Cava Group vs Shake Shack
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The short version
- Shake Shack is the larger business, with $1.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.2B for Cava Group.
- Cava Group grew revenue faster (22.4%, against 15.4%).
- Shake Shack turned more of its sales into free cash flow (3.9% FCF margin, against 2.2%).
- Cava Group earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.9%, against 9.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Cava Group’s earnings: a P/E of 97.2x against 68.6x for Shake Shack.
| Latest fiscal year | CAVA · FY25 | SHAK · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $6.3B | $2.7B |
| Revenue | $1.2B | $1.4B |
| Free cash flow | $26.1M | $56.5M |
| Net income | $63.7M | $45.7M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 22.4% | 15.4% |
| 5-year growth | — | 22.6% |
| Share count change | 0.0% | −5.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Net margin | 5.4% | 3.2% |
| FCF margin | 2.2% | 3.9% |
| Return on capital | 13.9% | 9.6% |
| Return on equity | 8.6% | 9.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$393M | −$96.7M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −3.1x | −0.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 97.2x | 68.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
CAVA —
SHAK $269M
FY17
CAVA —
SHAK $359M
FY18
CAVA —
SHAK $459M
FY19
CAVA —
SHAK $595M
FY20
CAVA —
SHAK $523M
FY21
CAVA $500M
SHAK $740M
FY22
CAVA $564M
SHAK $901M
FY23
CAVA $729M
SHAK $1.1B
FY24
CAVA $964M
SHAK $1.3B
FY25
CAVA $1.2B
SHAK $1.4B
CAVA
SHAK
Operating margin
FY16
CAVA —
SHAK 10.4%
FY17
CAVA —
SHAK 9.4%
FY18
CAVA —
SHAK 6.9%
FY19
CAVA —
SHAK 4.3%
FY20
CAVA —
SHAK −8.4%
FY21
CAVA −10.6%
SHAK −2.1%
FY22
CAVA −10.6%
SHAK −3.0%
FY23
CAVA 0.7%
SHAK 0.5%
FY24
CAVA 4.5%
SHAK 0.2%
FY25
CAVA 4.7%
SHAK 4.3%
CAVA
SHAK
Free cash flow
FY16
CAVA —
SHAK −$0.2M
FY17
CAVA —
SHAK $9.4M
FY18
CAVA —
SHAK −$2.1M
FY19
CAVA —
SHAK −$16.7M
FY20
CAVA —
SHAK −$31.7M
FY21
CAVA −$52.9M
SHAK −$43.1M
FY22
CAVA −$98.1M
SHAK −$65.8M
FY23
CAVA −$41.7M
SHAK −$14.0M
FY24
CAVA $52.9M
SHAK $35.7M
FY25
CAVA $26.1M
SHAK $56.5M
CAVA
SHAK
Return on capital
FY16
CAVA —
SHAK 20.2%
FY17
CAVA —
SHAK 12.6%
FY18
CAVA —
SHAK 13.8%
FY19
CAVA —
SHAK 10.2%
FY20
CAVA —
SHAK −13.3%
FY21
CAVA —
SHAK −4.3%
FY22
CAVA —
SHAK −6.1%
FY23
CAVA —
SHAK 1.5%
FY24
CAVA 15.2%
SHAK 0.5%
FY25
CAVA 13.9%
SHAK 9.6%
CAVA
SHAK
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.