Panera Bread started as a single bakery in St. Louis in 1987. It has grown into one of the largest fast-casual restaurant concepts in the country. There are now more than 2,200 Panera Bread bakery-cafes across the U.S. and Canada.
The company is now part of Panera Brands, one of the world's biggest fast-casual restaurant operators, with more than 3,700 locations in 11 countries. Other notable brands under its umbrella include Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels. With this level of reach and potential for sales, some investors are wondering if they can invest in Panera Bread stock.
Panera Brands has grown under the watchful eye of JAB Holdings. The investment management company took Panera Bread private in 2017 and merged it with Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels to create Panera Brands in 2021.
However, Panera is contemplating completing an initial public offering (IPO), which could happen before the end of 2024 but as of 2025, there has been no update on whether Panera or JAB Holdings will go public.
Here's a look at what you need to know about Panera and how to invest in its stock if it completes an IPO soon.
Is it publicly traded?
Is Panera Bread publicly traded?
Panera Bread wasn't a publicly traded company as of 2025. JAB Holdings took the restaurant operator private in a $7.5 billion deal in 2017. The investment manager owns several other consumer brands, including Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP 0.35%) and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (DNUT -1.29%).
IPO
IPO
When will Panera Bread IPO?
Panera Bread didn't have an IPO on the calendar as of 2025. However, the company started the process of going public again in December 2023, but after a number of changes in leadership and a brief stint in the internet limelight for all the wrong reasons, it's unlikely they will try to go public again anytime soon.
Panera has tried to rejoin the public markets before. The company struck a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public in 2021. However, it scrapped the deal in 2022 due to challenging market conditions.
How to buy
How to buy Panera Bread stock
Because Panera Bread still hasn't completed an IPO, you can't buy shares of the restaurant operator in a brokerage account. Private investment fund JAB Holdings currently owns the company, so investors can't buy pre-IPO shares of Panera.
However, they could consider buying a Panera alternative. Here are three restaurant stocks to consider investing in while you await a Panera IPO:
Cava Group
Cava Group (CAVA 2.1%) is a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain. The company went public in mid-2023 in one of the hottest IPOs of the year. Cava is growing fast. Its revenue has surged 35% over the past year, driven by new restaurant openings and strong same-store sales growth. It had more than 400 restaurants at the end of the second quarter of 2025, with plans to continue growing its store count. The company was also growing increasingly profitable.
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza (DPZ -0.82%) is the largest pizza purveyor in the world. It has more than 20,900 locations in at least 90 global markets. Domino's generated more than $19.4 billion in sales in 2025, split evenly between its U.S. and international businesses. The company sees more growth ahead. It expects to add more than 1,100 new locations each year through 2028, which should help drive 7%+ annual sales growth and 8%+ annual profit growth.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG -0.6%) is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain. The company currently has more than 3,500 stores across North America and Europe. It differs from many restaurant chains because it owns and operates all its locations instead of franchising. Chipotle continues to grow at a decent clip. Revenue was up 3% to $3.1 billion in the second quarter of 2025, driven by new store openings (52 in the quarter) and growing same-store sales. The company plans to continue opening new locations (it opened its first location in Kuwait in 2024, its first new international market in a decade) and launch innovative new products to grow its sales and shareholder value.
Investors who want to buy one of these Panera alternatives can purchase shares in any brokerage account. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to invest in stocks like Panera.
Step 1: Open a brokerage account
You'll have to open and fund a brokerage account before buying shares of any company. If you still 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. You shouldn't invest money that you might need in the next three to five years, like your emergency fund. You'll then want to decide 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 build from there.
Step 3: Do your research
It's essential to thoroughly research a company before buying its shares. You should learn how it makes money, its competitors, its balance sheet, and other factors to make sure 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, DPZ for Domino's Pizza, and CMG for Chipotle Mexican Grill).
- 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 shareholder in one of these restaurant stocks while you await Panera's IPO.
Investors would follow a similar process to buy an IPO stock like Panera when it goes public. Once shares become available, fill out the order page at your brokerage account with Panera's selected stock ticker and submit your trade.
Profitability
Is Panera Bread profitable?
Profitability is crucial for a company's long-term success. Companies eventually need to make money to fund their operations and expansion. Meanwhile, profit growth tends to be the biggest driver of value creation for a company's investors over the long term.
As a privately held company, Panera doesn't need to disclose its financial results publicly, so there wasn't any publicly available information on the company's profitability in late 2024.
However, Panera did report in mid-2023 that it generated more than $4.8 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022. Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report in late 2023 said that the company was laying off 17% of its corporate workforce in a bid to reduce costs ahead of a potential IPO. However, in 2025, more and more Panera locations around the U.S. have closed due to a lack of sales and staffing.
Should I invest?
Should I invest in Panera Bread?
It's important to consider whether Panera will be the right investment for you before buying shares when and if it goes public.
Here are a few factors to consider that might lead you to decide it's a good stock for you to buy:
- You're a fan of Panera's food and want to invest in a company you'd enjoy researching by trying more of its products.
- You think the company can continue growing its restaurant count and same-store sales at a healthy rate.
- You believe Panera's growing scale and cost-cutting moves will enable it to deliver strong profit growth.
- You think Panera will create lots of value for investors like it did the last time it was a publicly traded company.
- You understand that IPO stocks can be risky and more volatile.
- Adding Panera would help diversify your portfolio by adding a restaurant stock to the mix.
On the other hand, here are some reasons why you might opt against buying Panera stock:
- You're not really a big fan of Panera's food or beverage offerings.
- You already own several other fast food stocks.
- You're concerned that a potential recession could greatly impact discretionary spending on things like restaurants, which could slow Panera's growth.
- You're a more conservative investor and prefer investing in less volatile stocks than recent IPOs.
- You are considered about the recent store closures.
Related investing topics
ETFs
ETFs with exposure to Panera Bread
Since Panera is still a privately held company, investors can't passively invest in its stock through an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)
However, people interested in investing in the restaurant sector have a couple of restaurant ETF options to consider, including:
- AdvisorShares Restaurant ETF (EATZ 0.14%): This ETF is the only one focused exclusively on the restaurant and food service industry. It held 23 restaurant stocks in 2025, including Domino's in the top 10 at 4.7% of its net assets. The ETF had a 0.99% expense fee.
- Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF (PEJ -0.46%): This fund focuses on companies in the leisure and entertainment industry. The fund held hotels, restaurants, and leisure companies (58.4% of its holdings in 2025), entertainment stocks (16.6%), media companies (2.6%), food and staples retailing operators (10%), airline stocks (10%), and interactive media and services companies (2.6%). The fund had a 0.58% total ETF expense ratio.
The bottom line on Panera Bread
Panera could once again become a publicly traded company. The company's brand power, large scale, and growth potential already have many investors salivating for its potential IPO, but investors probably shouldn't hold their breath on it, as there are no signs they will within the year.
Investing in Panera Bread FAQs
Is Panera Bread stock public?
Panera Bread stock didn't trade publicly as of 2025. The restaurant operator went private in 2017. However, the company did file paperwork to potentially go public again, which could occur in 2025.
What happened to Panera Bread stock?
JAB Holdings took Panera Bread private in 2017. The investment fund paid $7.5 billion in cash to acquire the company's outstanding shares.
What company owns Panera?
JAB Holdings owns Panera. The investment fund focuses on owning consumer goods and services companies. In addition to Panera, it has made investments in Keurig Dr Pepper, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
What is the stock abbreviation for Panera Bread?
Panera Bread wasn't a publicly traded company as of 2025, so it doesn't have a stock ticker yet.
