NEW YORK, July 10, 2026, 18:06 (EDT)
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ:CAKE finished Friday at an all-time high of $82.76, rising 5.5% after Citi, part of Citigroup NYSE:C, bumped its target to $90 from $76 and maintained a Buy call. The stock hit $84.17 earlier in the session, trading nearly 2.29 million shares.
Investors are betting on a pickup in customer traffic before The Cheesecake Factory management has said anything about results from its new mobile app. First-quarter same-store sales were up 1.6%. The app only launched on April 1, after the quarter closed. CEO David Overton said revenue, margins and earnings were “above our expectations.” The Cheesecake Factory
Based on Friday’s close, the $4.34 jump in share price put about $210 million more on Cheesecake Factory’s equity value. That’s about 4.2x the $49.5 million net income from Q1. Shares are now up almost 64% since closing at $50.48 at the end of December.
The target spread has narrowed. Of three recent broker targets from market-data services, only Citi’s $90 tops Friday’s close. BofA’s target at $79 is 4.5% under the stock, while JPMorgan is at $68, 17.8% lower. The three average out to $79.
| Broker reference | Target | Move from $82.76 close |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan | $68.00 | -17.8% |
| BofA | $79.00 | -4.5% |
| Friday close | $82.76 | — |
| Citi | $90.00 | +8.7% |
| Simple target average | $79.00 | -4.5% |
Citi, BofA, and JPMorgan are the latest to issue targets for the shares, according to current analyst records.
Citi analyst Jon Tower said the new rewards program might be enough to drive positive traffic. He cited the chain’s “relevant/flexible menu,” more attention from younger diners and said “the mall is back.” Tower said more same-store-sales visibility could support “the valuation range re-setting higher.” Investing.com UK
Cheesecake Rewards skips points. Instead, members get reservations, a birthday slice and offers that target them. The app lets users place pickup orders, see their past orders and get alerts about rewards. What matters for investors is if that data really brings in more visits, not just shifts orders to the app.
Cheesecake Factory now trades at 24.3 times trailing earnings. That’s about 12% higher than Darden Restaurants NYSE:DRI, but about 20% below Texas Roadhouse NASDAQ:TXRH. So its valuation lands in the middle, between Darden and Texas Roadhouse.
| Company | Friday price | Market value | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheesecake Factory NASDAQ:CAKE | $82.76 | $4.01 billion | 24.3x |
| Darden Restaurants NYSE:DRI | $204.25 | $23.65 billion | 21.7x |
| Texas Roadhouse NASDAQ:TXRH | $189.50 | $12.53 billion | 30.2x |
Darden and Texas Roadhouse ended the session at the prices and valuations listed above.
But there’s a risk digital deals just shift demand around instead of growing it. In Q1, traffic at The Cheesecake Factory dropped 1.4% while the average check climbed 3.0%. North Italia saw a bigger hit with a 6% traffic decline and comps down about 2%. Other operating costs went up to 27.0% of revenue, compared with 26.6% a year ago, squeezing the budget for running more promotions.
The company is set to post fiscal Q2 earnings after Tuesday’s close on July 28, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. Investors want to see real gains in traffic, more engagement from the app, and margins at restaurants holding steady. Shares have already climbed on hopes for a rebound. This update needs to deliver.
