CAVA Group Inc (CAVA) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the CAVA Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Matt Milanovich, SVP of Finance. Please go ahead.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 CAVA 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）本次通話於 2024 年 2 月 27 日星期二進行錄音。我現在想將會議轉交給財務高級副總裁 Matt Milanovich。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to CAVA's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. Before we begin, I want to thank you for joining us today on late notice. Yesterday, a media outlet reached an embargo agreement and released a story about our financial results in air, prompting us to issue our earnings release and host this call ahead of schedule. If you do not already have a copy of the earnings release and related 8-K furnished with the SEC are available on our website at investor.cava.com, which we encourage you to review.

早上好，歡迎參加 CAVA 2023 年第四季和全年財務業績電話會議。在我們開始之前，我要感謝您今天突然通知我們。昨天，一家媒體達成了禁運協議，並在空中發布了有關我們財務業績的報道，促使我們提前發布收益報告並召開本次電話會議。如果您尚未提供 SEC 的收益報告和相關 8-K 副本，請造訪我們的網站 Investor.cava.com，我們鼓勵您查看該網站。

The purpose of this conference call is to give investors further details regarding the company's financial results as well as a general update on the company's progress. You will find reconciliations of any non-GAAP financial measures discussed on today's call to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP to the extent available without unreasonable efforts, in today's earnings release and supplemental deck, each of which is posted on the company's website.

這次電話會議的目的是向投資者提供有關公司財務業績的更多詳細資訊以及公司進展的一般更新資訊。您將在今天的收益發布和補充資料中找到今天電話會議上討論的任何非公認會計原則財務指標的調節表，以及根據公認會計原則計算的最直接可比財務指標的調節表，而無需做出不合理的努力，每個指標都發佈在公司網站上。

Before we begin, let me remind everyone that this call will contain forward-looking statements. For this purpose, any statements made during this call that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors should be aware that any forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed here today. These risk factors are explained in detail in CAVA's filings with the SEC. Please refer to these filings for a more detailed discussion of forward-looking risk statements and the risks and uncertainties of such statements.

在開始之前，讓我提醒大家，本次電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述。為此目的，本次電話會議期間所做的任何非歷史事實陳述的陳述都可能被視為前瞻性陳述。投資者應該意識到，任何前瞻性陳述都受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，這可能導致實際結果與今天討論的結果有重大差異。 CAVA 向 SEC 提交的文件中詳細解釋了這些風險因素。請參閱這些文件，以了解有關前瞻性風險聲明以及此類聲明的風險和不確定性的更詳細討論。

All forward-looking statements are made as of today and except as required by law, CAVA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. And now I'll turn the call over to the company's Co-Founder and CEO, Brett Schulman.

所有前瞻性陳述均截至今日作出，除非法律要求，否則 CAVA 不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來發展或其他原因。現在我將把電話轉給公司聯合創始人兼執行長布雷特舒爾曼 (Brett Schulman)。

Thanks, Matt, and welcome to the call, everyone. In 2023, we demonstrated the power of our category-defining brand and the significant white space opportunity ahead of us. We opened 72 net new restaurants during the year, growing our footprint by more than 30%. Traffic in our existing restaurants continue to climb and following a successful IPO, we generated 3 consecutive quarters of positive net income.

謝謝馬特，歡迎大家來電。 2023 年，我們展示了品類定義品牌的力量以及擺在我們面前的重大空白機會。年內，我們淨新開了 72 家餐廳，足跡成長了 30% 以上。我們現有餐廳的客流量持續攀升，在成功首次公開募股後，我們連續三個季度實現正淨利。

As we create the next large-scale cultural cuisine category, our extraordinary potential is clear. We fulfill consumers' growing desire for bold, unique flavors with no compromise between taste and health. Our Mediterranean concept has broad appeal across genders, generations and income levels, and proven portability from coast to coast in cities and suburbs. We now have a presence in 24 states and the District of Columbia and continue to target annual unit growth of 15% or more with a long-term goal of 1,000 restaurants by 2032.

當我們創造下一個大規模的文化美食類別時，我們的非凡潛力是顯而易見的。我們滿足消費者對大膽、獨特口味日益增長的渴望，同時在口味和健康之間不妥協。我們的地中海概念對性別、世代和收入水平具有廣泛的吸引力，並且在城市和郊區從一個海岸到另一個海岸具有經過驗證的可移植性。目前，我們的業務已遍及 24 個州和哥倫比亞特區，並繼續以年增長率 15% 或以上為目標，長期目標是到 2032 年開設 1,000 家餐廳。

We've built a strong foundation to support that growth, and our powerful unit economic engine continues to drive us forward. Even with continued macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, our value proposition is resonating with consumers. The investments we make in our team members and our guests support that value proposition.

我們已經為支持這種成長奠定了堅實的基礎，我們強大的單位經濟引擎繼續推動我們前進。即使宏觀經濟和地緣政治持續存在不確定性，我們的價值主張仍能引起消費者的共鳴。我們對團隊成員和客人的投資支持了這個價值主張。

We are working on behalf of our team members by investing in attractive wages and benefits, enhanced training and career development opportunities. We are working on behalf of our guests by mitigating price increases and by not taking outsized pricing to offset unplanned costs related to the impact of new legislation like AB 1228 in California, which includes aspects of its predecessor bill, known as the FAST Act. We see the impact of these investments come to life every day.

我們代表我們的團隊成員投資有吸引力的薪資和福利、加強培訓和職業發展機會。我們正在代表我們的客人努力減少價格上漲，並通過不採取過高的定價來抵消與加利福尼亞州AB 1228 等新立法影響相關的計劃外成本，其中包括其前身法案（稱為FAST 法案）的各個方面。我們每天都看到這些投資的影響正在顯現。

I was on a plane the other day heading home from visiting our team in L.A. when one of the flight attendant saw my CAVA sweatshirt, stopped and let me know effusively how much she and her daughter love and appreciate our food and most importantly, the value we offer. When it comes to the team, there's no better example of the return on our investment than the recent promotion of a team member in our Virginia Beach restaurant, Ricky Martin, Jr. Ricky joined us as an entry-level role 4 years ago just before the pandemic. He has grown under the training of our Academy General Manager, Nick Blalock, and was just promoted to Guest Experience Manager.

前幾天，我在拜訪我們在洛杉磯的團隊後在回家的飛機上，一位空姐看到了我的CAVA 運動衫，停下來熱情地告訴我她和她的女兒有多喜歡和欣賞我們的食物，最重要的是，它的價值我們提供。說到團隊，沒有比我們弗吉尼亞海灘餐廳最近晉升的團隊成員 Ricky Martin, Jr. 更能體現我們投資回報的例子了。Ricky 於 4 年前加入我們，擔任入門級職位。大流行。他在我們學院總經理 Nick Blalock 的培訓下不斷成長，並且剛晉升為賓客體驗經理。

Investing in our teams and our guests enables us to deliver on the Mediterranean way that sets us apart, and we believe will continue to drive traffic and support sustainable expansion while increasing profitability and shareholder value over the long term.

對我們的團隊和客人的投資使我們能夠以地中海方式提供服務，使我們與眾不同，我們相信將繼續增加客流量並支持可持續擴張，同時提高長期盈利能力和股東價值。

Our results in the fourth quarter of 2023 were outstanding with a more than 52% increase in CAVA revenue. 11.4% CAVA same restaurant sales growth, including a 6.2% increase in traffic. 19 net new restaurants ending the quarter with 309 restaurants, a 30% increase year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA of $15.7 million, a $12.2 million increase over the fourth quarter of 2022 and net income of $2 million. And for the full year, we delivered record results, including a nearly 60% increase in CAVA revenue. 17.9% CAVA same restaurant sales growth including a 10.4% increase in traffic. 72 net new restaurants. Adjusted EBITDA of $73.8 million, a $61.2 million increase over 2022 and net income of $13.3 million.

