Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant Cava had a remarkable debut into public trading Thursday as it shot up more than $20 higher than its IPO offering price within its first hour on the market, outshining competitors that have preceded it on U.S. exchanges.
Cava went public on Thursday.
Cava was indicated to start trading between $38 and $40 when it debuted Thursday, well above the $22 per share IPO the company announced Wednesday for its $14.4 million shares.
It was up to $45 per share within its first hour of opening, according to Yahoo Finance.
The $22 per share Cava announced Wednesday was higher than the $19-$20 range it had marketed the shares for.
The total $318 million IPO is the sixth-largest on the U.S. stock exchange this year, according to Bloomberg.
The company’s opening beats Sweetgreen, a Los Angeles-based salad-focused competitor that went public in November 2021, and started trading at $28 per share. Cava’s Mexican-style rival Chipotle opened around $22 per share in 2006. Sweetgreen was also valued more highly—at around $5.5 billion compared to Cava’s $2.5 billion value, based on Cava’s outstanding share count of more than 111 million shares.
Opened in Washington, D.C. in 2010, Cava has surged in popularity over recent years as it prepared to join its main competitors on the public trading market. It reported $564 million in net sales last year—up almost 13% from the year before—beating Sweetgreen, which made about $470 million in 2022.
Cava’s initial success bodes well for other restaurants eyeing the stock exchange, including Panera Bread, which said it plans to issue an IPO soon, and Korean barbecue chain Gen Restaurant Group, which filed regulatory paperwork and is expecting a $10-$12 per share IPO.
Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava is going public. More restaurants could follow its lead (CNBC)
Sweetgreen stock soars after its IPO, valued at $5.5 billion (Axios)
CAVA, The Chipotle Of Mediterranean Cuisine, Opens Its First Innovation Kitchen (Forbes)