CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) Stock Price & How to Invest
Short answer
You can invest in CAVA Group (CAVA) by buying shares or fractional shares at any major broker, through an ETF that holds it, or as one holding in a thematic basket. CAVA is a fast-casual restaurant chain serving Mediterranean bowls, pitas, and salads from company-owned locations, and it makes money by opening new units and growing sales at existing ones. The thesis is that CAVA is an early-stage growth story (often framed as a potential next Chipotle) with a long runway to expand from roughly 440 restaurants toward 1,000-plus across the United States. The biggest risk is its rich valuation: the stock trades at a very high price-to-earnings multiple, so any slowdown in traffic, sales, or expansion can hit the price hard.
CAVA stock price
As of 2026-06-26, CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) last closed at $83.40, up 7.1% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $43.59 and $97.39.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or CAVA Group, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) do?
CAVA Group operates a fast-casual restaurant chain built around Mediterranean food, where guests build bowls and pitas from proteins, grains, dips, and toppings in an assembly-line format similar to Chipotle. The company owns and operates its restaurants directly rather than franchising, which means it captures the full restaurant-level economics but also carries the cost and capital of every new build. CAVA makes money primarily from restaurant sales, and the metrics that matter most are average unit volumes (how much each location sells per year), restaurant-level profit margin, same-restaurant sales growth, and the pace of new openings. It also sells a line of dips and spreads in grocery stores, though restaurants drive the vast majority of revenue.
CAVA traces its roots to a single Washington, D.C. area restaurant and scaled rapidly after acquiring Zoes Kitchen in 2018 for roughly $300 million, converting many of those locations into CAVA units. The company went public on the NYSE in June 2023, pricing its IPO at $22 per share and nearly doubling on its first day of trading. In fiscal 2025 CAVA crossed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time, reporting about $1.17 billion in revenue (up roughly 22.5%), 439 restaurants after opening 72 net new locations, same-restaurant sales growth of 4.0%, and net income of $63.7 million. Management has stated it sees potential for more than 1,000 CAVA restaurants in the United States by 2032, more than doubling the current footprint.
What's driving CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)?
1. Aggressive unit expansion.
CAVA opened 72 net new restaurants in fiscal 2025, ending the year with 439 locations, a 19.6% increase in count. For fiscal 2026 the company guided to 75 to 77 net new openings. Management has framed a long-term opportunity of more than 1,000 U.S. restaurants by 2032, so new-unit growth is the central driver of the story.
2. Same-restaurant sales and traffic.
Full-year fiscal 2025 same-restaurant sales rose 4.0%, with 1.6 points coming from guest traffic and the rest from menu price and product mix. Momentum picked up in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, when same-restaurant sales jumped 9.7%, including 6.8 points of traffic growth. Traffic-led growth is viewed as higher quality than growth driven mainly by price increases.
3. Restaurant-level profitability.
CAVA posted restaurant-level profit of $285.0 million in fiscal 2025 at a 24.4% margin, and Q1 fiscal 2026 margin reached 25.1%. Adjusted EBITDA grew sharply, and the company turned a full-year net profit of $63.7 million. Strong unit economics are what let CAVA fund much of its expansion while staying profitable.
4. Valuation and category positioning.
CAVA is positioning Mediterranean as the next major fast-casual category, the way Chipotle did for Mexican-inspired food. The market prices in that ambition: the stock has traded at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio well above 140, far above typical restaurant peers near 20 to 40. That premium reflects high growth expectations rather than current earnings.
What are the risks to CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)?
The dominant risk is valuation: with a price-to-earnings multiple many times that of the broader restaurant industry, CAVA's stock depends on sustained rapid growth, and even modest disappointments in openings, traffic, or margins can trigger steep declines. As a discretionary dining brand, it is exposed to consumer spending pulling back in a weaker economy. Expansion execution is a real risk because CAVA owns its units, so opening dozens of restaurants a year strains real estate, hiring, and capital, and new markets may underperform established ones. Same-restaurant sales can decelerate after strong comparisons, and the fast-casual space is intensely competitive, with Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Shake Shack, and many others fighting for the same guests.
How is CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) valued? (approximate, Fiscal 2025 full-year results and Q1 fiscal 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see CAVA Group, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (FY2025): ~$1.17 billion, up ~22.5%
- Same-restaurant sales (FY2025): +4.0% (most recent quarter +9.7%)
- Restaurant count: 439 (72 net new in FY2025)
- Restaurant-level profit margin: 24.4% FY2025 (25.1% in Q1 FY2026)
- Net income (FY2025): $63.7 million ($0.54 diluted EPS)
- P/E ratio: very high, trailing roughly 140 to 158
- Market cap: roughly $9 to $10 billion
Reading a high-growth restaurant stock means looking past the headline P/E. Investors focus on average unit volumes (annual sales per restaurant), the pace of net new openings, same-restaurant sales growth, and restaurant-level margin, because those metrics show whether the expansion model is working. CAVA's P/E is high because the market is paying for many years of future growth, not current profits: when a company is reinvesting heavily and earnings are still small relative to its size, the multiple on today's earnings looks extreme. The trade-off is that the stock must keep delivering rapid growth to justify the price, which makes it more volatile than a mature, slower-growing restaurant chain.