我們 2023 年第四季的業績非常出色，CAVA 收入成長了 52% 以上。 CAVA同店銷售額成長11.4%，其中客流量成長6.2%。本季淨新增 19 家餐廳，總數達 309 家，年增 30%。調整後 EBITDA 為 1,570 萬美元，比 2022 年第四季增加 1,220 萬美元，淨利為 200 萬美元。全年我們取得了創紀錄的業績，其中 CAVA 收入成長了近 60%。 CAVA 同一餐廳銷售額成長 17.9%，其中客流量成長 10.4%。淨增 72 間餐廳。調整後 EBITDA 為 7,380 萬美元，比 2022 年增加 6,120 萬美元，淨利為 1,330 萬美元。

Our 2023 performance was grounded in the execution of our strategic plan. I'm going to touch on the highlights of what we accomplished in Q4 and the full year before laying out the evolution of our strategy and what we are setting out to accomplish in 2024.

我們 2023 年的業績是基於策略計畫的執行。我將先介紹我們在第四季度和全年取得的成就的亮點，然後闡述我們的策略演變以及我們計劃在 2024 年實現的目標。

In Q4, we continued our expansion across the country, opening locations in 9 different states, further exhibiting the portability of our brand. We also opened our last remaining Zoe's conversion and are operating under a single powerful CAVA brand. As we work to build a best-in-class organization, we rolled out updated food safety protocols in Q4, including the completion of our transition to a new third-party auditor with more frequent and stringent restaurant policy.

第四季度，我們繼續在全國擴張，在9個不同的州開設了分店，進一步展現了我們品牌的可移植性。我們還開設了最後一家 Zoe's 改裝店，並在一個強大的 CAVA 品牌下運作。在我們努力建立一流組織的過程中，我們在第四季度推出了更新的食品安全協議，包括完成向新的第三方審核員的過渡，並制定更頻繁、更嚴格的餐廳政策。

We also expanded training content and further strengthened our robust accountability procedures through our critical 4 initiative, which codifies our food safety priorities for our team. To deliver on these standards, as well as efficient operations and an incredible guest experience as we scale, we continue to grow our people development pipeline.

我們也透過關鍵 4 措施擴大了培訓內容，並進一步加強了我們強有力的問責程序，該措施為我們的團隊制定了食品安全優先事項。為了實現這些標準，並隨著規模的擴大實現高效營運和令人難以置信的賓客體驗，我們不斷擴大我們的人才發展管道。

We ended 2023 with 55 Academy GMs, including 7 recently promoted to the multiunit leader position, exceeding our target for the year. In addition, we delivered on our 2023 target to internally place 75% of our new restaurant GMs.

截至 2023 年，我們有 55 位學院總經理，其中 7 位最近晉升為多部門領導職位，超越了我們的年度目標。此外，我們也實現了 2023 年目標，將 75% 的新餐廳總經理安排在內部。

Our team building work, both at our restaurants and in our collaboration centers has created a highly engaged team. According to industry expert, Denison Consulting, an employee Net Promoter Score, or ENPS, above the 50th percentile indicates a high level of engagement.

我們在餐廳和協作中心的團隊建立工作打造了一支高度敬業的團隊。根據行業專家 Denison Consulting 的說法，員工淨推薦值 (ENPS) 高於第 50 個百分位數表明員工敬業度較高。

In our most recent team member survey, we ranked in the top quartile, our highest score to date. Team members also rated us in the top quintile on average in the diversity and inclusion category, and we are proud to be named by Newsweek as one of America's greatest works for diversity.

在我們最近的團隊成員調查中，我們排名前四分之一，這是迄今為止我們的最高得分。團隊成員也在多元化和包容性類別中將我們平均評為前五分之一，我們很自豪被《新聞周刊》評為美國最偉大的多元化作品之一。

To further the success of our team and our business as we scale, we build additional infrastructure to support our plans for growth. We're excited to announce that our new manufacturing facility in Verona, Virginia has commenced operations. A 55,000 square-foot production facility, Verona produces CAVA dips and spreads and along with our existing facility in Laurel, Maryland, can support at least 750 restaurants as well as the growth of our CPG business.

為了隨著規模的擴大，進一步推動我們的團隊和業務成功，我們建立了額外的基礎設施來支持我們的成長計畫。我們很高興地宣布，我們位於維吉尼亞州維羅納的新製造工廠已開始運作。維羅納擁有 55,000 平方英尺的生產設施，生產 CAVA 蘸醬和塗抹醬，加上我們位於馬裡蘭州勞雷爾的現有設施，可以支持至少 750 家餐廳以及我們的 CPG 業務的成長。

This vertically integrated model takes complexity out of the restaurants and improves cost overall and lets us maintain the quality and integrity of our chef-crafted recipes.

這種垂直整合的模式消除了餐廳的複雜性，提高了整體成本，讓我們能夠保持廚師精心製作的食譜的品質和完整性。

On the culinary front, our best-in-class team continues to innovate, creating newness in our menu and giving guests reasons to try CAVA and come back more often. A prime example of this is our new grilled steak protein. Our Mediterranean take on this beloved name demonstrates the bold unique flavors that make CAVA special. It is rich but not heavy and features the brightness of sun dried tomato, herb oregano and a touch of red chili for fruity heat.

在烹飪方面，我們一流的團隊不斷創新，在菜單中創造新意，讓客人有理由嘗試 CAVA 並經常回來。一個典型的例子是我們新推出的烤牛排蛋白。我們對這個深受喜愛的名字的地中海詮釋展現了使 CAVA 與眾不同的大膽獨特風味。它濃鬱但不厚重，具有曬乾番茄、香草牛至和淡淡的紅辣椒的明亮果香。

Our Dallas and Boston market tests are progressing well, and we expect to roll stake out company-wide in the second half of 2024. Turning to loyalty. We are in the early stages of launching a new program aimed at developing deeper connections with our passionate customer base, creating more frequent, relevant experiences and further driving traffic, mix and check.

我們的達拉斯和波士頓市場測試進展順利，我們預計將在 2024 年下半年在全公司範圍內推出股份。轉向忠誠度。我們正處於啟動新計劃的早期階段，旨在與充滿熱情的客戶群建立更深入的聯繫，創造更頻繁的相關體驗，並進一步推動流量、混合和檢查。

At the end of 2023, we transitioned all loyalty members to a new construct that lets them earn and bank points. In the Houston market, we started testing new types of rewards to redeem and new ways to engage guests. We are moving to the next stage gate with an expanded test of the Houston pilot in the Carolinas market.

2023 年底，我們將所有忠誠會員轉變為新的架構，讓他們能夠賺取和存入積分。在休士頓市場，我們開始測試新型獎勵兌換方式以及吸引客人的新方式。我們正在進入下一階段，在卡羅來納州市場對休士頓試點進行擴大測試。

Early results are meeting expectations, and we expect to roll out a new rewards program company-wide at the end of this year. Before turning the call over to Tricia, I'd like to touch on our 2024 strategic plan, which reflects our evolving strategy and builds on our accomplishments to date with 4 key pillars.

早期結果符合預期，我們預計將在今年年底在全公司範圍內推出新的獎勵計劃。在將電話轉交給 Tricia 之前，我想談談我們的 2024 年戰略計劃，該計劃反映了我們不斷發展的戰略，並以我們迄今為止取得的 4 個關鍵支柱的成就為基礎。

The first pillar, expand our Mediterranean way and communities across the country, encompasses 3 key areas. The first area is growing our footprint and expanding channel access. This includes new restaurant growth and initiatives like our catering test. The second area is fueling our culinary innovation and communication engine to drive traffic, mix and check illustrated by our planned stake launch in the second half of the year. And the last area is expressing our concept essence consistently across brand properties, which includes the rollout of projects sold, our new finalized 3.0 design, which creates a more inviting physical space for in-restaurant occasions.

