Sweetgreen, Inc. Stock Price: Quote, Forecast, Splits & News (SG)

Perplexity Finance

Sweetgreen, Inc.

Overview

Financials

Historical Data

$12.23

-$0.41

3.24%

At close: Jun 17, 4:00:02 PM EDT

$12.19

-$0.04

0.33%

After hours: 7:16:28 PM EDT

Financial information provided by Financial Modeling Prep. Options data provided by Unusual Whales. Live transcripts provided by Quartr. Reported revenue and EPS data from Earnings powered by FinChat.io. All data is provided for informational purposes only, and is not intended for trading purposes or financial, investment, tax, legal, accounting or other advice.

Market Cap: $1.4B
IPO Date: 11/18/21
CEO: Mr. Jonathan Neman
Fulltime Employees: 6.4K
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Industry: Restaurants
Country: US
Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

Peers

$0.00

Watchlist

$0.00

Change

-$0.41

3.24%

Financial Profile

Prev Close

$12.64

Market Cap

$1.44B

Day Range

$12.16 - $12.72

Open

$12.66

P/E Ratio

-15.9

52W Range

$12.16 - $45.12

24H Volume

$65.33M

Dividend Yield

0.00%

EPS

-0.77

Key Issues

Latest Price Movement

Jun 17

Earnings

Report Date

May 8, 2025

Reported Revenue

166.3M

Miss -19.11%

Avg 1d Change

13.89%

Report Period

Q1 2025

Reported EPS

-0.21

Miss -0%

Implied Move 1d

16.26%

Transcript

2m 41s

We also direct you to our earnings release for additional information regarding our use of non GAAP financial measures. Including reconciliations of non GAAP financial measures mentioned on the call with the corresponding GAAP measures. Our earnings release can be found on our investor website. And now I'll turn the call over to Jonathan to kick things off.

3m 1s

Thank you, Rebecca, and good afternoon, everyone. Sweetgreen is redefining fast food. Proving possible to operate with financial discipline without compromising on the quality of our menu, or the seamless experience that defines our brand. As we scale, building a more resilient business and leaning into what's working. Our real estate playbook, reflected by the strength of new markets and recent restaurant openings. Our Infinite Kitchens and Suite Lane formats are unlocking operational efficiencies while enhancing the guest experience. We're also advancing menu innovation while refining our core. Ensuring every ingredient is prepared soft, and seasoned to create meals that keep guests returning again and again. Our first quarter results reflect the progress we've made despite the quarter being significantly impacted by several external headwinds. These include the holiday timing shift the LA wildfires, and their lingering impacts as well as adverse weather impacts across several regions. For the first quarter, we reported sales of $166,300,000 and a same store sales decline of 3.1%. These results are toward the higher end of our guidance range. By staying focused on what we can control, we delivered a restaurant level profit margin of 17.9%. And achieved slight adjusted EBITDA profitability. Both above our provided outlook.

4m 24s

Looking ahead, the macro environment remains and volatile. April sales trends were soft, which we believe is reflective of a broader consumer slowdown. This has been particularly true in our largest markets such as New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.

4m 39s

However, we're confident in our ability to deliver long term value for our guests our team members and our shareholders. I'm proud of the strides we've made but no true operational excellence requires relentless attention to detail. Especially now. That's why our team is committed to optimizing every process no matter how small to drive continuous improvement. We continue to see significant opportunities to optimize operations broaden our customer base, grow guest frequency, and expand our footprint. With these focus areas in mind, our three strategic pillars for 2025 are: one, revolutionizing fast food, through menu and technology innovation. Two, strengthening guest connection and operational excellence And lastly, number three, strategically expanding and evolving our footprint. These pillars are designed to increase traffic and expand restaurant level margin. Let me share what we delivered in the first quarter. We opened five new restaurants, Fishtown in Philadelphia, Westfield, and Canton in the New York Metro Area, Tarrytown in Richmond, and Hilldale in Milwaukee. As I shared on our last call, our twenty twenty four class of new restaurants is tracking towards two year metrics in year one and delivered a Q1 margin of 18.3%. Notably, 40% of this class is located in legacy markets and 60% in new markets.

6m 5s

Underscoring the broad based strength of our performance. This reaffirms our confidence in the effectiveness of our real estate strategy and the significant long term growth opportunity that lies ahead. We continue to be pleased with the financial and operational performance of our Infinite Kitchen format. Which is delivering strong results across key metrics. These locations are showing meaningful margin leverage compared to restaurants similar age and volume, driven by improved efficiency and operational consistency. Additionally, our class of Infinite Kitchens continues to drive higher native digital [indiscernible] due to their high throughput and consistency. Which leads to a better guest experience. We believe the Infinite Kitchen, together with our revamped loyalty program can accelerate our industry leading digital presence. Not only do we see strong performance in our Infinite Kitchens, are also seeing strong performance of our Sweetlane in Schaumburg, Illinois. In the first quarter, comparable sales grew more than 20% year over year, Traumburg's AUV restaurant level margin is above the fleet average and with minimal incremental cost. Schaumburg is a clear proof point of the strong cash on cash return potential of the Sweetgreen format. This year's pipeline includes two new Suite Lane locations, one classic and our first with an Infinite Kitchen.

