First Watch stock price drops 4% due to revenue miss, despite earnings exceeding expectations

LootboxPhobia · 2026-02-24T18:29:59+00:00

First Watch Restaurant Group's Q4 earnings exceeded earnings per share expectations but fell short on revenue. The company's stock price dropped 4.13%. Despite revenue reaching $316.4 million, a 20.2% year-over-year increase, it did not meet expectations. The CEO stated that significant growth has been achieved in fiscal year 2025, and revenue and same-store sales are expected to continue growing in fiscal year 2026.

LootboxPhobia

2026-02-24 18:29:59

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Florida, Bradenton - On Tuesday, First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) announced its Q4 earnings exceeded profit expectations but fell short on revenue.

Following the announcement, the company’s stock dropped 4.13% in pre-market trading.

The daytime dining chain reported an adjusted Q4 earnings of $0.24 per share, significantly above analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.08.

However, revenue was $316.4 million, below the expected $319.18 million, despite a 20.2% increase from $263.3 million in the same period last year. Same-store sales grew by 3.1%, while customer traffic declined by 1.9%.

For fiscal year 2025, total revenue is projected to grow 20.3% from $1.0 billion in 2024 to $1.2 billion, with same-store sales increasing by 3.6% and customer traffic up 0.5% year-over-year. Net income rose from $18.9 million to $19.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased from $113.8 million to $120.9 million.

CEO and President Chris Tomasso stated, “2025 is a year of significant progress for First Watch in many areas. In addition to maintaining nearly 11% industry-leading new restaurant growth, our total revenue grew over 20%, including a 3.6% increase in same-store sales and positive same-store customer traffic growth.”

During fiscal year 2025, the company opened 64 system-wide restaurants across 23 states, ending the year with a total of 633 locations.

For fiscal year 2026, First Watch provided an adjusted EBITDA guidance of $132 million to $140 million, with a midpoint of $136 million.

The company expects same-store sales growth of 1% to 3% and total revenue growth of 12% to 14%. First Watch plans to open 59 to 63 new system-wide restaurants and close 3 company-operated locations.

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