At a glance
CAVA Group, Inc. is worth $6.34B, about 101 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 22.4% to $1.18B in fiscal 2025, with 5.4% kept as profit; over 4 years it has grown 23.9% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $11.7M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −12.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested, against +11.5% for the S&P 500.
The business in plain English
CAVA Group runs a chain of Mediterranean restaurants in the fast-casual style, meaning counter-service dining a step above fast food. Guests choose a chef-designed bowl or pita, or build their own from 38 ingredients. As of December 28, 2025, CAVA owned and operated 439 restaurants in 28 states and Washington, D.C. The first opened in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2011. The company says its guests span ages and incomes, with a strong Millennial and growing Gen Z following.
CAVA earns money by selling those meals. Guests order at the counter, through the CAVA app and website, or for delivery. As of that date, 75 locations also offered drive-thru pick-up. CAVA owns its restaurants rather than franchising them. That means it keeps all the sales but also pays all the costs, including wages for about 12,900 restaurant workers. It makes its own dips, spreads and dressing bases at plants in Laurel, Maryland, and Verona, Virginia. It also sells dips, spreads and dressings in grocery stores.
Revenue reached $1.18 billion in fiscal 2025, up 22.4% from the year before. In the quarter ended July 12, 2026, revenue rose 31.3% from a year earlier to $368.4 million. CAVA added 72 net new restaurants in fiscal 2025. It sees room for more than 1,000 in the United States by 2032.
Price history
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CAVA -12.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jul 12, 2026), revenue was $368.4M, up 31.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $23.0M (+25.3%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.18B (+22.4% year over year; +23.9% a year from FY2021 to FY2025) with a 5.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2025) | +23.9% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.7% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.2% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 8.2% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 4.7% watch |
| Cash and investments | $322.8M (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $500.1M | $-37.4M | $-52.9M |
| FY2022 | $564.1M | $-59.0M | $-98.1M |
| FY2023 | $728.7M | $13.3M | $-41.7M |
| FY2024 | $963.7M | $130.3M | $52.9M |
| FY2025 | $1.18B | $63.7M | $26.1M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $6.34B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 100.5 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
CAVA Group’s market value went from $4.88B at the end of 2023 to $6.34B on Oct 28, 2026, up 30%; since the end of 2025 it is down 7%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $6.34B | -6.9% |
| 2025 | $6.81B | -47.3% |
| 2024 | $12.92B | +164.7% |
| 2023 | $4.88B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAVA price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -7.6% | -12.7% | +19.7% | — | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -7.6% |
| 2025 | -48.0% |
| 2024 | +162.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 6 open-market purchases ($1.1M) and 13 sales ($279.3M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | Participations S.a r.l. Artal Director | sell | $270.9M |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Brett Schulman CEO and President, Director | sell | $3.0M |
| Jun 17, 2026 | Kelly Costanza Chief People Officer | sell | $1.1M |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Karen Kochevar Director | sell | $900K |
| May 21, 2026 | Kelly Costanza Chief People Officer | sell | $799K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Artal Participations S.a r.l | 8.3% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 7.9% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| AllianceBernstein L.P. | 5.7% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Artal Participations S.a r.l. | 5.6% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| FMR LLC | 5.1% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Capital Research Global Investors | 1.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CAVA
| IPO Renaissance IPO ETF | 5.29% |
| FLCG Federated Hermes MDT Large Cap Growth ETF | 0.59% |
| TMFX Motley Fool Next Index ETF | 0.59% |
| PJFG PGIM Jennison Focused Growth ETF | 0.59% |
| IQSM NYLI Candriam U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF | 0.47% |
| MDYG SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF | 0.44% |
| JSMD Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF | 0.43% |
| IJK iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF | 0.41% |
What could go wrong
- Growth depends on opening many new restaurants. CAVA added 72 net new restaurants in fiscal 2025 and sees room for more than 1,000 by 2032. Construction delays, weak sites or new stores pulling sales from nearby CAVAs could slow growth.
