Mediterranean restaurant chain CAVA reaped $21.6 mn in profit in the second quarter, a first earnings report for the company since its IPO in June, and up from $5.9 mn the previous year.
‘Our results in the second quarter demonstrate the power of our restaurant operating model and the growing appeal of the Mediterranean category, which we are defining,’ says Brett Schulman, co-founder and CEO of CAVA.
Revenue for the quarter grew 62.4 percent to $171.1 mn from $105.3 mn in 2022.
Tricia Tolivar, CAVA’s chief financial officer, says the second quarter results demonstrate the ‘clear white space opportunity in front of us. We’ve already built the infrastructure we need to scale and we continue to invest at the restaurant level in running a great business and delivering an exceptional guest experience. We expect these investments to continue to create leverage over time.’
Pipeline of leaders
This is the first earnings report the restaurant group has posted since it launched its IPO on the NYSE in June. During that time the company released more than 16 mn shares of its common stock at $22 per share.
At the time, CAVA said it intended to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund future new restaurant openings, with any remaining proceeds going toward general corporate purposes.
During the earnings call, an investor asked the restaurant group whether it felt sufficiently staffed in the second quarter to open new restaurants as well as deal with the IPO publicity, and whether it was happy with the execution of the IPO.
In response, the company said its second quarter was strong and, as it moves into the future having now listed, it plans to focus on the long term to execute ‘our proven portability and the powerful unit economics, and really leverage that massive white space opportunity.’
