People eat dinner outside Sweetgreen in Manhattan.
Jenna Moon | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Sweet green Shares rose 35% on Friday after the company beat Wall Street's revenue expectations for the first quarter.
The salad chain generated revenue of $158 million, beating LSEG's estimate of $152 million. It's a 26% increase from the same period a year earlier 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.
The company opened six new restaurants in the first quarter, Sweetgreen CEO and co-founder Jonathan Neiman said on an earnings call with analysts. Nieman highlighted the success of Seattle's South Lake Union location, which “had one of the strongest opening weeks in the company's recent history.”
“Openings like this prove that our brand has a much greater reach than our current physical footprint and that there is huge white space for our category-defining concept,” he said.
Nieman added that the company remains “on track” to open about seven new Infinite Kitchen automated restaurants this year and plans to create more next year. Analysts were “impressed” with early results from Infinite Kitchen's locations, according to StreetAccount.
The company announced Tuesday that it is adding steak to its menu, and expanding its protein offerings with a caramelized garlic steak protein bowl, a sliced warm pot, and a kale Caesar steak salad.
“During the testing phase in Boston, we saw Caramelized Garlic Steak quickly become a dinnertime favorite, with steak making up nearly 1 in 5 dinner orders,” said Nicolas Jammet, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen, in a press release. “We are excited to offer customers more of what they desire in every part of the day.”
