Since becoming a public company, Cava Group (CAVA 0.22%) has had a bit of a wild ride in its stock price and market presence. The Mediterranean restaurant chain completed its initial public offering (IPO) in mid-June 2023, when the market was starved for new IPOs. However, as of 2025, Cava's stock price has cooled off but has remained relatively stable for the past two quarters.
IPO
The IPO was priced at $22 per share, above its expected range of $19 to $20 per share. Investors craving something new gobbled up shares, driving them up more than 100% on their first trading day and making it one of the tastiest IPOs of the year. They continued rallying, and by mid-2024, the stock was up well over $100 a share. As of Q2 of 2025, the stock is hovering around $84, down about 26% for the year.
Rapid growth is a big driver of the fast-casual restaurant stock's red-hot start and now relative stability. Cava has opened 17 net new locations in 2025 alone, increasing its footprint to over 400 locations. As of 2025, there are 409 locations in the United States. In their Q2 earnings report, Co-Founder and CEO Brett Schulman said they aim to open 1000 locations. Its growth potential might have investors salivating to invest in its stock.
Fueled by customers' craving for Mediterranean food, Q2 marked a huge upswing in their growth with overall sales. As of 2025, their Q2 sales report showed a growth of over 20% raking in around $278 million across all stores.
So if you want to help fuel your craving for Cava and add a few more restaurant shares to your portfolio, here's a step-by-step guide on how to buy shares of the restaurant stock. Plus, we'll give you the secret ingredients, also known as a few things to consider before locking in your trades.
How to buy
How to buy Cava stock
You'll need to take a few steps before buying shares in Cava (or any other stock, for that matter). Here's a step-by-step guide to adding the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand to your portfolio.
Step 1: Open a brokerage account
You'll want to open and fund a brokerage account before buying shares of any stock. If you need to open one, here are some of the best-rated brokers and trading platforms. Take your time to research the brokers to find the best one for you.
Step 2: Figure out your budget
Before making your first trade, you'll need to determine a budget for how much money you want to invest. A good rule of thumb is that you shouldn't invest money that you'll likely need in the next three to five years, like your emergency fund. You'll then want to figure out how to allocate that money.
The Motley Fool's investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio of 25 or more stocks you plan to hold for at least five years. You don't have to get there on the first day. For example, if you have $1,000 available to start investing, you might want to begin by allocating that money equally across at least 10 stocks and then grow from there.
Step 3: Do your research
It's essential to thoroughly research a company before buying its shares. You should learn about how it makes money, its competitors, its balance sheet, and other factors to ensure you have a solid grasp on whether the company can grow value for its shareholders over the long term.
Step 4: Place an order
Once you've opened and funded a brokerage account, set your investing budget, and researched the stock, it's time to buy shares. The process is relatively straightforward. Go to your brokerage account's order page and fill out all the relevant information, including:
- The number of shares you want to buy or the amount you want to invest to purchase fractional shares.
- The stock ticker (CAVA for Cava Group).
- Whether you want to place a limit order or a market order, the Motley Fool recommends using a market order since it guarantees you buy shares immediately at the market price.
Once you complete the order page, click to submit your trade and become a Cava Group shareholder.
Stock Ticker
Should I invest?
Should I invest in Cava?
Doing research is essential before buying any stock. It could cause you to lose your appetite for the shares, or it might reaffirm your belief that it's a tasty investment opportunity. Here are some reasons you might want to buy shares of Cava Group:
- You're a big fan of the company and its food.
- You understand that Cava Group's stock could be very volatile.
- You don't need dividend income from your investment.
- Owning shares of the restaurant operator would help you build a more diversified portfolio.
- You believe the company can continue opening profitable new locations while rapidly growing sales at existing stores.
- You like to invest in founder-led companies.
On the other hand, here are some reasons you might opt against investing in Cava stock:
- You aren't a fan of Mediterranean food and don't like Cava's menu items.
