Business
Sweetgreen, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
LOS ANGELES, May 07, 2026--Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE: SG) (the "Company"), the mission-driven, next-generation restaurant and lifestyle brand that serves healthy food at scale, today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended March 29, 2026.
About this update from Sweetgreen, Inc.
LOS ANGELES, May 07, 2026 --( BUSINESS WIRE )--Sweetgreen, Inc. (NYSE: SG) (the "Company"), the mission-driven, next-generation restaurant and lifestyle brand that serves healthy food at scale, today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended March 29, 2026. First quarter 2026 financial highlights For the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2025: "We entered 2026 focused on executing our Sweet Growth Transformation Plan. While first quarter results were softer than anticipated, we remain in the early innings of a transformation that is reshaping the foundation of our business. We are building a more consistent guest experience and seeing improved execution across our restaurants, every day," said Jonathan Neman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sweetgreen. "Yesterday's nationwide launch of Wraps is our most significant menu expansion in years. It is a positive signal of what's ahead: during our market test, it drove guest acquisition and strong retention rates and, combined with improved execution across our restaurants, contributed to momentum in April. We are building with intention and conviction for long-term growth. Thank you to our restaurant teams for their relentless dedication and commitment to serving our guests." Results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2026: Total revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 was $161.5 million, a decrease of 2.9% versus the prior year period. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in Comparable Restaurant Base revenue of $20.7 million, resulting in a negative Same-Store Sales Change of 12.8%, reflecting an 11.2% decrease in traffic and a 2.3% decrease in product mix, partially offset by a 0.7% benefit from menu price increases that were implemented subsequent to the thirteen weeks ended March 30, 2025. Traffic softness reflected the adverse impacts of weather in the current year period and the prior year benefit from the launch of Ripple Fries in the first quarter of 2025. The decrease in mix was primarily driven by increased promotional activity in the current year period and the transition from our former Sweetpass+ program to SG Rewards. This decrease in revenue was partially offset by an increase of $19.2 million of incremental revenue associated with 39 Net New Restaurant Openings during or subsequent to the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. Our loss from operations margin was (21.3)% for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 versus (17.2)% in the prior year period. Restaurant-Level Profit Margin was 10.0%, a decrease of roughly 800 basis points versus the prior year period, due to a negative Same-Store Sales Change of 12.8% driven by higher overall ingredient usage, investments in chicken and tofu portions, and increased promotional activity through our loyalty program. These increases were partially offset by lower ingredient costs resulting from supply chain savings initiatives. General and administrative expense was $29.3 million, or 18.1% of revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, as compared to $38.3 million, or 23.1% of revenue in the prior year period. The decrease in general and administrative expense was primarily due to a $4.4 million decrease in stock-based compensation expense, primarily related to the decrease in expenses associated with restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units issued prior to our IPO, and a $1.9 million decrease in management salary and bonus expense. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 was $125.8 million, as compared to net loss of $(25.0) million in the prior year period. The increase in net income was primarily due to a $160.6 million gain on disposal from the Spyce sale, partially offset by a $5.8 million increase in loss from operations. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes stock-based compensation expense and certain other adjustments, was $(8.1) million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, as compared to $0.3 million in the prior year period. This change was primarily due to the $13.5 million decrease in Restaurant-Level Profit. Fiscal Year 2026 Outlook For fiscal year 2026, we now anticipate the following: We have not reconciled our expectations as to Restaurant-Level Profit Margin and Adjusted EBITDA to their most directly comparable GAAP measures as a result of uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, reconciling items. Accordingly, reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort, although it is important to note that these factors could be material to our results computed in accordance with GAAP. Conference Call Sweetgreen will host a conference call to discuss its financial results and financial outlook today, May 7, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. A live webcast of the call can be accessed from Sweetgreen’s Investor Relations website at investor.sweetgreen.com. An archived version of the webcast will be available from the same website after the call. Forward-Looking Statements This press release and the related conference call, webcast, and presentation contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our fiscal year 2026 outlook; our business strategies, including the expected timing and benefits of our Sweet Growth Transformation Plan; trends in our business and our ability to improve our financial results in future periods; our plans for new menu items in 2026; our expectations regarding contributions that our modified customer loyalty program will make to our financial results in future fiscal periods; our expectations regarding improvements in our restaurant operations and resulting impact on our key metrics and financial results; our confidence in the company’s long term growth opportunity; our expectations regarding the performance of certain menu items and new offerings; and our expectations regarding future menu prices. