Why Sweetgreen (SG) Shares Are Trading Lower Today

What Happened?

Shares of casual salad chain Sweetgreen fell 5.8% in the morning session after the departure of its Chief Development Officer, Chris Tarrant, and a price target cut from Morgan Stanley highlighted ongoing business struggles. 

The executive's exit marked the second leadership change in a month, following the recent retirement of co-founder Nathaniel Ru. These shifts occurred as the salad chain faced weaker trading, with same-store sales having declined for three consecutive quarters in 2025. In response to the challenges, Sweetgreen scaled back its growth plans, now aiming to open between 15 and 20 new locations, down from a previous projection of 37. Adding to the pressure, Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on the stock to $9.00 from $10.00.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Sweetgreen’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 53 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 27 days ago when the stock gained 4.2% on the news that the company announced its expansion into the Sacramento market with the launch of two new locations. 

This move marked the company's first entry into the area and built upon its ongoing expansion across the country. The news signaled continued growth for the restaurant chain. Adding to the positive sentiment, RBC Capital analyst Logan Reich reiterated a "Buy" rating on the stock with an $8 price target, reinforcing a favorable outlook on the company's prospects.

Sweetgreen is up 8.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $7.50 per share, it is still trading 77.7% below its 52-week high of $33.71 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sweetgreen’s shares at the IPO in November 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $151.62.

Looking back on modern fast food stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Portillo's and its peers.

Modern fast food is a relatively newer category representing a middle ground between traditional fast food and sit-down restaurants. These establishments feature an expanded menu selection priced above traditional fast food options, often incorporating fresher and cleaner ingredients to serve customers prioritizing quality. These eateries are capitalizing on the perception that your drive-through burger and fries joint is detrimental to your health because of inferior ingredients.

The 6 modern fast food stocks we track reported a slower Q3. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 9.1% on average since the latest earnings results.

Portillo's

Begun as a Chicago hot dog stand in 1963, Portillo’s is a casual restaurant chain that serves Chicago-style hot dogs and beef sandwiches as well as fries and shakes.

Portillo's reported revenues of $181.4 million, up 1.8% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 0.7%, but it was still a strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ same-store sales estimates.

“Portillo’s took a number of steps to reset our growth model in the third quarter, as we proceed at a more measured pace in new markets while pursuing better unit economics,” said Mike Miles, Chairman of the Board and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Portillo’s.

The stock is down 13.2% since reporting and currently trades at $4.55.

Best Q3: Shake Shack

Started as a hot dog cart in New York City's Madison Square Park, Shake Shack is a fast-food restaurant known for its burgers and milkshakes.

Shake Shack reported revenues of $367.4 million, up 15.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Shake Shack pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it’s traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $90.63.

Weakest Q3: Sweetgreen

Founded in 2007 by three Georgetown University alum, Sweetgreen is a casual quick service chain known for its healthy salads and bowls.

Sweetgreen reported revenues of $172.4 million, flat year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Sweetgreen delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 16.9% since the results and currently trades at $7.31.

Read our full analysis of Sweetgreen’s results here.

CAVA

Starting from a single Washington, D.C. location, CAVA operates a fast-casual restaurant chain offering customizable Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

CAVA reported revenues of $292.2 million, up 19.9% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it logged full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations and a slight miss of analysts’ same-store sales estimates.

CAVA pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 31.1% since reporting and currently trades at $67.78.

Read our full, actionable report on CAVA here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Wingstop

The passion project of two chicken wing aficionados in Texas, Wingstop is a popular fast-food chain known for its flavorful and crispy chicken wings offered in a variety of sauces and seasonings.

Wingstop reported revenues of $175.7 million, up 8.1% year on year. This number came in 5% below analysts' expectations. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also recorded a significant miss of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Wingstop had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 21.5% since reporting and currently trades at $260.17.

Read our full, actionable report on Wingstop here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Check out the companies making headlines yesterday:

UiPath : Automation software company UiPath rose by 8% on Wednesday after it was announced the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 index. See our full article here.

Kratos : Aerospace and defense company Kratos fell by 3% on Wednesday after its President and CEO, Eric DeMarco, sold a significant amount of stock, totaling approximately $16.1 million. See our full article here.

Sweetgreen : Casual salad chain Sweetgreen rose by 4.2% on Wednesday after the company announced its expansion into the Sacramento market with the launch of two new locations. See our full article here.

What Happened?

Shares of casual salad chain Sweetgreen jumped 4.2% in the afternoon session after the company announced its expansion into the Sacramento market with the launch of two new locations. 

This move marked the company's first entry into the area and built upon its ongoing expansion across the country. The news signaled continued growth for the restaurant chain. Adding to the positive sentiment, RBC Capital analyst Logan Reich reiterated a "Buy" rating on the stock with an $8 price target, reinforcing a favorable outlook on the company's prospects.

The shares closed the day at $7.03, up 5.5% from previous close.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Sweetgreen’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 53 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 15 days ago when the stock gained 3.9% on the news that RBC Capital raised its price target on the stock, and the company launched a new value-focused promotional meal. The investment bank increased its price target to $8 from $7 while keeping an Outperform rating on the shares. This analyst action coincided with the company's introduction of the 'Tis the Seasoned Harvest Bowl with Blackened Chicken. The meal was offered nationwide for a limited time at a price of $10 for members of its loyalty program. This was seen as one of the chain's strongest value plays yet to attract customers.

Sweetgreen is down 78.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $6.94 per share, it is trading 80.2% below its 52-week high of $34.94 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sweetgreen’s shares at the IPO in November 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $140.10.