La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) announced its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, February 17. Despite the residential furniture retailer beating quarterly revenue estimates, the company’s stock dropped 6% following the report’s release.

The company posted quarterly sales of $541.6 million, up 4% from $521.8 million reported during the same quarter last year. Third quarter sales exceeded analysts’ expectations of $535.6 million.

“Our strong third quarter results are proof that we continue to strengthen our enterprise and increase the agility of our business,” said La-Z-Boy CEO, Melinda D. Whittington. “Amid the ongoing challenging consumer environment, we continue to create our own momentum, led by Retail expansion through both acquired and new stores, driving double-digit sales growth in our written and delivered business in the quarter.”

For the quarter, La-Z-Boy reported net income of $21.7 million or $0.52 per adjusted share. This was a decrease from net income of $28.4 million or $0.68 per adjusted share in the same quarter last year.

The Michigan-based company, known for its recliners, sofas and chairs, reported a decrease in same-store sales of 4% as stores experienced fewer customers. The decline was partially offset by higher conversion rates, average ticket and design sales. Delivered sales in the retail segment increased by 11% to $252 million in the third quarter. Wholesale sales rose by 1% to $367 million, attributed to higher sales in its core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business. The company expects revenue for the fourth quarter to be between $560 million to $580 million.

La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) shares ended the week at $37.02, down 4.3% for the week.

The Cheesecake Factory Serves Up Earnings

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE) released its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Wednesday, February 18. The restaurant chain reported a decrease in comparable restaurant sales, resulting in shares dipping by over 7%.

The Cheesecake Factory posted quarterly revenue of $961.6 million. This was up from $921.0 million reported at the same time last year and above analysts’ expectations of $948.4 million. For the full year, revenue reached $3.8 billion, up from $3.6 billion reported in fiscal 2024.

“We delivered solid fourth quarter and full-year results in 2025, generating record annual revenue supported by 25 new restaurant openings for the year,” said The Cheesecake Factory CEO, David Overton. “Despite a more challenging operating environment across the restaurant industry, including weather-related impacts, revenue for the quarter finished within our expected range.”

For the fourth quarter, The Cheesecake Factory reported net income of $28.8 million or $0.60 per adjusted share. This was down from net income of $41.2 million or $0.83 per adjusted share reported at this time last year. Full-year net income was $148.4 million, down from $156.8 million reported last year.

The Cheesecake Factory’s comparable restaurant sales in the fourth quarter decreased 2.2% year-over-year. The company opened seven new restaurants, including two Cheesecake Factory locations, two North Italia restaurants and three FRC restaurants. The company finished with a total of 25 new restaurants in fiscal 2025 and expects to open as many as 26 new restaurants in fiscal 2026. Currently, the company has a total of 368 restaurants. The company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share payable on March 17, 2026, to stockholders of record on March 4, 2026.

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE) shares closed at $63.54, up 6.3% for the week.

Jack in the Box Reports Quarterly Earnings

Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) reported its first quarter earnings on Wednesday, February 18. The company reported quarterly revenue that missed expectations, resulting in its shares falling 3.5% following the release of the report.

The company reported revenue of $349.5 million for the quarter, missing analysts’ expected revenue of $367.1 million. Quarterly revenue was down from $371.1 million reported at the same time last year.

“Our results for the quarter were in line with our expectations,” said Jack in the Box CEO, Lance Tucker.  “We remain focused on the fundamentals, simplifying the business, and delivering on our 'JACK on Track' commitments as we build a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.”

The company reported a net loss of $2.5 million for the quarter or $0.13 per adjusted share. This is compared to net income of $33.7 million or $1.75 per adjusted share during the same quarter last year.

Jack in the Box reported that same-store sales decreased 6.7% during the quarter. The decline in sales was attributable to fewer transactions but partially offset by an increase in price. During the first quarter, the company reported a decrease in net restaurant count with six restaurant openings and 14 closures. Currently, the company has a total of 2,128 locations, a decline from 2,190 locations in the same quarter last year. The company reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance and expects same-store sales to be in the range from a 1% decline to a 1% increase.

Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) shares ended the week at $16.80, down 19% for the week.

The Dow started the holiday week of 2/17 at 49,525 and closed at 49,626 on 2/20. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,820 and ended at 6,910. The NASDAQ started the week at 22,395 and finished at 22,886.

Treasury yields rose early in the week as investors reviewed the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting which revealed a consensus on holding rates steady. Yields increased later in the week as markets reacted to the latest unemployment data which provided a positive outlook for the labor market.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) latest meeting, where Fed officials agreed to keep interest rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%. At the meeting, policymakers were largely in agreement regarding holding rates steady in January but were split on whether any further interest rate adjustments will be needed if inflation remains elevated.

“Some participants commented that it would likely be appropriate to hold the policy rate steady for some time as the Committee carefully assesses incoming data, and a number of these participants judged that additional policy easing may not be warranted until there was clear indication that the progress of disinflation was firmly back on track,” the FOMC minutes said.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of February 17 at 4.05% and traded as high as 4.11% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.70% and traded as high as 4.74% on Thursday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased by 23,000 to 206,000 for the week ending February 14, below economists’ expectations of 225,000. Continuing claims increased by 17,000 to 1.87 million.

“We appear to be in a low hire, low fire environment which is unusual, but it also shows that the economy is not falling off a cliff,” said chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, Chris Zaccarelli.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of February 17 at 4.09% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.73%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, February 19. The survey showed the 30-year mortgage rate decreasing to the lowest level in almost four years.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.01%, down from last week’s average of 6.09%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.85%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.35% this week, down from last week’s 5.44%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.04%.

“Mortgage rates dropped again this week, now down to their lowest level since September of 2022,” said chief economist at Freddie Mac, Sam Khater. “This lower rate environment is not only improving affordability for prospective homebuyers, it is also strengthening the financial position of homeowners. Over the past year, refinance application activity has more than doubled, enabling many recent buyers to reduce their annual mortgage payments by thousands of dollars.”

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.39% as of 2/17. The one-year CD averaged 1.55%.

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