CAVA Group Stock Surges 11% After Q2 Revenue Jumps 31% and Traffic Rebounds Despite Cyclospora Fears

CAVA Group shares climbed roughly 11% on Wednesday after the Mediterranean fast-casual chain reported second-quarter 2026 results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and restaurant traffic. Revenue grew 31.3% year over year, same-restaurant sales rose 9.0%, and guest traffic increased 5.3%, with CAVA opening 17 net new restaurants during the quarter. Restaurant-level profit margin reached 25.7%.

CEO Brett Schulman said the company sees strength across all income strata and noted that while a multistate cyclospora outbreak had spooked consumers around produce consumption and weighed on same-restaurant sales during the quarter, the chain has since begun to rebound. CNBC reported that lettuce prices posted their sharpest month-over-month decline on record in July as the cyclospora scare unfolded, but CAVA maintained its full-year financial guidance. RBC Capital raised its price target on the stock following the results, though at least one other analyst cut its target to $85 from a higher level.

The stock was on pace for its best single-day gain in five months, with shares trading up more than 17% in premarket before settling to an approximately 11% gain on the session.