Good morning, CFOs. Cracker Barrel is updating its food, stores and more in an effort to attract diners; the U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of 2025; plus, House Republicans consider proposals to limit tax deductions for executives’ pay.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants are known for a certain aesthetic: Walls lined with antiques and tools, homestyle cooking and its signature peg game.

But the chain is nearly a year into a three-year transformation in an effort to appeal to more diners. Along with refreshing its restaurants with a brighter, more modern feel, the changes include updating the menu and simplifying cooking processes for green beans, bacon and other eats. The trick will be keeping Cracker Barrel loyalists who prefer the country feel, a view some are making known on social media, while bringing in new customers, a particularly tall order as American consumers are feeling rattled by tariff changes and renewed fears of a recession.

Cracker Barrel executives think diners will come if the chain hits the right mix of value, convenience, quality food and service and a welcoming atmosphere. “We’re working on all of those,” said Finance Chief Craig Pommells.

So far, Cracker Barrel customers and employees have generally responded well to the changes, which are in various phases of implementation. Same-store restaurant sales have been positive for three consecutive quarters, up 4.7% for the three months ended Jan. 31 compared with a year earlier. Guest traffic, however, fell, dropping 2.7% in the latest period, but has improved since the transformation plan was announced a year ago

📆 Earnings

• Airbnb
• Amazon.com
• Apple
• Eli Lilly
• Hershey
• McDonald’s
• Moderna

📈 Economic Indicators

The ISM releases its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for April.

The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of 2025, as businesses rushed to stock up on imports ahead of the Trump administration’s tariffs and consumer spending slowed.

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—fell at a seasonally and inflation adjusted 0.3% annual rate in the first quarter. That was the first contraction since the first quarter of 2022.

• The Rush to Beat Tariffs Is Distorting the Economy. There’s More to Come.
• How the New Trump Tariffs on Car Parts Will Work
• Newell Brands Sees Slower Category Growth as Consumers Digest Cost of Tariffs
• Stanley Black & Decker Raising Prices to Offset Tariff Costs
• Caterpillar Expects Tariffs to Cost Up to $350 Million This Quarter
• Chrysler-Owner Stellantis Hopes for Eventual Gains from Tariffs, but Investors Disagree
• Airbus Backs Guidance, But Warns Tariffs Are Bringing Uncertainty

• House Republicans are seriously considering proposals to further limit tax deductions that companies can take for their highest-paid workers’ compensation, expanding restrictions that now apply only to a handful of current or former executives making more than $1 million, according to people familiar with the discussions.
• The volume of Chinese goods packed in containers bound for the U.S. keeps falling as new U.S. tariffs dent demand, with the biggest ocean carriers shifting to smaller ships to move the reduced loads while other companies cancel sailings.
• Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Wednesday urged a judge to reject the “extraordinary” measures proposed by the Justice Department to curtail its dominance in online search.

📰 Other headlines

• Dow and S&P 500 End Tumultuous April With Seventh-Straight Daily Gain
• GOP Lawmakers Vote to Eliminate Accounting-Firm Watchdog
• Amazon Plans to Invest $4 Billion by 2026 to Speed Up Deliveries in Rural America
• Microsoft Flexes Muscle in Cloud, Office and Windows as Earnings Jump
• Facebook Parent Posts $42 Billion in Sales, Points to Strong Growth
• Tesla Board Opened Search for a CEO to Succeed Elon Musk
• EBay Logs Higher Quarterly Profit, Revenue; Names New CFO
• E-Commerce Sellers Brace for End of De Minimis
• Coming Soon for CEOs, a MAGA-Infused Business Association

State Street, the Boston-based banking and asset-management giant, named John Woods as chief financial officer, effective late August. Woods, who is currently CFO of Citizens Financial Group, is leaving the bank holding company at the end of the summer to join State Street. He will succeed interim finance chief Mark Keating, who will stay on as CFO of the bank’s investment services unit.

EBay, the San Jose, Calif.-based online marketplace, said Peggy Alford is taking over as chief financial officer as of May 12. Alford brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance, operations and global teams in the technology sector, the company said. She will succeed CFO Steve Priest, who is stepping down as finance chief in May and will remain in an advisory role until July 31 to facilitate a transition.

—Dean Seal and Kelly Cloonan contributed to today’s Ledger.

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