Key Highlights

● Second-quarter revenue rose 31.3 per cent year over year to $365.4 million.

● Guest traffic contributed 5.3 percentage points of 9.0 per cent same-restaurant sales growth.

● Restaurant-level profit margin slipped to 25.7 per cent from 26.3 per cent.

● The chain opened 17 net new restaurants, ending the quarter with 476 total.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA), the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain, reported fiscal second-quarter 2026 results on 11 August 2026, covering the twelve weeks ended 12 July 2026. CAVA revenue was $365.4 million, up 31.3% from $278.2 million a year earlier, within total revenue of $368.4 million. Net income was $23.0 million, up 25.3%, equal to $0.19 per diluted share, while adjusted EBITDA rose 30.0% to $54.7 million, or 14.9% of revenue. General and administrative expense was $39.8 million, or 10.8% of revenue. Year to date, net income was $46.6 million. Market data put consensus expectations at $0.18 per share and revenue of $353 million, meaning the company beat both. Consensus figures are the view of one data provider and not an official benchmark.

Traffic, pricing and margin

Same restaurant sales rose 9.0%, with guest traffic contributing 5.3 percentage points and menu price and product mix 3.7 points. Traffic-led growth is generally regarded as higher quality than growth driven by price alone, though that is an editorial judgement rather than a company claim. Restaurant-level profit was $93.8 million, up 28.1%, but the margin slipped 60 basis points to 25.7% from 26.3%. According to market data, food, beverage and packaging costs rose 50 basis points as a share of revenue to 30%, mainly because of salmon costs. Labour rose 30 basis points to 25.3% after a wage investment, and other operating expenses rose 40 basis points to 12.8% on a higher share of third-party delivery.

Expansion and balance sheet

The chain opened 17 net new restaurants in the quarter and ended with 476, up 19.6% from 398 a year earlier. Average unit volume was about $3.1 million against $2.9 million. Digital sales made up 39.0% of revenue. For the first 28 weeks, operating cash flow was $134.5 million and purchases of property and equipment were $89.7 million, leaving free cash flow of $44.8 million. Cash and equivalents were $322.8 million at the quarter end, with a further $112.8 million of investments at fair value.

Traffic Growth Outpaces Cost Control

CAVA's same-restaurant sales growth is led by genuine traffic gains rather than price increases alone, generally regarded as the higher-quality driver of the two, but rising salmon, labour and delivery costs pushed restaurant-level margin lower even as profit grew. With the estate expanding by nearly a fifth a year and management signalling no near-term plans to raise prices, margin recovery will likely depend on cost relief or productivity gains rather than the pricing lever, a dynamic worth watching alongside the company's reaffirmed 2026 guidance.