By Kelly Cloonan

Cava Group cut its outlook for the year again, pointing to weaker demand from younger customers.

Chief Executive Brett Schulman said consumers ages 25 to 35 years old are making more deliberate choices about where they spend due to economic strains such as student loan repayments, inflation and healthcare and housing costs.

"They don't have the steam that they had last year in the way that they were visiting or their frequency of visiting," Schulman said during a call with analysts. "It's not necessarily they're so challenged with us, it's just that they don't have the vigor or the frequency of occasions that they did last year."

Other fast-casual restaurant chains have similarly warned of a pullback from the younger consumers who have driven much of their popularity. Last week, Chipotle cut its full-year outlook, citing fewer visits from young people who have opted for cooking at home over eating out.

Cava now expects same-restaurant sales growth of 3% to 4% for the year, down from its prior outlook of 4% to 6%.

Going forward, the company sees an opportunity to tout its value proposition to draw increasingly cautious consumers and continue to grow its market share.

Cava has increased prices at a slower clip than its competitors in recent years, and offers lunches well below $20 a bowl, Schulman said. He noted Cava's chicken bowls with all toppings included go for less than $13 apiece in New York City, its most expensive market.

"We want to make sure that we're putting our best foot forward at a time when consumers are becoming increasingly discerning about where they're spending their dollars," Schulman said.

The stock slid 8.8% to $47.15 in after-hours trading. Shares are down 54% this year through market close.

For the third quarter, Cava said same-store sales, which account for restaurant openings and closings, rose 1.9%, slowing from the previous quarter and missing analyst expectations of 2.8%.

Profit fell to $14.7 million, or 12 cents a share, from $18 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings per share were also 12 cents, below estimates of 13 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose to $292.2 million from $243.8 million. Analysts expected $291.9 million.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 04, 2025 18:54 ET (23:54 GMT)

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