People dine outside a Sweetgreen in Manhattan.
Jeenah Luna | The Washington Post | fake images
sweet green Shares rose 35% on Friday after the company beat Wall Street's revenue expectations for the first quarter.
The salad chain reported $158 million in revenue, beating the LSEG consensus estimate of $152 million. That's a 26% increase from the prior-year period, when it reported revenue of $125.1 million.
Sweetgreen also raised revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for the full year. The company's shares are up 189% so far in 2024.
Jonathan Neman, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen, said in an earnings call with analysts that the company opened six new restaurants in the first quarter. Neman highlighted the success of the South Lake Union location in Seattle, which “had one of the strongest opening weeks in the company's recent history.”
“Openings like these demonstrate that our brand has a significantly larger reach than our current physical footprint and that there is a huge white space for our category-defining concept,” he said.
Neman added that the company remains “on track” to open about seven new Infinite Kitchen automated restaurants this year and plans to establish more next year. Analysts were “impressed” by early results from Infinite Kitchen locations, according to StreetAccount.
The company announced Tuesday that it is adding steak to its menu, expanding its protein offerings with a Caramelized Garlic Steak Protein Bowl, a Ground Beef Warm Bowl and a Steak Caesar Salad with Kale.
“During our testing phase in Boston, we saw Caramelized Garlic Steak quickly become a dinnertime favorite, with steak accounting for nearly 1 in 5 dinner orders,” said Nicolas Jammet, concept director and co-founder of Sweetgreen, in a press release. “We're thrilled to offer customers more of what they crave every moment of the day.”