- Heavy reliance on two production plants. CAVA makes its dips, spreads and dressing bases at two plants, in Laurel, Maryland, and Verona, Virginia. Trouble at either plant, or supplier shortages, could disrupt many restaurants and grocery sales at once.
- Rivals could copy the Mediterranean concept. CAVA expects more competitors as the Mediterranean food category grows, and some may copy its menu and concept. Larger chains also have more money to spend on discounts and marketing.
- Thin profit margins under cost pressure. Operating margin (profit from operations per dollar of sales) was 4.7% in fiscal 2025. If CAVA cannot raise prices enough to cover higher food, labor and energy costs, that thin cushion could shrink.
- A food-safety scare could hit every location. Every restaurant carries the CAVA name and uses centrally made ingredients. So a food-borne illness outbreak at one site could drive guests away from many locations.
- A pricey stock with big swings. As of October 28, 2026, shares cost about 100 times fiscal 2025 earnings per share. The stock fell 48% in 2025 and has dropped as much as 71% from a peak.
Recent events
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
CAVA pays no dividend. Its annual report, filed February 25, 2026, says it has no plans to pay cash dividends. Shareholders earn a return only if the share price rises, so drawing cash from the stock means selling shares. Share buybacks have been small, about $11.7 million over fiscal 2021 to 2025. The share count rose 2.8% between August 11, 2023, and August 4, 2026. Free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business, was $26.1 million in fiscal 2025.
As of October 28, 2026, the shares had traded for only about 3.4 years. So they have no record from the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID crash or the 2022 bear market. Swings since then have been large: the stock gained 162% in 2024, lost 48% in 2025 and has fallen as much as 71% from a peak. Single stocks like CAVA carry more risk than diversified funds, which spread money across many companies.
Questions investors ask
How does CAVA make money?
CAVA makes money by selling Mediterranean bowls, pitas and other menu items in the 439 restaurants it owned and operated as of December 28, 2025. Guests order at the counter, through the CAVA app and website, or for delivery, and 75 locations offered drive-thru pick-up. CAVA also makes its own dips, spreads and dressing bases at two plants. It sells dips, spreads and dressings in grocery stores too. Revenue was $1.18 billion in fiscal 2025, up 22.4%.
Is CAVA profitable?
Yes, but its margins are thin. CAVA earned $63.7 million in fiscal 2025, or $0.54 per share, on $1.18 billion of revenue. That was down 51.1% from $130.3 million in fiscal 2024, even though revenue grew 22.4%. Operating margin, the share of sales left after the costs of running the business, was 4.7%. CAVA lost money in fiscal 2021 and 2022 and first turned a profit in fiscal 2023. In the quarter ended July 12, 2026, net income rose 25.3% to $23.0 million.
How many CAVA restaurants are there?
CAVA owned and operated 439 restaurants in 28 states and Washington, D.C., as of December 28, 2025. It added 72 net new restaurants (openings minus closures) in fiscal 2025. It believes there is room for more than 1,000 in the United States by 2032. Its production plants are expected to support at least 750 restaurants. The company warns that its growth rate in percentage terms should slow as it gets bigger. It also says construction delays have pushed back some openings.
Does CAVA pay a dividend?
No. CAVA paid no dividends from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025. Its annual report, filed February 25, 2026, says it has no plans to pay cash dividends, so any return comes from the share price. Share buybacks have also been small, about $11.7 million over those five years. That compares with a stock market value of about $6.3 billion as of October 28, 2026. Investors who need regular income could get cash from this holding only by selling shares.
Are CAVA insiders selling stock?
Yes. Insider sales have far outweighed purchases. Insider filings for the year to October 29, 2026, show at least 13 sales worth about $279.3 million and six purchases worth about $1.1 million. The largest was a $270.9 million sale on June 15, 2026, by Artal Participations, a large shareholder listed as a director. Its reported stake fell from 8.3% at the end of 2024 to 5.6% by June 30, 2026. CEO Brett Schulman sold about $3.0 million of stock the same day.