第一個支柱是在全國範圍內擴展我們的地中海方式和社區，涵蓋 3 個關鍵領域。第一個領域是擴大我們的足跡並擴大管道。這包括新餐廳的成長和我們的餐飲測試等措施。第二個領域是推動我們的烹飪創新和溝通引擎，以推動流量、混合和檢查，這從我們計劃在今年下半年推出的股份中可以看出。最後一個領域是在整個品牌資產中一致地表達我們的概念精髓，其中包括已售項目的推出，我們新的最終確定的3.0 設計，它為餐廳內的場合創造了一個更具吸引力的物理空間。

Our second pillar is focused on developing personal relationships with guests even as we scale. This includes creating a cohesive physical and digital journey for guests, driven by a reimagined loyalty program and using our digital ecosystem for one-to-one communication that can deepen connections with guests and create more personalized experiences.

我們的第二個支柱是在規模擴大的情況下專注於發展與客人的個人關係。這包括在重新設計的忠誠度計劃的推動下，為客人打造一個連貫的實體和數位旅程，並利用我們的數位生態系統進行一對一的溝通，從而加深與客人的聯繫並創造更個性化的體驗。

Based on the results we're seeing today, we believe this work can further strengthen our value proposition, powerfully express our brand across multiple touch points and create differentiated thoughtful moments that make the CAVA experience stand out.

根據我們今天看到的結果，我們相信這項工作可以進一步強化我們的價值主張，透過多個接觸點有力地表達我們的品牌，並創造差異化的深思熟慮的時刻，使 CAVA 體驗脫穎而出。

The third pillar, run great restaurants every location, every shift, emphasizes an ongoing focus on enhancing our training and standards to consistently deliver our CAVA hospitality and food safety protocols. We believe that this work, combined with a focus on streamlining and automating prep as well as leveraging AI technologies to improve forecasting and accuracy through our new connected kitchen initiative will make our restaurants easier to operate, drive improved operational efficiency and effectiveness and enhance the guest experience.

第三個支柱是在每個地點、每個班次都經營一流的餐廳，強調持續關注加強我們的培訓和標準，以始終如一地履行我們的 CAVA 招待和食品安全協議。我們相信，這項工作，再加上對準備流程的簡化和自動化，以及利用人工智慧技術透過我們新的互聯廚房計劃來提高預測和準確性，將使我們的餐廳更易於運營，推動提高營運效率和效益，並增強客人的滿意度。經驗。

Our fourth and final pillar: operate as a high-performing team, includes deepening our culture of accountability, developing enhanced data capabilities to unlock powerful actionable insights and improved productivity and implementing programs and tools to further engage, retain and connect our teams. We will continue to evolve and enhance our talent strategies, expand and deepen our knowledge of the customer and strengthen our HR systems while fostering a mindset of growth and discipline.

我們的第四個也是最後一個支柱：作為一個高績效團隊運作，包括深化我們的責任文化，開發增強的數據能力以釋放強大的可操作的見解並提高生產力，以及實施計劃和工具以進一步吸引、留住和聯繫我們的團隊。我們將繼續發展和加強我們的人才策略，擴大和加深我們對客戶的了解，加強我們的人力資源系統，同時培養成長和紀律的心態。

I want to thank our team members for their contributions to a record-setting year and for their commitment to bringing heart, health and humanity to food. We are proud of all we have accomplished in 2023, including our entrance into the public market but we know that we are just at the beginning of all that is possible for CAVA and we look forward to the journey ahead. With that, I'll let Tricia walk you through the financials.

我要感謝我們的團隊成員為創紀錄的一年所做的貢獻，以及他們為食物帶來愛、健康和人性的承諾。我們對 2023 年所取得的成就感到自豪，包括進入公開市場，但我們知道，CAVA 的一切可能才剛開始，我們期待未來的旅程。接下來，我將讓 Tricia 向您介紹財務狀況。

Thanks, Brett, and good morning, everyone. CAVA revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 grew 52.5% year-over-year to $175.5 million. Same-restaurant sales increased 11.4%, driven by traffic growth of 6.2%. Fiscal 2023 had a 53rd week, which we excluded from our same restaurant sales calculation.

謝謝布雷特，大家早安。 2023 年第四季 CAVA 營收年增 52.5% 至 1.755 億美元。在客流量成長 6.2% 的推動下，同店銷售額成長 11.4%。 2023 財年有第 53 週，我們將其排除在同一餐廳銷售額計算之外。

We noted broad-based same restaurant sales strength across vintages, regions in both suburban and urban locations. We opened 19 net new CAVA restaurants in the fourth quarter bringing our total CAVA restaurant count to 309. We continue to be pleased with the top line and margin performance of new restaurant openings.

我們注意到，郊區和城市地區各年份、各地區的餐廳銷售強勁，基礎廣泛。我們在第四季度淨新開設了 19 家 CAVA 餐廳，使 CAVA 餐廳總數達到 309 家。我們對新開餐廳的營收和利潤表現仍然感到滿意。

In addition, our proven portability is reflected in our overall AUV above $2.6 million with all geographies $2.3 million or more. CAVA restaurant level profit in the fourth quarter was $39.3 million or 22.4% of revenue versus $23 million or 20% of revenue in the prior year, representing a 70.7% increase.

此外，我們經過驗證的可移植性體現在我們的整體 AUV 超過 260 萬美元，所有地區的 AUV 都在 230 萬美元或以上。第四季 CAVA 餐廳利潤為 3,930 萬美元，佔營收的 22.4%，而去年同期為 2,300 萬美元，佔營收的 20%，成長了 70.7%。

The margin expansion was largely the result of improved food, beverage and packaging costs and sales leverage, including the impact of the 53rd week, partially offset by incremental wage investments. CAVA's food, beverage and packaging costs were 28.8% of revenues, lower than the fourth quarter of 2022 by 210 basis points, driven by lower input costs and higher incidence of premium menu items driving favorable product mix.

利潤率的擴張主要是由於食品、飲料和包裝成本以及銷售槓桿的改善，包括第 53 週的影響，部分被增量工資投資所抵消。 CAVA 的食品、飲料和包裝成本佔收入的 28.8%，比 2022 年第四季低 210 個基點，這是由於投入成本降低和優質菜單項目出現率增加推動有利的產品組合。

CAVA labor and related costs were 27.8%, up 50 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2022. The increase reflects investments in our team member wages that we discussed on the third quarter earnings call, partially offset by leverage from increased sales compared to the prior year.

CAVA 勞動力及相關成本為27.8%，較2022 年第四季度增長50 個基點。這一增長反映了我們在第三季度財報電話會議上討論的對團隊成員工資的投資，部分被與上一季度相比銷售額增加的槓桿所抵銷年。

CAVA occupancy and related expenses were 8.3% of revenue, an improvement of 100 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2022 due to increased sales leverage. CAVA other operating expenses were 12.7% of revenue, an increase of 20 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting investments in the integrity of our physical spaces in support of our increased restaurant volumes.

由於銷售槓桿增加，CAVA 入住率及相關費用佔營收的 8.3%，較 2022 年第四季提高 100 個基點。 CAVA 其他營運支出佔收入的 12.7%，比 2022 年第四季增加了 20 個基點，反映出我們為支持餐廳數量增加而對實體空間完整性進行的投資。

Shifting to overall performance. Our general and administrative expenses for the quarter, excluding stock-based compensation, was $21.3 million compared to $15.3 million in Q4 of 2022. This $6 million increase is primarily driven by investments to support our growth, performance-based incentive compensation, recurring public company costs and legal accruals.

轉向整體表現。我們本季的一般及管理費用（不包括股票薪酬）為2,130 萬美元，而2022 年第四季為1,530 萬美元。這600 萬美元的成長主要是由支持我們成長的投資、基於績效的激勵薪酬、經常性上市公司推動的成本和法定應計費用。

As a percentage of revenue, G&A excluding stock-based compensation was 12% in the current quarter, an increase of 30 basis points from the prior year quarter, driven by the aforementioned items partially offset by sales leverage. Adjusted EBITDA, including the burden of preopening costs for the quarter was $15.7 million, which was $12.2 million higher than Q4 of 2022.