7m 20s

With more planned for 2026. We are reiterating our 2025 new unit guidance and continue to have high conviction in our long term development roadmap of 15% to 20% annual unit growth. In 2025, we plan to enter three new markets, Sacramento, [indiscernible] and open at least 40 new restaurants, including 20 with the Infinite Kitchen. Additionally, we're planning two relocations will be upgraded with the Infinite Kitchen and expect to complete one to three Infinite Kitchen retrofits of existing restaurants. As we scale, innovation across every touch point physical and digital, becomes even more critical. In today's environment, staying top of mind requires a steady cadence of newness. Our 2025 calendar is designed to do just that. Increase visit frequency, attract new customers, and build deeper loyalty among our base. Let me take a moment to share one of the most exciting things we've rolled out recently. Ripple fries. After an initial test in our LA market, launched RippleFries nationwide on March 4. Ripple Fries are Sweetgreen's take on this classic item. Fresh cut daily in our restaurants, air fried in avocado oil, and served with a choice of our house made pickled ketchup or garlic aioli. Made with just five simple ingredients, ripple fries are a category defining side, that's both craveable and aligned with our commitment to clean, elevated food.

8m 45s

Ripple Fries drove same store sales improvement in March. They have become our most attached side item across channels, helping to lift overall ticket averages and broaden the meal experience. Notably, the strength has been consistent across all markets. Our innovation pipeline continues to be a key driver of traffic. For us, menu innovation goes beyond the food. It's about keeping the brand dynamic and culturally relevant. One of our most mouthwatering culinary launches planned for this year is our collaboration with Coke Korean Steakhouse. They are the first and only Michelin Star Korean Steakhouse in The US. Together, we are introducing Sweetgreen's first ever Korean barbecue inspired menu, featuring our new KBBQ glazed steak, cucumber kimchi, an apple kimchi sauce. Bringing an entirely new flavor profile to our guests. This limited time menu launches nationwide next Tuesday on May thirteenth. Collaborations like this is one way Sweetgreen is redefining fast food. Showcasing our culinary creativity high quality ingredients, and cultural relevance. When we deliver bold culinary led menu moments, we see clear signals. New customers show up, lapsed customers return, and existing guests engage more deeply. That's why the work we're doing now across both limited time offers and strategic brand collaborations is so important.

10m 8s

And there's more menu innovation to come. With seasonal menus planned for the summer and fall, are poised to sustain momentum through high traffic periods. We're also focused on elevating our core menu by perfecting how each ingredient is prepared, sauced, and seasoned. Ensuring every ingredient and bowl is a craveable repeatable winner. A lot of this starts with our protein. How they are marinated, cooked, held, and portioned. Our job now is to keep delivering on that promise. Staying nimble, listening closely to our guests, and executing with the kind of discipline that builds lasting brand love. Another important milestone for us has been the nationwide launch of our reimagined loyalty program. [indiscernible] The April. SG rewards is a points based program where customers earn 10 points for every eligible dollar spent. With the ability to redeem points for free menu items, unlock surprise offers, and gain access to member exclusive experiences. This updated program is designed to be more engaging and rewarding for a broader range of customers, based directly on their feedback. In just the first few weeks of the launch, of SG rewards, we've already seen strong adoption and excitement from our community. Since launch, we've added 20,000 new digital customers a week.

11m 25s

As part of the perks SU Rewards members can expect, they will get an early first taste of our new KBBQ menu, on May 12. When ordering through the Sweetgreen app or website. I wanna thank our team members who are doing an incredible job engaging with guests helping them discover the benefit of our reimagined loyalty program. In a challenging industry environment where consumers are making more intentional choices with every dollar, SG rewards is designed to meet the moment by delivering meaningful value. As we look ahead, we strategically shifted internal capital to focus more heavily on menu innovation and targeted media investments. Coupled with enhanced personalized CRM, and our reimagined loyalty program we believe these efforts will work together to accelerate transaction growth strengthen guest loyalty. Turning to our team and operations. Our AI powered workforce management system is now live in the majority of our restaurants. With just two markets remaining. We are on track for full implementation by the end of the second quarter. This system gives team members an optional user friendly mobile platform to manage their schedules aligning their availability with restaurant needs. Average weekly hours are up nearly 10%, and absentee rates have declined by nearly 50%.

12m 41s

For our head coaches, the platform enables smarter, more proactive workforce planning and frees up valuable time to focus on team development, the guest experience, and restaurant performance. We've continued to see progress on the turnover front for both coaches and the broader team turnover nearing 90%. More than half of our first quarter leadership roles were filled from within. A clear testament to our growing bench strength and sustained investment in our people. While we've made meaningful strides, we still have opportunities to raise the bar on operational execution across many of our locations. Locations. Inconsistencies in service, speed and portioning highlight the need for sharper discipline tighter systems integration, and a greater focus on the details that drive day to day excellence. That's why I'm excited to welcome Jason Cochran as our new Chief Operating Officer. Jason is a seasoned operations leader with more than two decades of experience at some of the most iconic brands in our industry. Including Pizza Hut and Chipotle. At Pizza Hut, he served as CEO and board member of American West Restaurant Group. The third largest franchisee in The US. Where he led transformational improvements in performance, instilling operational discipline, and elevating execution across hundreds of locations.

