Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) is about to serve up its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after the market closes. And if you're hoping for comfort food, you might want to look elsewhere because the expectations aren't particularly appetizing.

Analysts are forecasting a quarterly loss of 68 cents per share, which is a dramatic swing from the 45-cent profit the company posted in the same quarter last year. Revenue estimates aren't much cheerier: the consensus sits at $802.22 million, down from $845.09 million a year earlier.

Here's the kicker: that revenue estimate would represent Cracker Barrel's lowest quarterly revenue in 15 quarters, stretching all the way back to fiscal Q3 2022 when the company brought in $790.2 million. The company has also been struggling with accuracy lately, beating analyst revenue estimates in just three of the last 10 quarters.

The Dividend Angle

Despite the challenging fundamentals, Cracker Barrel still maintains an annual dividend yield of 3.59%, paying out a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share, which totals $1.00 annually. For income-focused investors, that might be enough to keep them interested.

So let's do the math on what it actually takes to generate meaningful monthly income from this dividend. If you're targeting $500 per month, you're really aiming for $6,000 annually. Take that $6,000 and divide it by Cracker Barrel's $1.00 annual dividend, and you get 6,000 shares.

Bottom line: you'd need to own approximately $159,720 worth of Cracker Barrel stock, or 6,000 shares, to generate $500 in monthly dividend income.

If that feels steep, consider a more modest goal of $100 monthly, or $1,200 annually. Using the same calculation ($1,200 divided by $1.00), you'd need 1,200 shares, which translates to about $31,944 in capital.

Understanding Dividend Yield Dynamics

One important caveat: dividend yields aren't static. They fluctuate because both the dividend payment and the stock price move over time. The yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price, so when one of those variables changes, so does your yield.

Here's how it works: imagine a stock pays a $2 annual dividend and trades at $50, giving you a 4% yield. If the stock price climbs to $60, that same $2 dividend now yields just 3.33%. Conversely, if the price drops to $40, your yield jumps to 5%.

The dividend payment itself can also change. Companies can increase their dividends, which boosts the yield even with a stable stock price. They can also cut dividends, which tanks the yield. Given Cracker Barrel's challenging revenue trajectory and expected quarterly loss, that's worth keeping in mind.

Price Action: Shares of Cracker Barrel dropped 4.4% on Monday, closing at $26.62.