本季度，不包括股票薪酬的一般管理費用佔收入的百分比為 12%，比去年同期增長了 30 個基點，原因是上述項目被銷售槓桿部分抵消。包括開業前成本負擔在內的本季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,570 萬美元，比 2022 年第四季高出 1,220 萬美元。

The increase in adjusted EBITDA was driven by 11.4% CAVA same restaurant sales growth, improved CAVA restaurant level profit margin and the performance of new openings. Keep in mind, Q4 preopening costs included expenses related to the restaurants opened during the quarter as well as costs related to the 11 units we opened to date in Q1 of 2024. We reported $2 million of net income compared with a net loss of $18.8 million in Q4 of 2022, representing an increase of $20.8 million.

調整後 EBITDA 的成長是由 CAVA 同店銷售額成長 11.4%、CAVA 餐廳水準利潤率提高以及新開餐廳的業績所推動的。請記住，第四季度開業前成本包括與本季度開設的餐廳相關的費用以及與我們在2024 年第一季迄今開設的11 家餐廳相關的費用。我們報告的淨利潤為200 萬美元，而淨虧損為1,880 萬美元2022 年第四季度，增加了 2,080 萬美元。

We reported diluted earnings per share of $0.02 in the quarter compared with a diluted loss per share of $13.72 in Q4 of 2022.

我們報告本季稀釋後每股收益為 0.02 美元，而 2022 年第四季稀釋後每股虧損為 13.72 美元。

Shifting to liquidity. At the end of the quarter, we had 0 debt outstanding, $332.4 million in cash on hand and access to a $75 million undrawn revolver with an option to increase our liquidity as needed. We delivered cash flow from operations of $97.1 million for the year compared with $6 million in the prior year.

轉向流動性。截至本季末，我們的未償債務為零，手頭現金為 3.324 億美元，並可使用 7500 萬美元的未提取左輪手槍，並可選擇根據需要增加流動性。本年度我們的營運現金流量為 9,710 萬美元，而前一年為 600 萬美元。

The increase is primarily driven by our improved operations, driving increased profitability across the fleet. I would like to touch on our development pipeline. The pipeline we've built is diverse and not dependent on a small number of markets, landlords or site profiles. Our development team has built increased buffer into our pipeline to ensure we are insulated from potential delays in equipment availability permitting and inspections. At the same time, we are actively building a robust pipeline for 2025, positioning us for continued growth in new and existing markets.

這一增長主要是由於我們改善了運營，從而提高了整個機隊的盈利能力。我想談談我們的開發流程。我們建立的管道是多樣化的，不依賴少數市場、業主或場地概況。我們的開發團隊在我們的管道中增加了緩衝，以確保我們免受設備可用性許可和檢查方面潛在延遲的影響。同時，我們正在積極為 2025 年打造強大的產品線，為我們在新市場和現有市場的持續成長做好準備。

Turning to our outlook for full year 2024, we expect the following: 48 to 52 net new CAVA restaurant openings; CAVA same restaurant sales growth of 3% to 5%; CAVA restaurant level profit margin between 22.7% and 23.3%; preopening costs between $11.5 million and $12.5 million; and adjusted EBITDA, including the burden of preopening costs, between $86 million and $92 million.

展望 2024 年全年，我們預期： CAVA 餐廳淨新開幕數量為 48 至 52 家； CAVA同店銷售額成長3%至5%； CAVA餐廳層面利潤率介於22.7%至23.3%之間；開業前費用在 1,150 萬至 1,250 萬美元之間；調整後的 EBITDA（包括開業前成本負擔）在 8,600 萬美元至 9,200 萬美元之間。

I want to share some additional thoughts for our 2024 outlook. As you know, we took an approximate 3% in-restaurant menu price increase in January 2024. We continue to invest in creating value for our guests, and we do not have plans at the current time to take further price increases in response to AB 1228, whose predecessor was the California FAST Act. We expect approximately a 30 basis point reduction in restaurant level profit margin in the near term, which is contemplated in our full year guidance, but to also drive value for our guests and shareholders over the long term.

我想分享一些關於 2024 年展望的額外想法。如您所知，我們於 2024 年 1 月將餐廳內菜單價格上漲了約 3%。我們將繼續投資為客人創造價值，目前我們沒有計劃根據 AB 進一步提價1228，其前身是加州 FAST 法案。我們預計近期餐廳利潤率將下降約 30 個基點，這是我們全年指導中所考慮的，但從長遠來看，這也將為我們的客人和股東帶來價值。

Our 2024 same-restaurant sales guidance implies a 2-year stack in the low 20s, which is in line with the back half of 2023. Our same-restaurant sales guidance also takes in consideration the Q1 2023 benefit of an unseasonably mild winter and the halo from our IPO that benefited Q2 2023 and, to a lesser extent, the third quarter of 2023.

我們的 2024 年同店銷售指引意味著 2 年的銷售量在 20 多歲左右，這與 2023 年下半年的情況一致。我們的同店銷售指引還考慮了 2023 年第一季度反常溫和冬季的效益以及我們的IPO 使2023 年第二季受益，並在較小程度上使2023 年第三季受益。

Our results in 2023 demonstrate the power of our operating model. This is an important time in our growth trajectory and our 2024 guidance reflects our investments to deliver on our model as we scale and grow. We expect restaurant level profit margin to be between 22.7% and 23.3% or 150 to 210 basis points below 2023.

我們 2023 年的業績證明了我們營運模式的力量。這是我們成長軌跡中的重要時刻，我們的 2024 年指導反映了我們在規模和成長過程中為實現我們的模式而進行的投資。我們預計餐廳層面的利潤率將在 22.7% 至 23.3% 之間，比 2023 年低 150 至 210 個基點。

This incorporates the previously discussed 120 basis point increase in wages implemented in the fourth quarter of 2023 as part of our investment in team members, along with additional near-term investments to drive restaurant level margin expansion over the long term. We expect similar seasonality at restaurant level profit margin throughout 2024. And as a reminder, that our first quarter includes 16 weeks.

這包括先前討論的 2023 年第四季度實施的 120 個基點的工資增長，作為我們對團隊成員投資的一部分，以及額外的短期投資，以推動餐廳水平長期利潤率的擴張。我們預計 2024 年餐廳層級的利潤率將出現類似的季節性。需要提醒的是，我們的第一季包括 16 週。

Before going to Q&A, I want to acknowledge our restaurant, manufacturing and collaboration center teams for the outstanding results they delivered in 2023. Through their collective ambition and passion for positivity, they reinforced our proven portability and powerful unit economics. CAVA continues to get stronger with every new restaurant we open and every new guest we welcome to our table. Now I will turn the call back over to the operator to open it up for Q&A.

在進行問答之前，我要感謝我們的餐廳、製造和協作中心團隊在2023 年取得的出色成果。透過他們的集體抱負和積極性的熱情，他們增強了我們經過驗證的可移植性和強大的單位經濟效益。隨著我們開設的每一家新餐廳以及我們歡迎的每位新客人，CAVA 都會不斷變得更強大。現在我會將電話轉回接線生進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Brian Harbour at Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的布萊恩·哈伯（Brian Harbor）。

Maybe as you think about that same-store sales range for this year, obviously, the low end of that is just kind of your pricing plan. Do you -- are you still seeing -- do you still expect kind of more premium attach? What do you see as kind of mix drivers of that this year? And then how much traffic perhaps would you expect within that range that you've talked about?

也許當您考慮今年的同店銷售範圍時，顯然，該範圍的低端只是您的定價計劃。你是否——你仍然看到——你仍然期待更多的溢價附加嗎？您認為今年的混合驅動因素是什麼？那麼，在您所討論的範圍內，您預期會有多少流量？

Brian, so our 3% to 5% guide really reflects a 2-year same-restaurant stack in the low 20s for the full year with higher in the first part of the year than it is in the back part of the year because of those Q1 impact from favorable weather that we had talked about previously. The other thing that it considers is the IPO halo in Q2 and to a lesser extent in Q3. It does reflect the 3% price that you called out and traffic and mix is the remainder. But the way we're looking at it is if PPA continues to expand, you'd likely see the same restaurant sales guide, the actual results to be closer to the high end of the range.