13m 59s

At Chipotle, played a key role in scaling operations during a period of rapid growth. With a focus on driving consistency, improving throughput, enhancing the guest experience. Jason is a highly methodical hands on leader who brings a sharp eye for detail. A deep commitment to standards, and a passion for unlocking operational excellence at scale. I'm confident he'll help us drive greater consistency accountability across the fleet. I'm thrilled to welcome Jason to our leadership team and to partner with him closely on this next chapter.

14m 31s

Before I turn the call over to Mitch, I wanna take a moment acknowledge the industry dynamic we're operating in and the declining consumer sentiment. We believe we are uniquely positioned to succeed even in a more challenging industry backdrop. This confidence stems from the strength of our guest loyalty our disciplined financial approach, and our unwavering commitment to transparent, high integrity sourcing. As our menu has evolved to include more warming, heartier offerings, such as our protein plates and premium additions like steak, we've seen a positive shift in the brand's value perception at dinner. However, we also recognize the opportunity introduce compelling mid and lower priced items that increase guest frequency. Particularly in the current environment. Given our customization model, we're well positioned to act quickly through limited time and evergreen menu items. We're excited about what's ahead and confident in our ability to deliver value in a way that deepens connection with our guests. Without compromising on the quality or integrity they've come to expect from Sweetgreen. As we look ahead, confident that our culinary innovation pipeline focused on elevating the guest experience, recent loyalty program launch, focused investments in marketing and media, will drive sales and strengthen the brand.

15m 47s

We remain focused on what we can control. Delivering consistently great experiences improving operational execution, investing in our people and processes. Sweetgreen has always been more than just a place to eat. We're a community, a movement, and a brand built on purpose. With farm to flavor at the heart of how we connect people to real food. And now I'll turn the call over to Mitch. Who will take you through our financials in more detail. Thank you, Jonathan, and good afternoon, everyone. Total revenue for the quarter was 166,300,000.0 up from $157,900,000 in the first quarter of twenty twenty four. Same store sales for the first quarter declined 3.1% compared to the prior year period. This reflects a 3.4% benefit from menu price increases and a negative 6.5% impact from traffic and mix. Same store sales grew in more than half of our markets, led by the Upper Midwest Texas and Colorado, all of which comped double digits. Our average unit volume in the first quarter was 2,900,000. We opened five restaurants ending the first quarter with two fifty one restaurants. Restaurant level profit margin for the quarter was 17.9% compared to 18.1% a year ago. Restaurant level profit for the first quarter was $29,700,000 up 4% year over year.

17m 14s

For a reconciliation of restaurant level profit and restaurant level margin to comparable GAAP figures, please refer to the earnings release. Food, beverage and packaging costs for 20.5% of revenue for the quarter. A more than 100 basis point improvement from the prior year period, primarily due to distribution savings from continued market densification and ingredient consolidation as well as favorable contract pricing on key ingredients. Labor and related expenses were 28.9% of revenue for the first quarter, in line with the prior year period. Occupancy and related expenses were 9.4% of revenue, slightly higher than the prior year period. Operating support center costs in the first quarter increased slightly versus the prior year period on a dollar basis. As a percentage of revenue, year over year operating support center costs for the first quarter decreased slightly to 16.7% from 17.1%. Net loss for the quarter was $25,000,000 as compared to a loss of $26,100,000 in the prior year period. The decrease in net loss was primarily due to a $1,200,000 increase in our restaurant level profit, partially offset by an increase in the depreciation and amortization expense, primarily associated with an increase in new restaurants. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes stock based compensation and certain other adjustments, was $300,000 for the first quarter.

18m 47s

Our balance sheet remains strong with a cash balance of $184,000,000 Now I'd like to provide an update for our shareholders on the potential impact of tariffs across three key areas of our business. First, supply chain second, restaurant build out costs and third, the Infinite Kitchen. From a supply chain perspective, our exposure remains relatively contained. The vast majority of our core ingredients are domestically sourced. At this time, our exposure to tariffs is about 75 basis points for the second quarter of twenty twenty five. Most of this impact comes from just a few items, primarily our packaging, which is currently sourced from China. Six months ago, we began a project to move packaging out of China and we anticipate this to be completed during the second half of twenty twenty five. We expect the tariff impact to be reduced in the second half of the year to approximately 40 basis points This does not reflect the impact of any further mitigation initiatives. As we plan for the build out of our 2025 real estate pipeline, we anticipate tariffs will have an approximate 10% impact on our $1,400,000 to $1,500,000 per unit build out costs. Importantly, this impact is not expected until late in 2025 as we have pre purchased a number of key components.

