Cava Stock Comes Through in Its Earnings Season Debut
Cava Group (NYSE: CAVA) stock was "priced for perfection" heading into Tuesday afternoon's earnings report. Shares of the fast-growing chain of 279 fast-casual restaurants specializing in Mediterranean cuisine had more than doubled since hitting the market with its initial public offering (IPO) priced at $22 a share. Judging by the stock's reaction to this week's financial update, Cava has exceeded perfection.
Revenue surpassed expectations, fueled by monster double-digit growth in comparable-restaurant sales. Cava also surprised the market with an actual profit. The recent market debutante made a great first impression with its mid-June IPO. It's keeping the party going with a blowout performance in its first quarterly earnings report as a public company.
Cava has hit the ground running as one of this year's hottest IPOs. Revenue rose 62% to $171.1 million, comfortably ahead of the 55% year-over-year spurt that analysts were modeling. Cava's impressive growth comes largely from its heady expansion. It has increased its locations by 43% over the past year, adding 102 net new locations over the past year including 16 net units during the second quarter itself.
Source Fool.com