Brian，所以我們的 3% 到 5% 指南確實反映了 2 年同一餐廳全年的客流量在 20 左右，其中上半年的客流量高於下半年的客流量，因為第一季度的影響來自我們之前討論過的有利天氣。它考慮的另一件事是第二季的 IPO 光環，以及第三季的較小程度的光環。它確實反映了您喊出的 3% 價格，剩下的就是流量和混合。但我們的看法是，如果 PPA 繼續擴大，您可能會看到相同的餐廳銷售指南，實際結果更接近該範圍的高端。

Our next question comes from the line of Jon Tower at Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的喬恩·塔爾。

I was curious, Brett, you had mentioned earlier, 2 things that I was hoping you could expand upon. First, you talked about new design for some of the stores and expanding space for in-store occasions. I'm just curious if you could dig into whether or not you feel like new store prototypes will require a bigger footprint in general versus what you've got today for the store base?

我很好奇，布雷特，你之前提到過，我希望你能詳細闡述兩件事。首先，您談到了一些商店的新設計以及為店內活動擴大空間的問題。我只是好奇你是否可以深入了解一下，與你今天的商店基地相比，你是否覺得新商店原型總體上需要更大的佔地面積？

And then the second is if you could maybe provide a little bit more color on where you are in the connected kitchen initiative. How much more you see with respect to investment over the next 12 months? And kind of specifically where you plan on within the store kind of going after?

第二個問題是，您是否可以提供更多關於您在互聯廚房計劃中所處位置的資訊。您預計未來 12 個月的投資會增加多少？具體來說，您計劃在商店內追求什麼？

Yes. Thanks, John. Thanks for the question. With regards to the footprint, we don't see any change in our footprint. It's really enhancing and warming the aesthetic in our physical space to really accommodate and invite more in-restaurant occasions. 64% of our guests opt to come and engage with us in our physical channel. We have 36% that engaged in our digital channels. We have great digital channels. We have 31 pickup by car digital pickup lanes as well as all of our pickup off-the-shelf opportunities. And we have great physical channels. We don't think it's an either/or. We think it's an and. And so we want to really take advantage of that opportunity to drive additional physical occasions along with those digital occasions.

是的。謝謝，約翰。謝謝你的提問。關於足跡，我們沒有看到足跡有任何變化。它確實增強和溫暖了我們物理空間的美感，以真正容納和邀請更多的餐廳內活動。 64% 的客人選擇透過我們的實體管道與我們互動。我們有 36% 的人參與了我們的數位管道。我們有很棒的數位管道。我們擁有 31 條汽車取貨數位化取貨通道以及所有現成的取貨機會。我們有很好的實體通路。我們認為這不是一個非此即彼的問題。我們認為這是一個和。因此，我們希望真正利用這個機會來推動更多的實體活動以及這些數位活動。

In regards to the connected kitchen initiative, this is the beginning of a multiyear journey where we see a tremendous opportunity to improve productivity, to drive greater operational effectiveness and efficiency by taking a lot of complexity off the team members plate. So it's really taking to another level of sophistication, things like predictive scheduling, predictive prep, predictive cook batching through the use of data and AI models. And any expense or CapEx investment is reflected in our guidance and our longer-term guidance. But again, this is a multiyear initiative that we're excited about, and we see the opportunity again to drive greater productivity and make it easier for our team to run our CAVA restaurants and deliver that great Mediterranean hospitality and food.

關於互聯廚房計劃，這是一個多年旅程的開始，我們看到了提高生產力的巨大機會，透過消除團隊成員的大量複雜性來提高營運效率和效率。因此，它確實達到了另一個複雜程度，例如使用數據和人工智慧模型進行預測調度、預測準備、預測烹飪批量。任何費用或資本支出投資都反映在我們的指導和長期指導中。但同樣，這是一個讓我們感到興奮的多年計劃，我們再次看到了提高生產力的機會，讓我們的團隊更容易經營我們的 CAVA 餐廳並提供優質的地中海款待和美食。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Mullan at Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Brian Mullan。

Just a question on venue innovation. Brett, you shared in the prepared remarks, you're going to roll stake out across the system, I think, in the second half of this year, which is exciting. Can you just talk about what you saw in the test, what caused you to go ahead and take this next step for the full launch? And just maybe talk about the benefits to the business from a consumer perspective and then maybe an economic perspective.

只是一個關於場地創新的問題。布雷特，你在準備好的演講中分享了，我認為，你將在今年下半年在整個系統中推出質押，這是令人興奮的。您能否談談您在測試中看到的情況，是什麼促使您繼續採取下一步措施以全面發布？也許只是從消費者的角度以及經濟的角度來談談對企業的好處。

Yes. We're excited to be on track to launch this in the second half of the year. What we're seeing in the test is the consumer receptivity as well as the operational effectiveness that we were looking to validate. And so that's the stage gate we're in with the multi-market test in Dallas and Boston, and we've seen results that have been meeting our expectations in both markets.

是的。我們很高興能夠在今年下半年推出產品。我們在測試中看到的是消費者的接受度以及我們希望驗證的營運有效性。這就是我們在達拉斯和波士頓進行多市場測試的階段，我們已經看到這兩個市場的結果都達到了我們的預期。

And if you remember, we used to have grilled meatballs on our menu that we removed back in January. And so a beef item is definitely a perceived gap in our menu that we think is an opportunity to drive incremental occasions and frequency that doesn't currently exist on the menu. So we're excited to launch that in the second half of the year.

如果你還記得的話，我們的菜單上曾經有烤肉丸，但我們在一月份就將其刪除了。因此，牛肉項目絕對是我們菜單中的一個明顯的空白，我們認為這是一個機會來推動菜單上目前不存在的增量場合和頻率。因此，我們很高興能在今年下半年推出它。

And as it relates to the economics, the test is designed to be margin dollar equivalents and so we're continuing to evaluate the results of those tests and we'll have updates on our next call and how that might impact our guidance. At this point, the guidance does not reflect any impact as a result of the stake test. So we'll continue to give you updates as we move forward.

由於它與經濟相關，該測試被設計為保證金美元等值，因此我們將繼續評估這些測試的結果，我們將在下次電話會議上提供最新資訊以及這可能如何影響我們的指導。目前，該指南並未反映出權益測試的任何影響。因此，隨著我們的進展，我們將繼續為您提供最新資訊。

And our next question comes from the line of Andy Barish at Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的安迪·巴里什 (Andy Barish)。

I guess it's kind of a connected question. Just the Southeast and Southwest market are your lower volume markets coming out of the Zoe's conversions. Any specific kind of plans in that region of the country? Or does it really tie into kind of the real estate pipeline and just continuing to build out and drive awareness. And I'll have a follow-up, I guess, shortly.

我想這是一個相關的問題。只有東南和西南市場是 Zoe 改裝後銷售量較低的市場。該國該地區有什麼具體的計劃嗎？或者它真的與房地產管道有關，只是繼續建立並提高知名度。我想我很快就會有後續行動。

Andy, thanks for the question. The Southeast and the Southwest are at 2.3 million AUVs and 2.4 million, respectively. And really, those AUVs reflect a relatively young fleet of restaurants in those markets, and that's what's driving the AUV. So we don't see a need to do anything to necessarily impact those markets any differently, but just continuing to execute on incredible hospitality and amazing culinary and innovation and you should see those results continue to increase like the rest of the plate.