20m 13s

Our team continues to diversify our supply base, avoid cost pass throughs and is focused on securing multiyear pricing agreements with key partners to further mitigate the tariff impact. On the Infinite Kitchen, as Jonathan mentioned, we're extremely encouraged by their performance. These restaurants continue to outperform expectations in both efficiency and guest satisfaction. As we scale the Infinite Kitchen, which costs approximately and $50,000 to $550,000 per unit, we are closely monitoring the impact of tariffs on our cost structure. Currently, roughly 15% of each unit's cost is tied to components sourced from China.

20m 55s

We have 10 IKs on hand that were not impacted by tariffs. While the current tariff rate on Chinese goods will impact the Infinite Kit it remains accretive to our return on capital due to the long term labor savings, consistency and improvements in throughput. We remain committed to the expansion of the Infinite Kitchen and reiterate our 2025 new unit and IK guidance. Now turning to fiscal year twenty twenty five. As we look out on the next three quarters, we are highly cognizant that this is a dynamic environment. As you have heard from others across our industry and seen in recent data, consumer sentiment has fallen sharply. After returning to positive comp sales performance in March, we saw a mid single digit decline in the same store sales during April coinciding with the tariff announcements. Historically, April has always shown a ramp in performance as seasonal patterns kick in.

21m 55s

This is the first time we haven't seen that lift. We believe this is noteworthy and reflective of the volatile external environment and the softening consumer sentiment marked by more deliberate purchasing behavior and lower frequency across discretionary categories. Our outlook assumes that the current trends continue and layers in the positive impact of upcoming menu initiatives as well as continued ramp in our new loyalty program. As we considered our fiscal year guidance, we assume no further deterioration in macroeconomic conditions. As always, our forecast is based on the information available to us today we recognize that uncertainty in the macro environment remains elevated. For fiscal year 2025, we anticipate the following: at least 40 net new restaurant openings, revenue ranging from $740,000,000 to $760,000,000 same store sales growth approximately flat restaurant level margin of approximately 19.5% adjusted EBITDA of approximately 30,000,000 On the development front, 20 of our 40 restaurants will feature the Infinite Kitchen. In terms of pipeline timing, 30 of our 40 planned new restaurants will open in the second half of the year. We do not anticipate any price increases for the remainder of the year. While the external environment may create some short term volatility, particularly around traffic and frequency, we believe we have strong levers to navigate this moment.

23m 31s

Specifically, we see meaningful opportunities to lean into our loyalty program and our seasonal offerings. We have a number of traffic driving initiatives that have yet to launch, including our collaboration with Coach Steakhouse next week. As the year progresses and comps get easier in the second half of the year, believe there is a clear path to accelerate momentum. Remain extremely confident in our strategies and the underlying health of our business. We have built a strong business, a differentiated brand, and a flexible omnichannel platform that allows us to adapt and drive sustainable growth. As we move through 2025, we remain disciplined in how we deploy capital and leverage our G and A. Are focused on high return opportunities and committed to building a resilient, durable business. One that can scale efficiently, serve with purpose and create long term value for our shareholders, guests and team members. And now I'll turn the call back to the operator to start Q and A. At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star. The number one on your telephone keypad. We ask that you do please limit yourself to one Our first question comes from the line of Jon Tower with Citigroup.

24m 55s

Please go ahead.

24m 58s

There we go. Thanks.

25m

I guess maybe starting I appreciate all the color you offered in tariffs. And in terms of across the business in IK and I think that's certainly a point of a question that I'm getting a lot from investors. So I just want to clarify and make sure that I understand. It looks like all in based on the range for build out costs, and including an infinite kitchen, it'll be roughly 32% to 37% higher than what you guys had originally targeted stores previously for build out costs. With these tariffs in place. And that's kind of the current situation that you know for tariffs coming in from China that's not assuming any changes at the moment. What's going to happen going forward?

25m 50s

Hi, John. It's Mitch. I think what I would say is the build out cost for an NRO with no tariffs is approximately $1,500,000. And as of now, we see that tariff running about a 10% of that type of number. So call it a hundred and $50,000 per unit And on the Infinite Kitchen, call an average cost of $500,000 per IK, the tariff is approximately $100,000 So you would see a total tariff impact of about $250,000 on a $2,000,000 build out. So just a little bit over 10%. And I should point out in this dynamic world, that's as of the tariffs as of last night.

26m 43s

Okay. And just it in go ahead. Sorry.

26m 48s

So, John, just one thing to add. We mentioned on the call that, you know, we've prebought materials the majority of our pipeline this year. So a lot of that impact including some infinite kitchens on hand. So that is not impacting the entire pipeline this year. We really start to see the impact on the build out in Q4, and we do have a good number of IKs on hand. Working to working to diversify the supply base there. The the other thing I'd say is, you know, over the years, we've talked to you all about work we're doing to optimize the overall build out cost. So this is all on a kinda apple to apples basis. We've obviously, been working working really hard on new formats and just general cost optimization. So, you know, our our hope is to mitigate as much of this as possible. But this is just kind of if if we took the impact as a, you know, as a straight apples to apples. Got it. And and maybe just one follow-up, John. You mentioned in the prepared remarks the idea of perhaps adding more mid to lower priced items to the menu either evergreen or LTO options for value?

