CAVA Q3 Revenue Rises 22.1% to $353.7 Million; Opens 500th Restaurant
CAVA kept taking share in Mediterranean fast casual, lifting third-quarter revenue more than 20% and crossing 500 restaurants ahead of schedule.
Washington-based CAVA Group reported CAVA revenue of $353.7 million for the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 4, 2026, up 22.1% from $289.8 million a year earlier, according to its earnings release filed with an 8-K Wednesday. Same-restaurant sales rose 3.1%. Net income was $13.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 5.7% to $42.3 million.
The company opened 24 net new CAVA restaurants in the quarter, bringing the total to 500, a 20.5% increase year over year. Average unit volume was $3.1 million, versus $2.9 million. Restaurant-level profit was $82.7 million, up 16.2%, for a 23.4% margin. Digital revenue mix was 38.5%.
Guidance and tone
Co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman said the brand continued to gain share and that new restaurants performed well despite broader industry pressures. CAVA raised fiscal 2026 same-restaurant sales guidance to 6.0% to 7.0% from 4.5% to 6.5% and tightened adjusted EBITDA guidance to $184.0 million to $189.0 million from $181.0 million to $191.0 million. Net new restaurant openings are now guided to 76 to 78, from 75 to 77. Restaurant-level profit margin guidance is 23.7% to 24.0%.
Year-to-date operating cash flow was $181.6 million, with free cash flow of $37.1 million, the company said.
Digital orders remained a large share of the mix at 38.5%, a reminder that CAVA’s growth is not only new four-walls openings. The 16.2% restaurant-level profit increase lagged revenue growth slightly, which is typical when a brand is opening quickly and absorbing pre-opening costs, yet the 23.4% restaurant-level margin stayed in the brand’s recent band.
Raising the same-restaurant sales guide while narrowing the Adjusted EBITDA range is the cleaner signal for the second half: management is more confident on traffic and ticket, and less willing to leave a wide profit range on the table.
Why it matters
CAVA’s print is a unit-growth story with positive same-store sales: 22% revenue growth, a 500th store milestone and a higher same-restaurant sales guide. Restaurant-level margins in the low-to-mid 20s and a tighter EBITDA range give retail investors a cleaner read on whether the Mediterranean fast-casual roll-up can keep compounding without giving back unit economics.
By the numbers
- CAVA revenue: $353.7 million, up 22.1%
- Same-restaurant sales: +3.1%
- Net income: $13.2 million
- Restaurant-level profit margin: 23.4%
- Restaurants: 500 (24 net openings)
- FY2026 same-restaurant sales guide: 6.0% to 7.0%
Sources
- CAVA Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 financial results, filed Nov. 4, 2026 (accession 0001628280-26-070159)
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