Cava Group Posts Strong Results, But Outlook Holds Back Stock

Bill McColl

Fri, May 16, 2025, 6:48 AM 2 min read

• Cava Group bushed first-quarter nett and income estimates, but its outlook wasn't arsenic beardown arsenic immoderate had anticipated.

• The Mediterranean edifice concatenation kept its same-restaurant income maturation and restaurant-level nett borderline unchanged from its erstwhile outlook, and it sees costs higher.

• Co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman said the institution faced economical uncertainty and challenging upwind successful the quarter.

Cava Group (CAVA) shares fell Friday, a time aft the Mediterranean fast-casual chain's outlook offset better-than-expected results.

The institution didn't alteration its estimates for full-year same-restaurant income maturation (6.0% to 8.0%) and restaurant-level profit margin (24.8% to 25.2%) from the guidance it gave successful February. It besides raised its prediction for pre-opening costs to $14.5 cardinal to $15.5 cardinal from $14.0 cardinal to $15.0 million.

However, it did summation its outlooks for nett caller Cava edifice openings to a scope of 64 to 68 from 62 to 66, and adjusted EBITDA to $152.0 cardinal to $159.0 cardinal from $150.0 cardinal to $157.0 million.

In the archetypal quarter, Cava reported net per stock of $0.22 connected gross that surged 28% year-over-year to $331.8 million. Both were supra Visible Alpha forecasts. Same-restaurant income grew 10.8%, besides supra estimates, and postulation roseate 7.5%.

Co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman said the show showed the continuing spot of the company's category-defining brand, "in spite of economical uncertainty and challenging weather."

In a enactment to clients, JPMorgan analysts remained bullish connected Cava, affirming their caller re-upgrade of the banal with a "buy present and ain for the agelong term" opinion. They added the institution was "comping good successful a hard environment."

Including Friday morning's 3% decline, shares of Cava Group are astir 15% little successful 2025.

Read the archetypal nonfiction connected Investopedia