- You're nearing retirement or already retired and need income from your investments.
- You already own some restaurant stocks, and adding Cava would give you too much exposure to the sector.
- You're worried that a recession could affect Cava's sales and growth potential.
- You prefer lower-risk investments over the traditionally volatile restaurant industry.
- You're concerned about Cava's recent slow growth.
Profitability
Is Cava profitable?
Evaluating a company's profitability is essential to an investor's stock research process. Profit growth tends to be the primary driver of a company's stock price in the long term.
Cava Group has been solidly profitable since going public. The company generated $18.4 million of net income on $278.2 million in revenue in its fiscal 2025 second quarter.
A big driver of its improved profitability is the company's growing scale. It has opened 16 net new Cava Restaurants over the past 6 months. The new locations, combined with strong same-store sales growth, drove the big surge in its revenue.
Cava's profits are certainly heading in the right direction, which is what investors want to see in a fast-growing company.
Dividends
Does Cava pay a dividend?
Cava Group has yet to initiate a dividend since going public. The fast-growing restaurant group likely won't declare one soon. It's using its retained earnings to help support its expansion, including opening new locations.
Retained Earnings
ETF options
ETFs with exposure to Cava
Cava has only been a publicly traded company since June 2023, so it's not yet widely held by institutional investors, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, ETFs are starting to add shares of the newly public company. According to ETF Channel, over 100 ETFs held shares of the company as of mid-2025.
Notable ETFs holding shares were iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH -0.41%), Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG -0.64%), and Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index Fund ETF Shares (NASDAQ:IVOO). That makes them decent ways to passively invest in Cava Group.
Another alternative is to invest in a restaurant ETF. In the meantime, owning shares of a restaurant ETF would enable investors to invest passively in some of the top publicly traded restaurant operators.
Stock splits
Will Cava stock split?
Cava Group didn't have an upcoming stock split as of mid-2025. The company completed its IPO earlier in 2023 at $22 per share. Shares rallied after its IPO, trading around $120 apiece in mid-2024; however, by mid-2025, the shares had dropped in price, making it unlikely the stock will split anytime soon.
Stock Split
Related investing topics
The bottom line on Cava
Cava burst onto the scene as one of the hottest IPOs of 2023; however, as of 2025, the stock price has cooled off enough to be on par with other restaurant groups of similar size.
In short, Cava might not be the right investment for everyone. Shares could be volatile, and the stock doesn't currently pay dividends. Investors need to do their research and make sure they want to own Cava before buying shares.
FAQ
Investing in Cava FAQ
Is CAVA a good investment?
Cava has been one of the hottest IPOs of 2023, more than doubling from its IPO price. The Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant is growing briskly by opening new locations and launching new menu items to drive healthy same-store sales growth. The company's continued growth could keep pushing the stock price higher.
However, Cava has risks. As of 2025, the stock price has fallen by over 20% when compared to mid-2024, making it a far spicier investment for some. While it could rally and this drop in price could make a great entry point for new investors. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, a recession could drive consumers to lose their appetite for eating out, causing Cava's growth to slow and its stock price to tumble. Cava might not be a good company for all investors. It's best for those with a high risk tolerance seeking a potentially high-growth stock.
Is Cava a public company?
Cava Group is a publicly traded company. It closed its initial public offering on June 20, 2023, at $22 per share. It trades on the NYSE under the stock ticker CAVA.
What is the future price of Cava stock?
It's impossible to predict the future price of Cava stock since so many factors can affect share prices, many of which are outside the company's control. However, several analysts who follow the company have set future price targets for its stock.
As of mid-2025, the average 12-month price was in the range of a high $145 in February and a low of just $65 in August.
Is Cava profitable?
Cava Group was profitable during the first half of 2025. The restaurant operator reported $18.4 million in net income during the first 28 weeks of the year. The company has been increasingly profitable as it scaled its business by opening more locations, which has expanded its profit margins.
