CAVA Q1 earnings — Revenue +32% YoY · EPS -9% YoY · EBIT +59% YoY

The Print

CAVA Group, Inc. reported Q1 2026 revenue of $438 million, a 32.1% year-over-year (YoY) increase from $332 million in the year-ago quarter, per Item 2.02 of an 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 19, 2026 at 16:17:46. The company posted diluted EPS of $0.20, a 9.1% YoY decline from $0.22 in Q1 2025, and EBIT of $35 million, a 58.7% YoY jump from $22 million in the prior year’s quarter. The results beat Wall Street consensus estimates, with actual revenue exceeding the $418.46 million consensus forecast by nearly $20 million.

Operating Leverage

CAVA delivered strong operating leverage in Q1 2026, with EBIT growth outpacing top-line expansion by 26.6 percentage points. Calculated from reported results, Q1 2026 EBIT margin hit ~8.0% of revenue, up from ~6.6% in Q1 2025, a 140 basis point expansion. The initial earnings filing does not explain the 9.1% YoY decline in diluted EPS, despite improved core operating performance, as no details on diluted share count changes or non-operating expenses were included.

Forward Outlook

In the same 8-K Exhibit 99.1, CAVA explicitly raised its full-year 2026 financial guidance, marking an upward revision to its prior outlook. No specific numerical targets for FY26 were disclosed in the filing, so a direct comparison to sequential or YoY revenue benchmarks against the raised guidance is not possible with available data.

Cross-Referenced Signals

Insider trading activity ahead of the Q1 2026 earnings release includes two verified Form 4 filings: On May 12, 2026, Director and Chief Concept Officer Xenohristos Theodoros sold 9,044 shares at $79.75 per share for total proceeds of $721,259. On March 2, 2026, Chief People Officer Kelly Costanza sold 31,803 shares at $84.45 per share for $2.69 million, alongside a separate exempt transaction of the same share count earlier that day. Separately, analyst rating distribution for CAVA remained static between April 1 and May 1, 2026, at 3 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 12 Hold, and 1 Sell. Institutional ownership data as of December 31, 2025 shows 94.8% of CAVA’s float held by 520 institutional holders, with 262 increasing positions and 162 reducing positions in the quarter.

Unresolved Data Points

Three key data points remain undisclosed in the initial Q1 2026 earnings filing: first, a segment breakdown of revenue between company-owned restaurants, franchised locations, and grocery retail sales, which will only be available in the May 19, 2026 10-Q filing. Second, the specific driver of the YoY diluted EPS decline, as the 8-K does not detail changes to outstanding share counts or non-operating expenses. Third, the numerical parameters of the raised FY2026 guidance, which were referenced but not quantified in the public filing.