CAVA jumps 21% after Q4 earnings beat and stronger-than-expected 2026 outlook

CAVA Group (CAVA) is up 21.4% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to CAVA’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, which topped expectations on revenue and profit, alongside an optimistic 2026 outlook. Investors also seemed to focus on management commentary suggesting demand is holding up across income cohorts, supporting confidence in continued growth.

Details:

CAVA released Q4 2025 results showing revenue around $275 million and GAAP EPS of $0.04, both ahead of consensus expectations.

The company pointed to a 2026 same-store sales growth outlook of roughly 3% to 5%, which was viewed as stronger than what the market had been modeling.

Management discussed improving consumer behavior and resilience despite weather-related disruptions, which may have helped sentiment around traffic and sales trends.

Store growth remained a core part of the story, with new restaurant openings during the quarter and continued expansion plans implied in the business update.

Sources:

CAVA Investor Relations, Barron’s, MarketWatch

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$CAVA Insider Trading Activity

$CAVA insiders have traded $CAVA stock on the open market 20 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 19 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $CAVA stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

BRETT SCHULMAN (CEO and President) has made 1 purchase buying 150 shares for an estimated $7,346 and 3 sales selling 26,192 shares for an estimated $1,741,678.
KENNETH ROBERT BERTRAM (CLO & Secretary) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 9,627 shares for an estimated $548,180.
TRICIA K. TOLIVAR (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 4,608 shares for an estimated $297,962.
KELLY COSTANZA (Chief People Officer) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 3,409 shares for an estimated $220,809.
THEODOROS XENOHRISTOS (Chief Concept Officer) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 2,004 shares for an estimated $129,616.
ADAM DAVID PHILLIPS (Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 774 shares for an estimated $48,098.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$CAVA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 249 institutional investors add shares of $CAVA stock to their portfolio, and 369 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P. added 4,523,450 shares (+153.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $265,481,280
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS added 1,805,174 shares (+27.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $105,945,662
FMR LLC added 1,448,589 shares (+40.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $85,017,688
BALYASNY ASSET MANAGEMENT L.P. added 1,212,669 shares (+1919.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $71,171,543
MARSHALL WACE, LLP added 1,212,068 shares (+689.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $71,136,270
PRIMECAP MANAGEMENT CO/CA/ added 1,175,000 shares (+1378.3%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $68,960,750
COOPER CREEK PARTNERS MANAGEMENT LLC added 1,149,188 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $67,445,843

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$CAVA Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $CAVA in the last several months. We have seen 6 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Telsey Advisory Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 01/09/2026
Truist Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 01/08/2026
Argus Research issued a "Buy" rating on 11/13/2025
Stifel issued a "Buy" rating on 11/05/2025
Keybanc issued a "Overweight" rating on 11/05/2025
RBC Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 10/09/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $CAVA, check out Quiver Quantitative's $CAVA forecast page.

$CAVA Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $CAVA recently. We have seen 16 analysts offer price targets for $CAVA in the last 6 months, with a median target of $74.5.

Here are some recent targets:

Andrew M. Charles from TD Cowen set a target price of $90.0 on 02/25/2026
Jake Bartlett from Truist Securities set a target price of $80.0 on 02/23/2026
Sarang Vora from Telsey Advisory Group set a target price of $85.0 on 02/19/2026
Dennis Geiger from UBS set a target price of $69.0 on 02/18/2026
Jon Tower from Citigroup set a target price of $74.0 on 02/12/2026
Todd M. Brooks from Benchmark set a target price of $80.0 on 02/05/2026
Brian Harbour from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $80.0 on 01/20/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.