安迪，謝謝你的提問。東南部和西南部分別有 230 萬艘和 240 萬艘 AUV。事實上，這些 AUV 反映了這些市場中相對年輕的餐廳隊伍，這就是 AUV 的推動力。因此，我們認為沒有必要採取任何措施來對這些市場產生任何不同的影響，但只要繼續執行令人難以置信的熱情好客、令人驚嘆的烹飪和創新，您應該會看到這些結果像盤子裡的其他部分一樣繼續增長。

And then anything on the real estate pipeline you can share with us? Obviously, a good start with 11 so far quarter-to-date on just on the state by quarter or the balance by type of stores, new markets, developing markets, et cetera?

那麼您可以與我們分享有關房地產管道的任何資訊嗎？顯然，到目前為止，季度迄今已有 11 個季度的良好開端，僅按州劃分，或按商店類型、新市場、發展中市場等進行平衡？

Yes. So our real estate pipeline is very robust. The team has been executing really well on our strategy. So we have a very balanced pipeline, meaning about 10% in established markets and then another 10% or 20% in those emerging markets -- excuse me, the greenfield markets, which whether there's brand new markets like Chicago, where we'll be opening up and the rest of it is in our growth in emerging markets. And so we're executing against that, I feel really good about it, built in the appropriate buffers in the time line, and we're envisioning a fairly even spread of restaurant openings throughout the year.

是的。所以我們的房地產管道非常強勁。該團隊在我們的策略上執行得非常好。因此，我們有一個非常平衡的管道，這意味著大約 10% 在成熟市場，然後另外 10% 或 20% 在新興市場 - 對不起，綠地市場，無論是否有像芝加哥這樣的全新市場，我們將在那裡開放，剩下的就是我們在新興市場的成長。因此，我們正在針對這一點執行，我對此感覺非常好，在時間線上建立了適當的緩衝，並且我們設想全年餐廳開業的分佈相當均勻。

Our next question comes from the line of David Tarantino at Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的大衛·塔倫蒂諾 (David Tarantino)。

Congratulations on a great 2023. My question, Tricia, I had a clarification question on the Q4 revenue number. And just looking at relative to how we and others modeled it, the upside on the revenue was not quite as high as the upside on the comps. I was wondering if you could maybe -- if there's anything to call out related to something outside the comp line that might have influenced that outcome? And maybe in particular, as a follow-up, if you could comment specifically on what you're seeing in the most recent class of openings in terms of average unit volumes, that would be great.

恭喜您度過了美好的 2023 年。我的問題是，特里西婭，我有一個關於第四季度收入數字的澄清問題。相對於我們和其他人的建模方式來看，收入的上升幅度並不像比較的上升幅度那麼高。我想知道你是否可以 - 是否有任何與可能影響結果的補償線之外的事情相關的事情？也許特別是，作為後續行動，如果您能具體評論您在最近一類空缺中所看到的平均單位數量，那就太好了。

David, thanks for that. Certainly, I'll start with your last part first. Our new restaurant openings have been exceeding our expectations, both on the AUV side as well as on the restaurant level margin side. So really pleased with, again, the real estate process and the pipeline and what those new restaurants have been delivering and continue to deliver throughout the year.

大衛，謝謝你。當然，我會先從你的最後一部分開始。我們的新餐廳開業數量超出了我們的預期，無論是在 AUV 方面還是在餐廳層面的利潤方面。再次對房地產流程和管道以及這些新餐廳全年提供和繼續提供的服務感到非常滿意。

So when we think about the models themselves and how you might have been looking at it, it looks like the impact of average weekly sales doesn't properly reflect all of the seasonality associated with our business. So the fourth quarter is our seasonally softest quarter with the lowest average weekly sales than any quarter for us at CAVA. And at the same time, I think there could have been a little bit of an overestimation of the impact of the 53rd week keeping in mind that we had holiday impacts on top of the seasonality component to it.

因此，當我們考慮模型本身以及您可能如何看待它時，平均每週銷售額的影響似乎並不能正確反映與我們業務相關的所有季節性。因此，第四季度是我們季節性最疲軟的季度，平均每週銷售額是 CAVA 任何季度中最低的。同時，我認為可能有點高估了第 53 週的影響，因為除了季節性因素之外，我們還受到了假期的影響。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris O'Cull at Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Chris O'Cull。

Congrats on an excellent year. Brett, what are the key performance goals for the store ops team as you enter into '24? And I was hoping you could describe maybe the KPIs that will measure that progress and maybe where those measures are today and where you want them to be at the end of the year?

恭喜您度過了出色的一年。 Brett，進入 24 世紀後，商店營運團隊的關鍵績效目標是什麼？我希望您能描述一下衡量進展的關鍵績效指標（KPI），也許這些指標目前的情況以及您希望它們在年底時的情況？

Yes. Chris, thanks for the question. From an operations metrics, we have our proprietary op scorecard where we have 7 key operating and financial metrics that we track. And that's everything from -- that incorporates customer experience scores to management of COGS and labor, ensuring accuracy, consistent portions as well as food safety adherence and accountability.

是的。克里斯，謝謝你的提問。從營運指標來看，我們擁有專有的營運記分卡，其中有 7 個可追蹤的關鍵營運和財務指標。這就是一切——將客戶體驗評分與銷貨成本和勞動力管理相結合，確保準確性、份量一致以及食品安全遵守和責任。

So we are looking at throughput opportunities as well. We think that they exist, but we want to make sure we're not pushing on the gas pedal too far, too fast. And so we are testing some different labor deployments to take advantage of that opportunity as the year progresses.

因此，我們也在尋找吞吐量機會。我們認為它們存在​​，但我們希望確保我們不會將油門踩得太遠、太快。因此，我們正在測試一些不同的勞動力部署，以便隨著時間的推移利用這個機會。

Our next question comes from the line of Sharon Zackfia at William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自威廉·布萊爾的莎朗·扎克菲亞。

A question on development. As you have accelerated greenfield throughout '23, have you encountered any surprises kind of positive or negative? How has that kind of pipeline has been manifesting, obviously, you raised the '24 outlook. So are you seeing more predictability and timing of delivery of sites and ability to get them up and running as you would have anticipated maybe pre-pandemic? I know there's been a lot of moving parts and getting units up and running in the last few years.

一個關於發展的問題。當你在整個 23 年加速綠地開發時，你是否遇到任何正面或負面的驚喜？顯然，您提出了“24 年展望”，這種管道的表現如何。那麼，您是否看到了網站交付的可預測性和時間安排以及啟動和運行網站的能力，就像您在大流行前所預期的那樣？我知道過去幾年裡有很多移動部件和裝置啟動和運行。

Sharon, yes, certainly, lots of moving parts. As like many others in the space have seen development pipeline -- time lines expand, so increasing a month or 2 over the past few years nothing has really surprised us. We were anticipating there would be challenges, built that into our pipeline so that it would be appropriately reflective of what we could deliver, and we're continuing to just evaluate where the opportunities are.

莎倫，是的，當然，有很多活動部件。正如該領域的許多其他人所看到的開發流程一樣——時間線正在延長，因此在過去幾年中增加一兩個月並沒有什麼讓我們真正感到驚訝的。我們預計將會出現挑戰，並將其納入我們的管道中，以便它能夠適當地反映我們可以提供的服務，並且我們將繼續評估機會在哪裡。

I mean we're in 24 states today, but still a lot of white space across the country. So the real estate team are out scoping out new markets where there's lots of opportunity and there are many of them. So if there was ever a situation where a market may not be materializing the way we like, we feel like we've got the appropriate mindset to develop patience and find the right sites that are going to deliver the right returns and drive that overall value.

我的意思是，我們現在已經遍布 24 個州，但全國各地仍然有很多空白區域。因此，房地產團隊正在尋找新的市場，那裡有很多機會，而且機會也很多。因此，如果出現市場可能無法按照我們希望的方式實現的情況，我們覺得我們已經有適當的心態來培養耐心並找到能夠帶來正確回報並推動整體價值的正確地點。

Can I ask a follow-up? Have you changed the way you build brand awareness as you're doing greenfield? Or is it really similar to kind of what the strategy has been over the last 5 or so years?

