Shares of Cava Group (NYSE:CAVA) were soaring today after the fast-casual restaurant chain delivered another strong earnings report with impressive growth on the top and bottom lines.
As of 9:51 a.m. ET, Cava stock was up 14.1% on the news.

Image source: Cava.
Cava shines again
Cava said that comparable sales surged 14.4% in the period, driven by 9.5% traffic growth.
That drove revenue up 35.2% to $231.4 million, which was ahead of estimates of $219.5 million.
Cava continues to expand its footprint as well: It added 18 restaurants to bring its grand total to 341, up 22% from a year ago.
The company also showed off strong margin improvement as its restaurant-level profit margin improved to 26.5% from 26.1% in the quarter a year ago. Margins benefited from leverage from higher sales. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) nearly tripled, from $12.7 million to $34.3 million, and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income tripled to $19.7 million, or $0.17 a share, which beat the consensus of $0.12.
CEO Brett Schulman said, "Our results in the second quarter continued to demonstrate the strength of our category-defining brand and our unique and compelling value proposition." He also talked up the addition of grilled steak to the menu, saying, "Grilled steak is significantly outperforming our expectations and giving guests another reason to visit Cava and come back more often."
Can Cava keep gaining?
Cava also hiked its full-year guidance substantially. It now sees comparable sales growth of 8.5%-9.5%, up from a prior range of 4.5%-6.5%, as well as an increase in restaurant-level profit margin and adjusted EBITDA.
The numbers show that Cava is executing at a high level with average unit volumes and restaurant-level profit margins that rival Chipotle's.
The stock is expensive, but Cava has proven it deserves a premium. While its valuation presents some risk, the restaurant stock continues to look like a long-term winner.
Should you invest $1,000 in Cava Group right now?
Before you buy stock in Cava Group, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cava Group wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $758,227!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of August 22, 2024
Jeremy Bowman has positions in Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends Cava Group and recommends the following options: short September 2024 $52 puts on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.