income $178.62M $487.00M
Free cash flow $206.30M $557.50M
EPS (diluted) $3.68 $10.87
Cash & equivalents $195.17M $110.00M
Total debt $562.90M $448.00M
Shares (diluted) 48.49M 44.80M
Enterprise value $4.31B $7.95B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCAKEEAT
P/E 28.3x 16.4x
P/FCF 26.1x 13.8x
P/Operating cash flow 15.2x 9.8x
P/S 1.4x 1.3x
P/B 10.4x 17.4x
P/Tangible book 20.2x 18.0x
EV/EBITDA 18.2x 9.6x
EV/EBIT 28.2x 13.0x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.4x
EV/FCF 27.9x 14.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.3x 10.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.70 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAKEEAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.7% 7.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 12.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 7.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 13.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.6% 21.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 62.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.4% 27.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 68.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.5% 30.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.6% 68.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.5% 16.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 45.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.2% 34.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 98.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAKEEAT
Gross margin – 74.4%
EBITDA margin 8.2% 14.4%
Operating margin 5.3% 10.7%
Pretax margin 5.1% 10.0%
Net margin 4.6% 8.4%
FCF margin 5.3% 9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 9.1% 13.6%
Return on equity 36.5% 114.6%
Return on assets 5.4% 17.4%
Return on invested capital 17.1% 59.4%
Return on capital employed 7.9% 29.3%
Asset turnover 1.2x 2.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAKEEAT
Debt / assets 17.1% 15.9%
Debt / equity 1.1x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.4x
Debt / FCF 2.7x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 84.2% 84.2%
Equity / assets 15.8% 15.8%
Interest coverage – 15.3x
Current ratio 0.6x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.08 4.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAKEEAT
Dividend yield 1.1% –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 5.7%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 5.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 31.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 26.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCAKEEAT
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 13.2xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.31FY2026 $13.83FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +28.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +11.8% -0.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.80BFY2026 $5.98BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.4%FY2026 +3.0%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +7.9% +12.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAKEEAT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 345 507
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% -1.4%
Institutions buying 161 279
Institutions selling 118 160
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.74

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CAKEEAT
CAKE 1.00 0.53
EAT 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAKE and EAT?

Brinker International (EAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) $5.14B, Brinker International (EAT) $8.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAKE and EAT?

Brinker International (EAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 28.8x, Brinker International (EAT) 16.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Brinker International (EAT) is cheapest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 25.1x, Brinker International (EAT) 13.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Brinker International (EAT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +5.7%, Brinker International (EAT) +7.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Brinker International (EAT) has the highest net margin (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 4.6%, Brinker International (EAT) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, Brinker International (EAT) leads (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 17.1%, Brinker International (EAT) 59.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) returned the most: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +93.8%, Brinker International (EAT) +44.6%. Over five years, Brinker International (EAT) compounded fastest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +20.7%/yr, Brinker International (EAT) +32.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 0.01%, Brinker International (EAT) 0.00%. Brinker International (EAT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) has been the steadiest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 39.7%, Brinker International (EAT) 49.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CAKE and EAT move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.53, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CAKE and EAT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Brinker International (EAT) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.