Cava earnings update

Cava slows full year growth outlook after a weaker quarter while expanding its investment in Hyphen

Cava trims full year growth forecast after soft Q2 earnings

Cava reported a mixed second quarter. net income was 18.4 million, or 16 cents per share, down from 19.7 million a year earlier. revenue reached 280.6 million, slightly below the 285.6 million analysts had expected. net restaurant sales climbed 20 percent to 278.2 million, helped by new openings. same store sales rose 2.1 percent, well short of the 6.1 percent growth Wall Street anticipated, and traffic was described as roughly flat. cfo tricia tolivar noted the quarter began strong but growth slowed after the one year mark of the grilled steak offering. Cava kept its full year guidance for adjusted ebitda at 152 to 159 million and restaurant-level margins of 24.8 to 25.2 percent. the company also confirmed a 25 million series B investment in Hyphen, a maker of automated portioning tech, led by Chipotle.

The results underscore a persistent pattern in fast casual: growth is harder to sustain as the market cools and competition intensifies. Cava bucked a trend of same store sales declines this quarter but still faced slower momentum than many investors expected. The Hyphen investment signals a shift toward automation as a way to protect margins and speed up service during peak digital hours, yet it also adds cost and execution risk. In short, the company bets on efficiency to support a slower sales environment while trying to preserve earnings power.

Highlights

The road ahead will test whether efficiency can compensate for slower top line growth