Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH-A)

Price$1,785.49Cached quoteAs of 2026-10-02 13:27 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkA modest asset discount offsets costly debt and currently weak underlying profits.

Applying the observed quote to the second quarter’s 252,420 average outside Class A-equivalent shares implies equity worth about $465 million. That is roughly 86% of June book equity of $543.8 million. However, $521.4 million of cash and investments sits against $289.3 million of debt, leaving about $232 million net. The remaining valuation for the operating businesses is roughly 12 times 2025 earnings before tax of $18.8 million, while first-half 2026 produced only $2.1 million. The discount therefore supports a Fair-priced verdict, not a clear bargain.

Big pictureReported profits swing with investments, while underlying cash is less dependable than it appears.

Net income swung from a $54.9 million profit in 2023 to losses of $3.8 million in 2024 and $37.5 million in 2025, largely because investment values flow through earnings. Free cash flow—cash left after running and investing in the business—was $76.6 million in 2025, but the filing says $56 million of partnership distributions drove most of the cash-flow improvement. The first-half 2026 equivalent fell to $21.6 million from $45.9 million. Earnings before tax from operations also declined from $43.2 million in 2023 to $18.8 million in 2025.

Business strengthSteak n Shake is growing sales again, but leverage consumes much of business profit.

First-half revenue rose 5.3% to $206.0 million. In the second quarter, sales at established company-operated Steak n Shake restaurants rose 11.9%, partner sales rose 14.5%, and partner fees increased 14.8%. Insurance underwriting remained profitable. Oil and gas revenue rose 50% in the quarter, but that business depends on commodity prices and benefited from a $4.8 million property-sale gain. Current assets of $383.9 million comfortably exceeded current liabilities of $156.9 million. However, cash fell to $68.4 million, while first-half interest expense of $11.2 million nearly erased operating profit.

What could change the storySustained restaurant gains and better capital discipline could unlock value; weaker returns would erase the discount.

The bull case requires earnings before tax from operations to recover toward 2023’s $43.2 million while debt declines; that would make the investment cushion and book-value discount attractive. The bear case is sales growth failing to cover food costs, which rose to 33.3% of company-store sales from 30.2%, and the heavier interest bill. Capital allocation is decisive: first-quarter share issuance raised $14.9 million but increased legal Class A-equivalent shares about 1.2%. Investments in chief-executive-controlled funds also face rolling five-year locks and a potential 25% fee on returns exceeding a 6% hurdle.

AI: News

Second-quarter reboundCore profit recovered from the first-quarter loss, while investment gains still dominated reported earnings.

On August 7, Biglari reported second-quarter revenue of $108.5 million, up 7.9% from a year earlier. Earnings before tax from operations and excluding investment swings rose to $6.3 million from $3.7 million. Net earnings were $39.9 million, down from $50.9 million because investment gains were smaller. Steak n Shake’s combined same-store sales—sales at established locations—rose 13.8%. The rebound from the first quarter’s $4.1 million operating loss matters, although first-half operating earnings remained only $2.1 million.

Restaurant momentum continuedSteak n Shake reported faster partner sales growth, extending the chain’s turnaround signal.

On September 9, Steak n Shake said franchise-partner same-store sales were up 19% from a year earlier so far in the third quarter. The claim was made on social media, has not been verified in a regulatory filing, and covers an unfinished quarter. It follows filed second-quarter growth of 14.5%. Higher partner sales can increase Biglari’s profit share and fees without adding the full costs of company-operated restaurants. The chain associated the improvement with accepting bitcoin, but available evidence does not isolate that effect from menu, product, or marketing changes.

Conflicting share movesBiglari issued shares while its affiliated fund bought stock, creating mixed effects for outside owners.

Between May 12 and May 14, The Lion Fund bought 52,674 Class B shares for about $13.4 million, according to an SEC ownership filing. Because Biglari Holdings owns most of the fund interests, its proportional company shares receive treasury-stock treatment, reducing the adjusted share count used for earnings. Separately, Biglari sold 4,312 Class A and 14,500 Class B shares during the first quarter, raising $14.9 million and increasing legal Class A-equivalent shares about 1.2%. Fund buying can concentrate value per remaining share; corporate issuance works in the opposite direction.

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Revenue

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2025

Net income

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Revenue	$395.3M	$362.1M	$365.3M	$368.2M	$366.1M	$433.7M	$668.8M	$775.7M	—	—
Gross profit	$233.9M	$218.7M	$227.3M	$228.0M	$198.6M	$187.0M	$167.9M	$139.2M	—	—
Gross margin	59.19%	60.39%	62.23%	61.91%	54.25%	43.13%	25.10%	17.95%	—	—
Operating expenses	$376.5M	$329.5M	$322.1M	$331.9M	$341.2M	$444.5M	$691.8M	$833.5M	—	—
Operating income	$18.8M	$32.6M	$43.2M	$36.3M	$24.9M	−$10.8M	−$23.0M	−$57.9M	—	—
Operating margin	4.75%	8.99%	11.82%	9.86%	6.80%	−2.49%	−3.44%	−7.46%	—	—
EBITDA	$59.6M	$72.4M	$82.2M	$72.8M	$55.0M	$21.4M	$6.6M	−$38.5M	—	—
EBITDA margin	15.07%	20.00%	22.49%	19.76%	15.01%	4.94%	0.98%	−4.97%	—	—
Net income	−$37.5M	−$3.8M	$54.9M	−$32.0M	$35.5M	−$38.0M	$45.4M	$19.4M	$50.1M	$99.5M
Net profit margin	−9.48%	−1.04%	15.04%	−8.70%	9.69%	−8.76%	6.78%	2.50%	—	—
Basic EPSper basic share	-$143.85	-$13.45	$189.50	-$107.45	—	—	—	—	—	—
Diluted EPSper diluted share	-$143.86	-$13.45	$189.49	-$107.43	$111.83	-$110.05	$131.64	—	—	—

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Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

73.15%of listed shares

BIGLARI CAPITAL CORP.154.47K shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of BH-A
Holder	% owned
BIGLARI CAPITAL CORP.	73.15%154.47K shares
GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. ET AL	5.23%11.04K shares
RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC	2.87%6.07K shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	2.72%5.75K shares
BlackRock, Inc.	2.56%5.41K shares
JANE STREET GROUP, LLC	2.39%5.05K shares
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP	2.12%4.48K shares
UBS Group AG	1.56%3.3K shares
CHECK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC/CA	1.48%3.12K shares
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC	1.30%2.75K shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	1.15%2.44K shares
MARSHALL WACE, LLP	1.06%2.24K shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	0.89%1.89K shares
GABELLI FUNDS LLC	0.74%1.56K shares
DARK FOREST CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP	0.51%1.07K shares
XTX Topco Ltd	0.46%969 shares
STATE STREET CORP	0.41%875 shares
NORTHERN TRUST CORP	0.21%446 shares
STRS OHIO	0.19%400 shares
Balyasny Asset Management L.P.	0.19%395 shares