Who competes with CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)?
Fast-casual peers
Chipotle (CMG), the most common comparison and the template for scaling a single fast-casual category, plus Sweetgreen (SG) in salads and Shake Shack (SHAK) in better burgers. These are the closest read-throughs for unit economics and growth expectations.
Broader restaurants
Larger or more mature operators like Darden (DRI), Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), Brinker (EAT), and Wingstop (WING). They offer a contrast in growth rate, dividend policy, and valuation versus CAVA's high-multiple growth profile.
ETFs and alternatives
Investors who prefer not to pick a single name can get restaurant and discretionary exposure through consumer discretionary ETFs (such as XLY or VCR), broad mid-cap growth funds, or restaurant-focused ETFs (such as EATZ). These spread risk across many companies instead of one.
How to invest in CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)
There are three common ways to get CAVA exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so CAVA sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where CAVA fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)
CAVA is a high-growth restaurant stock priced for years of rapid unit expansion and strong same-restaurant sales, so it can compound quickly if execution holds up. It tends to behave like a high-multiple growth name: volatile, sensitive to earnings surprises and consumer-spending shifts, and prone to large swings on any change in the growth narrative.
More on CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA)
Whether CAVA is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CAVA a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the CAVA stock forecast.
For income investors, whether CAVA pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CAVA pay a dividend?
Build a basket around CAVA with Walnut
Use CAVA Group, Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does CAVA do?
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CAVA Group runs a fast-casual restaurant chain serving Mediterranean food, where guests build bowls, pitas, and salads from proteins, grains, dips, and toppings. It owns and operates its restaurants rather than franchising them, so it earns money directly from restaurant sales and grows by opening new locations and increasing sales at existing ones. It also sells dips and spreads in grocery stores.
Does CAVA pay a dividend?
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No. CAVA does not pay a dividend. As a fast-growing company, it reinvests its cash flow into building new restaurants and expanding into new markets rather than returning cash to shareholders. Investors in CAVA are betting on share-price growth driven by expansion and rising profits, not on dividend income.
Is CAVA a good stock?
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This is descriptive, not advice. The bull case is rapid unit growth, strong same-restaurant sales and traffic, healthy restaurant-level margins, and a long runway toward 1,000-plus U.S. locations. The bear case is a very high valuation that leaves little room for error, sensitivity to consumer spending, and the execution risk of opening dozens of company-owned restaurants a year. Whether it fits you depends on your own goals and risk tolerance.
Is CAVA a good stock to buy right now?
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This is informational, not a recommendation. On the bull side, CAVA recently posted accelerating same-restaurant sales (up 9.7% in its latest quarter) and expanding margins. On the bear side, the stock trades at a trailing P/E well above 140, far above restaurant peers, so it is priced for continued fast growth and can fall sharply on any disappointment. Walnut provides information, not investment advice.
Is CAVA the next Chipotle?
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CAVA is often compared to Chipotle because both use an assembly-line fast-casual format and aim to build a national category, and CAVA is following a similar playbook of company-owned units and reinvested growth. The comparison has limits: Chipotle operates several thousand restaurants while CAVA has around 440, so CAVA is far earlier in its expansion and still much smaller. The runway is large if it executes, but reaching Chipotle's scale is far from guaranteed.
Why is CAVA's P/E so high?
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CAVA trades at a high price-to-earnings ratio because the market is paying for expected future growth rather than current profits. The company is reinvesting heavily in new restaurants, so today's earnings are small relative to its market value, which inflates the multiple. A high P/E reflects optimism about years of expansion, but it also means the stock needs to keep delivering rapid growth to justify the price.
How many locations does CAVA have and how many does it plan to open?
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CAVA ended fiscal 2025 with 439 restaurants across 26 states and Washington, D.C., after opening 72 net new locations during the year. For fiscal 2026 it guided to 75 to 77 net new openings. Management has said it sees potential for more than 1,000 CAVA restaurants in the United States by 2032, which would more than double the current footprint.
Which ETFs or baskets include CAVA?
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CAVA is held in consumer discretionary ETFs (such as XLY and VCR), various mid-cap and growth funds, and restaurant-focused ETFs (such as EATZ), since it is a mid-cap U.S. restaurant company. On Walnut, you could hold CAVA as one constituent in a growth-oriented or consumer-themed basket alongside other restaurant and discretionary names, with a target weight you set.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with CAVA Group, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.