CAVA Group Inc. (NYSE: CAVA) shares plummeted 5.07% in after-hours trading on Thursday, despite the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results. The sharp decline suggests investors may be focusing on the company's cautious guidance and potential headwinds.
For the first quarter of 2025, CAVA reported revenue of $331.83 million, surpassing analysts' expectations of $326.88 million. The company's adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.22, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $0.14. CAVA also posted impressive same-restaurant sales growth of 10.8%, driven by a 7.5% increase in guest traffic.
However, the stock's after-hours plunge indicates that investors may be concerned about CAVA's forward-looking statements. While the company raised its guidance for new restaurant openings to 64-68 from the previous 62-66, it maintained its full-year same-restaurant sales growth forecast at 6-8%. This unchanged outlook, which falls below the current quarter's performance, might be interpreted as a sign of potential slowdown in the coming quarters. Additionally, CAVA's decision to keep its same-restaurant sales growth guidance unchanged, despite the strong Q1 performance, could be viewed as overly cautious by some investors, potentially raising concerns about the company's confidence in maintaining its current growth trajectory.
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