我可以問後續嗎？當您進行全新開發時，您是否改變了建立品牌知名度的方式？或者它真的與過去五年左右的策略相似嗎？

Sharon, it's Brett. We have updated our local store marketing campaign to drive increased local press awareness and elevated our Community Day. I'm excited that our recent opening in Hollywood, California had a record-setting Community Day of raising donations for our philanthropic partner in the market. So I think the team has done some nice tactical improvements to drive greater awareness around openings at a local level. So we have done some things around that. And as we open up Chicago, given the size and scale of the market, we will be doing a bit more of an upper funnel type campaign to announce our arrival in the market.

莎倫，我是布雷特。我們更新了當地商店的行銷活動，以提高當地媒體的知名度並提高我們的社區日的水平。我很高興我們最近在加州好萊塢開業的酒店舉辦了創紀錄的社區日活動，為我們市場上的慈善合作夥伴籌集捐款。因此，我認為團隊已經做了一些很好的戰術改進，以提高對地方一級空缺的認識。所以我們圍繞著這個做了一些事情。當我們開放芝加哥時，考慮到市場的規模和規模，我們將做更多的上漏斗類型的活動來宣布我們進入市場。

Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Charles at TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Andrew Charles。

Great. I wanted to ask about the digital pickup lane. How is that performing versus the original expectations for about 10% to 15% higher volumes. And what I'm really trying to understand is if you're approaching the point where it makes sense to either ramp the mix of new stores above the 50% run rate or test retrofits or relocations, just given the favorable ROIC you're likely observing?

偉大的。我想問一下數位接送通道的情況。與最初預計銷量增加約 10% 至 15% 相比，其表現如何？我真正想了解的是，如果您正在接近將新店組合提升到 50% 以上的運行率或測試改造或搬遷的合理點，只要考慮到您可能獲得的有利投資回報率觀察？

Andrew. So we've got 31 pickup lanes today and the pickup lanes do continue to look better from an overall AUV perspective and slightly higher from a restaurant level margin perspective. What we're thinking about and how we're executing is making sure we're being thoughtful around the choices we're making on pickup lanes and they'll get pressured into chasing a number.

安德魯。因此，我們今天有 31 條接送通道，從 AUV 整體角度來看，接送通道確實看起來更好，從餐廳利潤率角度來看，接送通道確實略高。我們正在考慮和執行的方式是確保我們在皮卡車道上做出的選擇是經過深思熟慮的，他們會被迫追逐一個數字。

And so while you mentioned a 50% target itself, we're likely going to be over 1/3 but less than 50% as we think about pickup lanes going forward. Our focus is driving the best cash on cash return that we possibly can and making sure that we're exceeding the 35% target for cash on cash return and really delivering a lot of value. So what we don't want to do is feel a lot of pressure to really go into a site and compete with a Raising Cane's or a Chick-fil-A on something and that we really can't underwrite in the same way and get us in a spot that doesn't drive us returns in the attempts of need a goal to have as many pickup lines as possible.

因此，雖然您提到了 50% 的目標本身，但當我們考慮未來的皮卡車道時，我們可能會超過 1/3 但低於 50%。我們的重點是盡可能實現最佳的現金回報率，並確保我們超過 35% 的現金回報率目標，並真正提供大量價值。因此，我們不想做的是感受到很大的壓力，真正進入一個網站並與 Raising Cane's 或 Chick-fil-A 在某件事上競爭，而我們真的不能以同樣的方式承保並獲得我們處於一個不會驅使我們返回的地方，因為我們需要一個目標來擁有盡可能多的接送線。

Great news is we performed really well, whether we're in line, freestanding or have a pickup lane. And so we're just making sure we can optimize those returns in the best way possible.

好消息是我們的表現非常好，無論是排隊、獨立或有接送通道。因此，我們只是確保能夠以盡可能最好的方式優化這些回報。

That make sense. And then, Tricia, last quarter, you flagged to not expect materially positive comps for 1Q '24, given the tough comparison. And now that we're 2 months into the year with unfavorable weather for the industry in January that's improved in February, are there any other PSAs that you call out for modeling 1Q comps?

有道理。然後，Tricia，上個季度，考慮到嚴格的比較，您表示預計 24 年第一季不會出現實質正面的業績。現在，今年已經過去兩個月了，1 月份對行業不利的天氣在 2 月份有所改善，您還有其他 PSA 要求對第一季比較進行建模嗎？

Thanks for the question, Andrew. As you all know, we don't give intra-quarter guidance. So we're not going to speak to what we're seeing in Q1 itself. But I will say that nothing's changed our approach to our guide of 3% to 5% as we thought about it last year and into this year.

謝謝你的提問，安德魯。眾所周知，我們不提供季度內指導。因此，我們不會談論第一季本身所看到的情況。但我要說的是，正如我們去年和今年所考慮的那樣，我們對 3% 至 5% 的指導方針的態度沒有改變。

And our next question comes from the line of Nick Setyan at Wedbush Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush Securities 的 Nick Setyan。

I just wanted to hone in on margins a bit. Just what you guys expect in terms of inflation, food cost inflation in '24 and with 3% pricing, why we couldn't in -- particularly with the upside in Q4, why we couldn't see flat to down COGS in 2024.

我只是想稍微磨練一下邊緣。正如你們對通貨膨脹、24 年食品成本通膨和 3% 定價的預期，為什麼我們不能——特別是第四季度的上漲，為什麼我們看不到 2024 年 COGS 持平或下降。

Nick, thanks for the question. When we think about food cost inflation, we're thinking low to mid-single digits, but there are some increases, particularly around chicken and olives and olive oil. So our chicken, we had great pricing last year related to chicken. And as we go into next year, there'll be some increase in that area.

尼克，謝謝你的提問。當我們考慮食品成本通膨時，我們想到的是低至中個位數的通膨，但也有一些成長，特別是雞肉、橄欖和橄欖油。所以我們的雞肉，去年我們與雞肉相關的價格很高。當我們進入明年時，該領域將會增加。

And then also olives and olive oil were impacted by an unseasonably warm climate. Our temperature overseas in Europe, where we secure our products that have some impact overall, so we wanted to take that into account as we're thinking about COGS and what that will look like. The other piece around COGS is 2023, and we've talked about this before but really benefited from very high same-restaurant sales growth that was creating efficiencies in COGS from a waste perspective and other items. And so that will drive into the impact on COGS as you go into '24 itself.

此外，橄欖和橄欖油也受到異常溫暖氣候的影響。我們在歐洲海外的溫度，我們在那裡確保我們的產品對整體有一定的影響，所以我們在考慮銷貨成本和它會是什麼樣子時希望考慮到這一點。關於銷貨成本的另一件事是2023 年，我們之前已經討論過這一點，但實際上受益於同餐廳銷售的非常高的增長，從廢物和其他項目的角度來看，這提高了銷貨成本的效率。因此，當您進入 24 世紀時，這將對銷貨成本產生影響。

And then just in terms of the unit growth outlook, would you mind telling us what Q1's number of units might look like?

那麼就單位成長前景而言，您介意告訴我們第一季的單位數量可能會是什麼樣子嗎？

From a Q1 perspective, we've already opened 11. Keep in mind, Q1 has 16 weeks, and I'm anticipating that openings will be fairly even throughout the year.

從第一季的角度來看，我們已經開業了 11 個。請記住，第一季有 16 週，我預計全年的開業數量將相當均勻。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Vaccaro at Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Raymond James 的 Brian Vaccaro。

Just following up on Nick's question on store margins. Could you help us parse out the incremental labor versus other investments that are embedded within that guidance? And then I have a quick follow-up.

只是跟進尼克關於商店利潤的問題。您能否幫助我們解析該指南中包含的增量勞動力與其他投資？然後我會進行快速跟進。

Yes. So as we talked about on the third quarter call, we did invest in incremental labor in Q4 of 2023 about 120 basis points. I mean that will be offset with just the natural leverage and labor over time as AUVs grow. But the other thing to think about is other investments that could be related to our pillar around running great restaurants every day and every shift. So think about things like increased managerial resources at higher volume restaurants that would drive increased productivity and further pipeline depth, but at the same time, creating productivity over the long term. So there'll be investments that we're making that we've shared, and then it will be offset by leverage overall as we continue to scale and grow the business in the restaurant.