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words or phrases such as "anticipate," "are confident that," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "opportunity," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "toward," "will," or "would," or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management as of that time with respect to future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control, that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release and the related conference call may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include our ability to compete effectively, uncertainties regarding changes in economic conditions and geopolitical events, and the customer behavior trends they drive, our ability to open new restaurants, our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants, our ability to expand into new markets and the risks such expansion presents, the impact of severe weather conditions or natural disasters on our restaurant sales and results of operations, the profitability of new restaurants we may open, and the impact of any such openings on sales at our existing restaurants, our ability to purchase, deploy, and maintain the proprietary kitchen automation technology, known as the Infinite Kitchen, in a timely and cost-effective manner, our ability to preserve the value of our brand, food safety and foodborne illness concerns, the effect on our business of increases in labor costs, labor shortages, and difficulties in hiring, training, rewarding and retaining a qualified workforce, our ability to achieve profitability in the future, our ability to identify, complete, and integrate acquisitions, the effect on our business of governmental regulation, including but not limited to any future regulations that impose taxes, tariffs, or duties on food products, supplies or other items that we purchase, and changes in employment laws, the effect on our business of expenses and potential management distraction associated with litigation, potential privacy and cybersecurity incidents, the effect on our business of restrictions and costs imposed by privacy, data protection, and data security laws, regulations, and industry standards, and our ability to enforce our rights in our intellectual property. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations is included in our SEC reports, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2025. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise. Additional information regarding these and other factors that could affect the Company’s results is included in the Company’s SEC filings, which may be obtained by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Information contained on, or that is referenced or can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this document and inclusions of any website addresses herein are inactive textual references only. Glossary Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to our consolidated financial statements, which are presented in accordance with GAAP, we present certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Restaurant-Level Profit, Restaurant-Level Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. We believe these measures are useful to investors and others in evaluating our performance because these measures: We define Restaurant-Level Profit as loss from operations adjusted to exclude general and administrative expense, depreciation and amortization, pre-opening costs, loss on disposal of property and equipment, and, in certain periods, impairment and closure costs and restructuring charges. Restaurant-Level Profit Margin is Restaurant-Level Profit as a percentage of revenue. As it excludes general and administrative expense, which is primarily attributable to our corporate headquarters, which we refer to as our Sweetgreen Support Center, we evaluate Restaurant-Level Profit and Restaurant-Level Profit Margin as a measure of profitability of our restaurants. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude income tax expense, interest income, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, loss on disposal of property and equipment, other (income) expense, our enterprise resource planning system ("ERP") implementation and related costs, legal settlements, and, in certain periods, impairment and closure costs, restructuring charges and other non-recurring expenses. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue. Restaurant-Level Profit, Restaurant-Level Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. In particular, Restaurant-Level Profit and Adjusted EBITDA should not be viewed as substitutes for, or superior to, loss from operations or net income (loss) prepared in accordance with GAAP as a measure of profitability. Some of these limitations are: Because of these limitations, you should consider Restaurant-Level Profit, Restaurant-Level Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin alongside other financial performance measures, loss from operations, net income (loss), and our other GAAP results. About Sweetgreen Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Sweetgreen sources the best quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers they trust to cook food from scratch that is both delicious and nourishing. They plant roots in each community by building a transparent supply chain, investing in local farmers and growers, and enhancing the total experience with innovative technology. Since opening its first 560-square-foot location in 2007, Sweetgreen has scaled to over 285 locations across the United States, and their vision is to lead the next generation of restaurants and lifestyle brands built on quality, community and innovation. To learn more about Sweetgreen, its menu, and its loyalty program, visit www.Sweetgreen.com . Follow @Sweetgreen on Instagram , Facebook and X . View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260507512857/en/ Contacts Sweetgreen Contact, Rebecca Nounou Investor Relations [email protected] Media [email protected]