Restaurant chain CAVA Group beats Q1 revenue expectations

CAVA

19/05/2026 21:23

Overview

Mediterranean fast-casual chain's fiscal Q1 revenue beats analyst expectations

Same restaurant sales up 9.7%, driven by 6.8% guest traffic growth

Net income declined yr/yr due to lower tax benefit and higher depreciation

Outlook

CAVA Group raises 2026 net new restaurant openings forecast to 75-77 from 74-76

Company increases 2026 same restaurant sales guidance to 4.5%-6.5% from 3.0%-5.0%

CAVA Group expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $181 mln to $191 mln, up from prior $176 mln to $184 mln

Result Drivers

NEW RESTAURANT OPENINGS - Revenue growth was primarily driven by 92 net new restaurant openings during or after the prior year's Q1, with 20 net new openings in the quarter

GUEST TRAFFIC - Same restaurant sales rose 9.7%, with 6.8% growth from increased guest traffic

MENU PRICE AND PRODUCT MIX - Menu price increases and product mix contributed 2.9% to same restaurant sales growth

Company press release: ID:nBw94cdppa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Revenue
Beat
$438.27 mln
$411.01 mln (19 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$0.20
Q1 Net Income
$23.57 mln
Q1 Income from Operations
$25.26 mln
Q1 Pretax Profit
$30.04 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 16 "strong buy" or "buy", 13 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for CAVA Group Inc is $86.50, about 8.3% above its May 18 closing price of $79.89

The stock recently traded at 132 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 107 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)