27m 54s

Like, one, where are you in that process? And then two, how do you plan on communicating that to guests? You know, it you're not necessarily a traditional marketer nor would I expect you to be out there blasting the airwaves with a value pitch per se. So is this something we should expect more through the rewards program or more through, you know, point of purchase? Like, how do you plan on getting that message out to folks who might not be aware that you know, now there is something that's more approachable?

28m 27s

So so I think what I what I'd start with is know, if you look back over the past five years in the high inflationary environment, we've actually taken less price than most of the industry. What we have done is in in an effort to broaden our TAM and broaden our consumer, we did introduce these, you know, these hardier, warmer options, things like protein plates and [indiscernible] And the beautiful news about that is they really did work in unlocking a lot of those TAM markets. You can see that in the strength of those new markets and the comp in the emerging markets. As we did that, some of the price value perception, if you look at our menu, you now have higher category price price things, great value for dinner, but we've we've noticed some price gaps on the menu kind of in the middle or lower tier. So we see a couple ways that we can do that. One is through our seasonal menu. Seasonal menu, allows us to flex into different price points. We do see some opportunities to potentially introduce some things in core, we would not present present them as necessarily as a value.

29m 27s

Menu to your point. It would just be, you know, kind of finding things, you know, kind of anchor more of the menu in the middle mid to lower price tiers. And, of course, loyalty becomes a really big lever for us to be more surgical and personalized around how we can create the right customer journeys, the right promo, and, you know, the the right next best act to to drive the long term value of our customers. So we have a lot of levers at hand. And I think given we mentioned on the call given the way our menu is constructed, we have the ability to move pretty quickly in terms of coming up with new menu items, and and coming up with things that both the consumers love. We can execute [indiscernible] And can kinda meet our our our margin profile. So, you know, the world changed pretty quickly here in in in April, but have a have a lot of tools, tools at our disposal.

30m 16s

Great. Thanks for taking the questions.

30m 20s

Our next question comes from the line of Sarah with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Thank you. Maybe actually quick question about any differences you might be seeing in terms of geography. I'm just thinking about, you know, your exposure to DC because April has been quite mixed. I think, for different restaurants. And so trying to understand why some might be feeling the impact of lower consumer confidence others are actually seeing acceleration. So I know if if there was a maybe just your geographic exposure And then I do have a quick follow-up.

31m

Hi, Sarah. Thanks for the question. Yeah. I would point out two areas in our geography that are probably noteworthy. One that we mentioned on the last call, Los Angeles, which we said was about 15% of our volume continues to be severely impacted in the aftermath of the LA fires. In our modeling, we see some lingering impacts of this continuing on for quite a while. And, as you pointed out correctly, some time around the April, we did see a change in our DC volume. As you know, the company began in Washington DC. It's kind of one of the markets that were identified with. We have a number of stores there, but I should point out they're generally older smaller stores in the DC market, but there clearly was a change in the DC performance around the April.

31m 54s

Okay. Thank you. Very helpful. And then the follow-up is is about the breadth of your your reach. Know, I'm super excited about the Coat collaboration, but it strikes me as a a little bit of a New York institution. How do you think about that in terms of, you know, appealing, I think, as John mentioned, you know, broader broadening TAM, and and kind of the the things that you do from a culinary perspective? Thanks.

32m 21s

Yeah. So we're very excited about this collaboration. I think, you know, it's beyond just the collaboration. It's really about the bold flavors that we're bringing to market. You know, we we, we were excited for everyone to taste it. It it's a totally different flavor profile. It really leans on both the sourcing and scratch cooking, but brings in these these Korean flavors and leverages our new steak offering with with the twist. So, you know, in terms of, the the actual collaborator, know, what what we the reason we do this is it gives us a lot of culinary credibility, and it the partnership with the chef helps us build truly delicious items. So it's a part of our storytelling. There's a lot huge experiential element. As part of it, and we know it's a core part of how we built this brand. And I think something that consumers expect. So what we learned is it's not just if you've heard of it, It's a lot of for us, it's a huge way, huge way to drive discovery. For these these great chefs, that you may or may not know. So very excited about bringing this new flavor and excited to share more with you on the next call.

33m 23s

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sharon Zackfia with William Blair. Please go ahead. I'm sorry. Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Charles with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.

33m 51s

Thank you. This is Zach Ogden on for Andrew. Just given April's mid single digit decline in same store sales could you just walk us through the cadence of sales you expect for the rest of 2025 to get to flat for the full year?

34m 9s

Thank you.

34m 11s

What I would say about April, you know, as other people have noticed, April has generally been a month when our business has accelerated. That's probably been the pattern that's been in the business since inception. As the weather warms up, our business picks up. This April, that did not materialize. There's actually a significant change in the history and in the historical patterns of the business. Largely coincided with the tariff announcement and some of the external uncertainty. What we see is the second quarter being challenging both from a comp perspective led by April as well as the fact that the launch of our loyalty program, as we've disclosed will create some headwinds around our revenue number. As we launch that program. During the back half of the year, particularly Q3 and Q4, we see business picking up. For a number of reasons. One, we have slightly easier comps during that period. Two, the return of our summer seasonals and fall seasonals These have been crowd favorites for a number of years that were not on the menu in 2024, and we think they'll have a massive impact beginning around July 2024 five. In addition to which, we have our loyalty program, which, as I said, will be a headwind in Q2 but becoming a pretty big tailwind as we go through Q3 in the back half of the year.