是的。因此，正如我們在第三季電話會議上談到的那樣，我們確實在 2023 年第四季對增量勞動力進行了約 120 個基點的投資。我的意思是，隨著 AUV 的發展，隨著時間的推移，這將被自然槓桿和勞動力所抵消。但要考慮的另一件事是其他投資，這些投資可能與我們每天、每班經營優質餐廳的支柱有關。因此，請考慮一下在銷量較高的餐廳中增加管理資源之類的事情，這將提高生產力和進一步的管道深度，但同時也能長期創造生產力。因此，我們將進行一些共享的投資，然後隨著我們繼續擴大和發展餐廳業務，這些投資將被整體槓桿所抵消。

And I think you mentioned opportunities to improve throughput in certain markets as well. Is there a thought that you'll need to add hourly hours per store in a significant number of stores?

我認為您也提到了提高某些市場吞吐量的機會。您是否認為需要在大量商店中增加每個商店的小時工作時間？

Brian, it's Brett. No, we think there's opportunity to be more efficient with our labor deployments and recalibrate how we deploy labor along with some of the aspects I talked about the -- in relation to the connected kitchen initiative. That will drive even greater productivity through our data.

布萊恩，我是布雷特。不，我們認為有機會提高我們的勞動力部署效率，並重新調整我們的勞動力部署方式以及我談到的與互聯廚房計劃相關的一些方面。這將透過我們的數據推動更高的生產力。

All right. Great. And then my real question kind of is just can you provide some more color on how the converted Zoe's units are performing? Perhaps you could touch on the year-on-year comp growth for the class of the 2021 conversions or some color on where AUVs are currently running for the class of '22 conversions?

好的。偉大的。然後我真正的問題是你能提供更多關於改裝後的佐伊單位的表現的資訊嗎？也許您可以談談 2021 年改裝類別的同比增長情況，或者了解 '22 改裝類別目前 AUV 的運作情況？

Yes. So we're pleased with our Zoe's conversions and we look at those like new-restaurant openings. So we evaluate those with the others. And as I mentioned, our new restaurant openings are exceeding our expectations and really excited about those conversions as well as our organic ground-up NROs.

是的。因此，我們對佐伊的轉變感到滿意，並且我們關注新餐廳開業等轉變。因此，我們將這些與其他人一起評估。正如我所提到的，我們新開的餐廳超出了我們的預期，我們對這些轉變以及我們的有機地面 NRO 感到非常興奮。

Our next question comes from the line of Rahul Kro at JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Rahul Kro。

Can you elaborate a little more on the 3.0 design? Brett, are you guys trying to lower the cost of the box? Or are you actually scaling up on increasing the cost while you're trying to increase the movement space in the box?

能詳細介紹一下3.0的設計嗎？布雷特，你們想降低盒子的成本嗎？或者，當您試圖增加盒子中的移動空間時，您實際上是否在增加成本？

Yes, Rahul, thanks for the question. No expected change in the cost of what we've guided to. This is really about warming up using some of our refreshed pallet colors, some environmental aspects, softer seating. We think we have a great opportunity. You've seen the full service model be challenged to the modern consumer to deliver a relevant value proposition. And we think of our value proposition as quality, relevance, experience and convenience.

是的，拉胡爾，謝謝你的提問。我們指導的成本不會發生預期變化。這實際上是關於使用我們更新的托盤顏色、一些環境因素、更柔軟的座椅進行熱身。我們認為我們有一個很好的機會。您已經看到完整的服務模式受到現代消費者的挑戰，以提供相關的價值主張。我們認為我們的價值主張是品質、相關性、體驗和便利性。

We're able to deliver that quality food, relevant food Mediterranean diet, number one ranked, 7 years running, really that unique cuisine where taste and health unite, convenience certainly with our digital channels and our fast format and then experience. We think we can deliver great experience and an enhanced dining room aesthetic to drive even greater physical occasions as we drive greater digital occasions. So we're just kind of reimagining how we show up in our dining rooms to make it more inviting and drive greater in-restaurant occasions and occasions across all channels.

我們能夠提供優質食品、相關食品地中海飲食，連續 7 年排名第一，真正將口味與健康融為一體的獨特美食，透過我們的數位管道和快速格式以及體驗提供便利。我們認為，當我們推動更多的數位活動時，我們可以提供出色的體驗和增強的餐廳美感，以推動更多的實體活動。因此，我們只是重新構想我們在餐廳中的形象，使其更具吸引力，並推動更多的餐廳內活動和跨所有管道的活動。

That's perfect. I have a follow-up. Thanks for all your color on the connected kitchen initiative. It looks like there is a lot to look forward to here. Meanwhile, are there any low-hanging fruit within your existing operational structure that can be addressed outside this in a shorter time frame, anything related to labor or in-store ops? Anything that you guys can discuss here?

那很完美。我有一個後續行動。感謝您對互聯廚房倡議的所有支持。看來這裡還有很多值得期待的地方。同時，您現有的營運結構中是否有任何可以在更短的時間內解決的容易實現的目標，例如與勞動力或店內營運相關的任何事情？大家有什麼可以在這裡討論的嗎？

Yes. I mentioned it just a bit ago. We think we have an opportunity to be more efficient with our labor hours and how we deploy our labor when we do our prep versus our peak times and how we create more consistent labor efficiency across both dayparts. And we are, yes, and actually, that test was deployed this past week on the initial labor redeployments.

是的。我剛才提到過。我們認為，我們有機會提高勞動時間的效率，以及在準備階段與高峰時間如何部署勞動力，以及如何在兩個時段創造更一致的勞動效率。是的，實際上，我們上週在最初的勞動力重新部署中部署了該測試。

Understood. So does this involve any movement of like prep off-premise, more prep off-premise or anything else related to that sort?

明白了。那麼，這是否涉及任何類似「場外準備」、「場外更多準備」或與此類相關的其他活動？

No. It's simply balancing out prep and cook and deployments to better match the revenue curves of the restaurants.

不。這只是平衡準備、烹飪和部署，以更好地匹配餐廳的收入曲線。

And there are no further questions in the queue at this time. So I'll hand the floor back to Brett for the closing comments.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題。因此，我將把發言權交還給布雷特，讓其發表總結評論。

I want to thank everyone for joining the call today. Before we sign off, I want to say once again how proud I am of our CAVA team for delivering a record year in 2023. With 72 net new restaurant openings and success in new and existing markets, we prove the portability and broad appeal of our Mediterranean concept. Our guests were resilient as evidenced by 10.4% traffic growth and our powerful unit economic engine continued to deliver impressive results.

我要感謝大家今天加入電話會議。在我們結束之前，我想再次表示，我對我們的CAVA 團隊在2023 年創造了創紀錄的業績感到多麼自豪。憑藉72 家淨新餐廳開業以及在新市場和現有市場的成功，我們證明了我們的CAVA 團隊的可移植性和廣泛吸引力地中海概念。 10.4% 的客流量成長證明了我們的客人的韌性，我們強大的單位經濟引擎繼續帶來令人印象深刻的業績。

We built a solid foundation for the growth we can achieve as we create the next major cultural cuisine category, and we are making thoughtful investments to drive long-term growth, profitability and shareholder value. Thanks, again, for joining us. Happy spring on Friday, and I look forward to speaking with you next quarter.

我們為創造下一個主要文化美食類別時實現的成長奠定了堅實的基礎，並且我們正在進行深思熟慮的投資，以推動長期成長、獲利能力和股東價值。再次感謝您加入我們。週五春天快樂，我期待下個季度與您交談。

Thank you. This now concludes the conference. Thank you all very much for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。會議現在結束。非常感謝大家的出席。現在您可以斷開線路。