Cava reports juicy earnings as steak launch, sales growth pushes stock to all-time high

Cava ( CAVA ) is serving up some savory numbers for its investors.

After the market close on Thursday, the Mediterranean fast-casual chain reported second quarter results that beat estimates across revenue, earnings, and same-store sales.

Net sales jumped 35.2% year over year to $233.5 million, compared to expectations of $219 million. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.17, versus the $0.13 expected.

Same-store sales jumped 14.4%, more than the 7.45% Wall Street expected. Sales growth was driven by higher foot traffic (up 9.5% year over year), an increase in menu price, new locations, and the launch of grilled steak on June 3.

CEO Brett Schulman said on the earnings call that the steak launch surpassed its expectations by a landslide. The company is at the "nexus of consumer convergence" as consumers trade down from fine-dining restaurants but trade up from fast food.

"At a time when consumers are increasingly feeling the pressure of an uncertain economy and are more discerning about where and how they spend their money, they are choosing to dine at Cava," he said.

Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan said it expects "accelerating two-year transaction trends, led most importantly by the launch of steak."

On Wednesday, Cava stock hit a record-high close of $102.39, and on Thursday, it hit an intraday high of $104.84. In after-hours trading, shares jumped to as much as $112.

Shares are up 137% year to date, compared to 17% for both Chipotle ( CMG ) and the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ).

Slow and steady is Cava's go-to approach to expansion. By 2032, the company plans to have 1,000 Cava locations.

Citi analyst Jon Tower said there's still room left for growth in a note to clients. "A unit growth opportunity that continues to re-set higher, discrete same-store sales, price, and margin opportunities as the system densifies and margin tailwinds as the footprint shifts towards lower cost markets."

In Q2, Cava opened 18 new locations, bringing the total to 341. That's compared to 14 new locations in Q1.

Schulman said within existing markets, there is still runway to build more brand awareness. Other future growth drivers include the relaunch of its loyalty program in October and catering.

The company aims to market test catering in major metros in 2025 and launch it on a national scale in 2026.

It currently has 10 digital kitchen hubs and 10 hybrid kitchen hubs in various locations, as well as regular Cava locations that are testing catering.

Cava continues to perform at a time when fast-casual dining seems to be bucking a broader slowdown across the food industry as consumers double down on value .

"Cava was one of just a handful of publicly traded restaurant brands with positive traffic growth in the second quarter," Schulman said. "We believe our performance is a reflection of our unique and compelling value proposition."

He added that from 2019 to 2023, the company raised prices 12%. He emphasized that's less than fast food price increases and grocery price increases overall, per CPI data.

"Now you've got a situation where for $1 or $2 more ... you can get a bowl of fresh Mediterranean food for the same price as a traditional fast food freezer-to-fryer meal," he said.

Chipotle blew past expectations in its report after same-store sales jumped 11.1% year over year, versus the 9.23% Wall Street anticipated. Shake Shack ( SHAK ) saw same-store sales climb 4%, beating estimates of 3.2%.

Sweetgreen ( SG ) reported its best same-store sales growth in two years, up 9%, driven by higher foot traffic and prices.

Its CEO, Jonathan Neman, told Yahoo Finance that "we're going to be very judicious in how we use it [pricing power]." Neman claimed the chain took fewer price hikes than its rivals since the pandemic.

"As you look at the relative pricing difference between Sweetgreen, some of our fast-casual competitors and then QSR, the gap has really narrowed. QSR, you can't get in and out of there for under $15 today," he told Yahoo Finance.

Here's what Cava reported, compared to Wall Street estimates, per Bloomberg consensus data:

The company raised its fiscal 2024 outlook for restaurant openings, sales growth, and restaurant-level profit margin.

It now expects sales growth of 8.5% to 9.5%, up from 4.5% to 6.5% in Q1 and its previous guidance of 3% to 5%.

The total number of new restaurants will now be between 54 and 57, up from 50 to 54. The restaurant-level profit margin is expected to be between 24.2% and 24.7%, up from 23.7% to 24.3%.

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BrookeDiPalma