35m 35s

I should point out as I was kind of alluded to at the beginning, there's a degree of synergy between the launches seasonals and loyalty program where they can feed each other to help drive frequency and attract new customers. So we think we have a pretty solid lineup of activity actually starting next week with the code collaboration. But really accelerating in July.

35m 59s

Got it. Thank you. And then just on the Infinite Kitchens, if the tariffs do persist, would that change your aptitude at all to retrofit stores to IKs going forward?

36m 11s

No. No. I really would not at this point in time change our strategy around the Infinite Kitchen. When you do the math on the Infinite Kitchen and you take a kind of typical AUV store at $3,000,000 and eight points of savings, you get around $240,000 annually. If the cost moved up from 506 hundred thousand dollars you find the return on capital remains wildly accretive. And that's the current labor rates. When you look out over the next ten years, we see labor continuing to increase and those returns increasing. So I would say the current tariff structure would not change the IK deployment strategy at all. Great. Thank you.

36m 58s

And again, our next question is from the line of Sharon Zackfia with William Blair. Please go ahead. Hi, can you hear me?

37m 7s

Yes.

37m 9s

Okay. Thanks. I don't know what happened before.

37m 12s

I I guess I wanted to ask about the the markets that you've called out, which were you talked about LA, but you also mentioned New York and Boston. Is there anything in those markets where you think your perceived value has somehow, kind of declined in the recent environment? Is there anything you could point out operationally that maybe is causing those markets to gap differently than some of the other markets that you're operating in?

37m 39s

Thanks for the question, Sharon. So I think there's a few things here. First, I'd say if you you think about the Sweetgreen model over our history, the seasonal menu was a core part of the model. We change our menu about five times a year, and it's part of what drove the habituation and the frequency. You know, it would it it's what would limit the fatigue and just keep you hooked you know, you know, season after season. With the removal of that, we've seen some weakness in the frequency of specifically in those core markets where those seasonals did especially well. So we're encouraged about bringing them back, bringing them back in a really big way. We think that will help us with the frequency challenges we have. The second is loyalty. You know, we we we made a transition from our Sweet Pass Plus loyalty program, which really had a, you know, pretty small member base to a much broad a much broader base loyalty program. And, you know, we're we're acquiring about 20,000 new loyalty members a week. This is, you know, pretty much more more than each week than the whole Sweet Pass Plus membership base.

38m 39s

So there's a huge opportunity here. To kinda lean into that to continue to drive frequency. And then the last thing I'd say is that there's definitely some operational opportunities we have specifically in a lot of those core legacy markets. Specifically in our in the urban environment on our off premise channels. So really highly focused on getting portioning and accuracy and speed right on those digital make lines As you know, digital is a huge, huge part of the business, and we see an opportunity to really elevate the standards across those lines.

39m 13s

K. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Logan Rich with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

39m 25s

Hey, guys.

39m 25s

Good evening. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to ask about Fries and how the launch went relative to expectations and maybe anything you're able to share on on mix in terms of number of transactions [indiscernible] contribution to come? Any color there would be much appreciated. Sure. So, very early, but very encouraged by Fry's. You know, we've had great customer feedback, great social awareness. A lot of fantastic trial, and it's our it's by far our most attached side. So very encouraged continuing to to work perfect them and and get the word out. But overall, I think it's something that, we're really proud of and customers love. And should continue to help drive comp and ticket.

40m 19s

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Mellon with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

40m 26s

Thank you. I just want to ask about the marketplace sales channel. That's been growing faster than the in store and the own digital really for several quarters now. Can you just speak to what's behind that particularly throughout last year and start this year? Just any color you could add would be great.

40m 45s

Yeah. So, we continue to see strength on marketplace. I think there's a there's a few things One, I think our product travels well. And people people love the fact that, you know, it's it's it just works in an off premise environment. Two, we've we continue to optimize our relationships with the marketplaces and how we market and how we're presented on those marketplaces. And I think a lot of our consumers are there. Lastly, I think not having a loyalty program gave a lot less reason to transact natively. And with the loyalty program, that should help us there. But overall, you know, good partners with them. Happy to see continued growth, higher average checks. And we'll continue to to to, you know, leverage them as a as a partner. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Brian Bittner with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.

41m 40s

Hey. Thank you. Just with with all this talk a lot of focus here on April sales trends on this call, just another question there. You said down mid singles and a change in how April has behaved historically. So I understand your caution. But is there any of this that is explained by your own toughening comparisons that happened into 2Q from 1Q? Is any of April just mathematically driven? Or are you seeing underlying weakness that's making you more cautious on the near term and on 2Q?

