CAVA Group Stock Slides On Q4 Earnings Miss, But Retail Stays Upbeat

Shares of CAVA Group Inc. (CAVA) dropped more than 4% on Tuesday after the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain reported a fourth-quarter earnings miss, but retail sentiment stayed upbeat.

CAVA stock rose 1.71% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

For Q4, CAVA’s earnings per share came in at $0.05, missing estimates of $0.07.

CAVA revenue grew 28.3% to $225.1 million in the prior year quarter, with same restaurant sales growth of 21.2%. Wall Street analysts had expected $223.35 million for Q4 revenue.  

The increase in CAVA’s revenue was driven by 77 new restaurant openings during or subsequent to the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023.

Fourth-quarter adjusted net income stood at $6.5 million compared to $2 million in the same period in 2023, driven by higher operating performance.

“2024 was another year of extraordinary growth and success for CAVA as we established Mediterranean as the next major cultural cuisine category and delivered our unique value proposition, that is clearly resonating with modern consumers,” said CAVA’s co-founder and CEO, Brett Schulman.

In 2024, CAVA’s same restaurant sales grew 13.4% in 2024, including traffic growth of nearly 9%. The company also opened 58 new restaurants and launched a new grilled steak main that exceeded its expectations, Schulman added.

For 2025, it expects same restaurant sales growth between 6% and 8%. It is also targeting 62 to 66 new restaurants.

Sentiment on Stocktwits inched up in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone from a week ago. Message volume moved up to the ‘extremely high’ territory from ‘high.’

CAVA stock is down 12% year-to-date.

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