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Pedestrians carry Cava baggage alongside Wall Road close to the New York Inventory Trade (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Cava on Tuesday reduce its full-year forecast for the second straight quarter as youthful customers go to its eating places much less continuously.
“Whenever you take a look at completely different age demographics of quick informal, the 25- to 34-year-old client appears to be impacted a bit greater than others, and quick informal tends to have a better focus of these customers inside their visitor portfolio,” CFO Tricia Tolivar mentioned in an interview, including that the corporate noticed demand fall because it entered the ultimate quarter of the 12 months.
She attributed the pullback from youthful customers to the demographic’s increased unemployment fee, plus a better chance of going through the coed mortgage repayments that resumed within the spring. Furthermore, tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump “created an total fog for the patron,” in line with Tolivar.
Quick-casual rival Chipotle Mexican Grill reported related habits from the identical age cohort when it launched its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
For 2025, Cava is now projecting that its same-store gross sales will improve 3% to 4%, down from its prior outlook of 4% to six% development. The corporate additionally expects decrease restaurant-level revenue margins, lowering its projections to a variety of 24.4% to 24.8%, down from the earlier forecast of 24.8% to 25.2%.
Cava shares fell 5% in prolonged buying and selling. As of Tuesday’s shut, the inventory has tumbled 54% this 12 months.
Here is what the corporate reported for the quarter ended Oct. 5 in contrast with what Wall Road was anticipating, based mostly on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 12 cents adjusted, consistent with expectations
- Income: $292.2 million vs. $292.6 million anticipated
Cava’s same-store gross sales rose 1.9%, falling wanting Wall Road’s expectations of two.8%, in line with StreetAccount estimates. The chain’s site visitors was flat in contrast with the year-ago interval, however menu value will increase and a better mixture of premium protein choices boosted gross sales.
Regardless of slower same-store gross sales development, Cava is gaining market share, in line with Tolivar. That truth suggests that customers who’re 25- to 34-years previous could also be cooking at dwelling or packing their lunches, moderately than buying and selling right down to quick meals.
“It seems that the patron is being extra considerate round their eating events, and the way continuously they’re doing that,” Tolivar mentioned.
Not like Chipotle and the broader restaurant business, Cava is seeing increased same-store gross sales development from low-income customers; Tolivar credited the chain’s option to preserve its menu costs under inflation, presenting a extra reasonably priced choice for budget-conscious customers.
Cava’s web gross sales climbed 20% to $292.2 million, fueled by new restaurant openings. Because the third quarter of final 12 months, Cava has opened a web 74 places, bringing its complete footprint as much as 415, as of Oct. 5.
The Mediterranean chain reported fiscal third-quarter web earnings of $14.7 million, or 12 cents per share, down from $18 million, or 15 cents per share, a 12 months earlier.
Excluding govt transition prices and different objects, Cava earned 12 cents per share.
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