42m 17s

Brian, I think that the more challenging comp period for the business will come, actually in the next week as we launch a successful launch of stake. Gets lapped. So Coke will lap over the launch of stake a year ago. I think the April caution and results and the caution on the second quarter largely come from what we saw in April. Where we had a period of limited menu and marketing activity, but that kind of lapped the same type of situation last April. It really reflects much more of an external environment and kind of our take on consumer sentiment. Okay.

42m 58s

And then just real quick on your guidance for the year for adjusted EBITDA now approximately $30,000,000 I'm just trying to bridge to that guidance in my own model when I use the midpoint of your revenue and your restaurant margin guidance? The bridge from there is about flat G and A year over year versus last year on an adjusted basis. Is that the right math there? Is that how you're thinking about G and A as it relates to that $30,000,000 of adjusted EBITDA?

43m 27s

Yeah. I would point out and say that, you know, really since the time we went public, the company continues to focus on gaining leverage in our G and A, and we continue to focus on that in accelerate that in this environment and to make changes where we can adjust the G and A down without impacting our strategies or our development. And we will continue to really relentlessly pursue that in this environment.

43m 53s

Okay. Thank you, Mitch.

43m 58s

Our next question comes from the line of Christine Cho with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Thank you for taking the question. So was wondering if there were any updates to how you're thinking about capital allocation and investment priorities kinda in light of the tougher macro environment and other external factors. Think, John, you mentioned a 15% to 20% unit growth. Is that still a good anchor for the next few years? And what are some of the factors and triggers that could potentially shift that trajectory? Thank you.

44m 33s

Hey, Christine. Thanks for the question. I think what we said is that we were gonna anticipate having a 15% algorithm and accelerated it up to 20% over time. That is still the correct algorithm. And while you're correct that the environment right now is certainly more challenging and changed somewhat abruptly around the April We continue to have very strong return on capital on our new stores, and especially strong return on capital with our Infinite Kitchen So long as our return on capital remains at these levels, we don't see any change in our development.

45m 13s

Thank you. Just one other question. Any metrics that you can share on kind of the launch of the SG rewards to date? And how you plan to leverage the data you obtained from from that program to inform kind of your many innovation, marketing, and other parts of the business? Thank you.

45m 32s

Yes.

45m 32s

Overall, very encouraged. Like I said, we're requiring about 20,000, 20,000 new digital customers on those SEO rewards program per week. Much of that conversion is happening in store, so we're we're now getting, access to customer data. At the on on our analog in store channel as well as our digital channels. And we're starting to see some promising, I'd say, some promising opportunities around the customer journeys and how we can drive the incremental You know, we have a we have a very, very good team that's able to segment customers and do all kinds of different challenges and promos and see what works and lean on those ones. And especially in this environment, I see a huge opportunity. It also gives us, you know, really rich data in terms of menu development. And we have a few exciting things planned on how we can leverage the digital environment to create more of a community, and we'll we'll be sharing more on that in future calls.

46m 29s

Thank you.

46m 33s

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Harbour with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Yes.

46m 41s

Thanks. Good afternoon. I guess, you know, you're going through another COO transition here. Right? Could you just comment on if you think any of the priorities there will will change or if it's more of a continuation of what you're doing. Is there anything, that you thought was sort of you know, behind timing or or or needs to be shifted? What will what could evolve on sort of operations priorities?

47m 11s

Absolutely. So we're really excited for Jason to join us, and he brings a wealth of experience specifically in restaurants. And the focus areas for us, really are in terms of tightening up our standards, to deliver consistently the quality food that customers expect. We also see a big opportunity I mentioned earlier on our on our digital make lines. And making sure we're delivering accurately and with the right portion size. We see a big opportunity there. And then the last thing I'll say is with the growth plans we have, ahead, we wanna make sure our our people flywheel is unlocked. Today, we're seeing about 50% of head coaches being promoted internally. We would like to take that number up over time. We see our internal promotes being more successful. So the other thing is how we can build better leadership capability and have a pipeline of future leaders So, you know, it's operations. It's really, it's all the little details to deliver, whether it's the right tools, the right systems, and most importantly, the right culture and leadership. In each and every store. And we're very confident in wealth of leadership and experience that Jason will bring as well as the rest of our ops leadership team to continue to deliver on the Sweetgreen promise.

48m 26s

Okay. Thanks, Dennis.

48m 30s

And our final question comes from the line of Rahul Pradapalli. With JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

48m 38s

Hey, guys.

48m 39s

Jonathan, a lot has been discussed in terms of how advertising cost could get very low on a per transaction basis? I think especially as agencies given to AI models and, like, large brands and the consumer and Internet industry are catching up on this. You have lead you have been leading the space in transformation in multiple areas of, of your operations, whatnot. Curious how you think about this area, on advertising and marketing spend. This is going to be a big focus going forward for your sales and traffic driver.

49m 12s

Raul, thanks for the question. I do think it's a huge We've been leveraging AI across the business in a number of use cases. Whether it be workforce management, talent selection, and you know, customer service, etcetera. And I think there's a lot of opportunities to leverage AI in terms of our, in terms of loyalty and customer equity as well. So we're exploring and testing a bunch of things today. We're hopeful that it it it can help us in terms of our cost per acquisition, of customers and our retention, but I'd say it's still early days. But a number of tests and pilots that the team is all over right now.

49m 48s

Thank you.

49m 54s

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. You may now disconnect.

Key Insights

Q1 revenue was $166.3M (up from $157.9M YoY), with same store sales down 3.1% (impacted by holiday timing, LA wildfires, and adverse weather); restaurant-level profit margin was 17.9% and adjusted EBITDA was slightly positive at $0.3M, both above outlook.
April sales trends were soft, with a mid-single digit decline in same store sales, attributed to broader consumer slowdown and external volatility; Q2 expected to remain challenging, but improvement anticipated in Q3/Q4 due to easier comps, seasonal menu returns, and loyalty program ramp.
Opened 5 new restaurants in Q1; reiterating 2025 guidance of at least 40 net new openings (20 with Infinite Kitchen format), revenue of $740M–$760M, flat same store sales growth, restaurant-level margin of ~19.5%, and adjusted EBITDA of ~$30M; long-term unit growth target remains 15–20% annually.
Menu innovation and digital initiatives are key focus areas: Ripple Fries launch drove ticket lift and strong attachment; new loyalty program (SG Rewards) is adding ~20,000 new digital customers per week; upcoming collaborations and seasonal menus expected to drive traffic and frequency.
Tariffs on Chinese imports expected to impact packaging and build-out costs (approx. 10% increase on $1.4M–$1.5M/unit build-outs, and $100K per Infinite Kitchen unit), but mitigation efforts are underway; Infinite Kitchen expansion remains accretive to returns despite tariff headwinds.

Recent Transcripts

Q1 sales hit $166.3M with margin resilience despite headwinds; flat 2025 comps expected.

Sweetgreen achieved first full year of positive adjusted EBITDA and 15%+ revenue growth in 2024.

Sweetgreen, Inc. Stock Price: Quote, Forecast, Splits & News (SG)

Earnings

Report Date

May 8, 2025

Reported Revenue

166.3M

Miss -19.11%

Avg 1d Change

13.89%

Report Period

Q1 2025

Reported EPS

-0.21

Miss -0%

Implied Move 1d

16.26%

Transcript

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24m 55s

Please go ahead.

24m 58s

There we go. Thanks.

25m

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26m 43s

Okay. And just it in go ahead. Sorry.

26m 48s

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29m 27s

30m 16s

Great. Thanks for taking the questions.

30m 20s

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34m 9s

Thank you.

34m 11s

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35m 59s

Got it. Thank you. And then just on the Infinite Kitchens, if the tariffs do persist, would that change your aptitude at all to retrofit stores to IKs going forward?

36m 11s

36m 58s

And again, our next question is from the line of Sharon Zackfia with William Blair. Please go ahead. Hi, can you hear me?

37m 7s

Yes.

37m 9s

Okay. Thanks. I don't know what happened before.

37m 12s

37m 39s

38m 39s

39m 13s

K. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Logan Rich with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

39m 25s

Hey, guys.

39m 25s

40m 19s

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Mellon with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

40m 26s

40m 45s

41m 40s

42m 17s

42m 58s

43m 27s

43m 53s

Okay. Thank you, Mitch.

43m 58s

44m 33s

45m 13s

45m 32s

Yes.

45m 32s

46m 29s

Thank you.

46m 33s

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Harbour with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Yes.

46m 41s

47m 11s

48m 26s

Okay. Thanks, Dennis.

48m 30s

And our final question comes from the line of Rahul Pradapalli. With JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

48m 38s

Hey, guys.

48m 39s

49m 12s

49m 48s

Thank you.

49m 54s

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. You may now disconnect.

Key Insights

Q1 revenue was $166.3M (up from $157.9M YoY), with same store sales down 3.1% (impacted by holiday timing, LA wildfires, and adverse weather); restaurant-level profit margin was 17.9% and adjusted EBITDA was slightly positive at $0.3M, both above outlook.
April sales trends were soft, with a mid-single digit decline in same store sales, attributed to broader consumer slowdown and external volatility; Q2 expected to remain challenging, but improvement anticipated in Q3/Q4 due to easier comps, seasonal menu returns, and loyalty program ramp.
Opened 5 new restaurants in Q1; reiterating 2025 guidance of at least 40 net new openings (20 with Infinite Kitchen format), revenue of $740M–$760M, flat same store sales growth, restaurant-level margin of ~19.5%, and adjusted EBITDA of ~$30M; long-term unit growth target remains 15–20% annually.
Menu innovation and digital initiatives are key focus areas: Ripple Fries launch drove ticket lift and strong attachment; new loyalty program (SG Rewards) is adding ~20,000 new digital customers per week; upcoming collaborations and seasonal menus expected to drive traffic and frequency.
Tariffs on Chinese imports expected to impact packaging and build-out costs (approx. 10% increase on $1.4M–$1.5M/unit build-outs, and $100K per Infinite Kitchen unit), but mitigation efforts are underway; Infinite Kitchen expansion remains accretive to returns despite tariff headwinds.