CAVA Group Inc (CAVA) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to CAVA's First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Matt Milanovich, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，下午好，歡迎參加 CAVA 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係主管馬特·米蘭諾維奇（Matt Milanovich）。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and welcome to CAVA's First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. Before we begin, if you do not already have a copy, the earnings release and related 8-K furnished with the SEC are available on our website at investor.cava.com. 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.

下午好，歡迎參加 CAVA 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議。在我們開始之前，如果您還沒有副本，可以在我們的網站 Investor.cava.com 上取得 SEC 提供的收益報告和相關 8-K。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。

You will find reconciliations of any non-GAAP financial measure 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.

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與根據公認會計原則計算的最直接可比財務指標的對賬，在沒有不合理努力的情況下，在今天的收益發布和補充資料中，每一個都發佈在該公司的網站上。

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 most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. Please refer to these filings for a more detailed discussion of forward-looking 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。投資者應注意，任何前瞻性陳述都受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與今天討論的結果有重大差異。這些風險因素在 CAVA 最新的 10-K 表格年度報告和向 SEC 提交的其他文件中進行了詳細解釋。請參閱這些文件，以了解有關前瞻性陳述以及此類陳述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，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, everyone, to the call. In the first quarter of 2024, we once again demonstrated the strength of our category-defining brand and our clear leadership position in Mediterranean. With a proven highly affordable concept, we continue to expand our presence in new and existing markets. At a time when consumers are increasingly discerning in how they spend their income, they are choosing to dine at CAVA. Our differentiated cuisine, where taste and health unite, and our compelling value proposition are resonating more than ever. And with our powerful unit economic engine continuing to gain momentum, we generated our fourth consecutive quarter of net income and our first-ever quarter of positive free cash flow.

謝謝馬特，歡迎大家來電。 2024 年第一季度，我們再次展現了我們品類定義品牌的實力以及我們在地中海地區的明確領導地位。憑藉經過驗證的高度實惠的概念，我們繼續擴大在新市場和現有市場的影響力。當消費者對自己的收入支出越來越挑剔時，他們選擇在 CAVA 用餐。我們將口味與健康融為一體的差異化美食以及令人信服的價值主張比以往任何時候都更能引起共鳴。隨著我們強大的單位經濟引擎繼續獲得動力，我們連續第四個季度實現淨利潤，並有史以來第一個季度實現正自由現金流。

Our first quarter highlights include: a 30.3% increase in CAVA revenue; CAVA same-restaurant sales growth of 2.3% or 30.7% on a 2-year basis; 14 net new restaurants, ending the quarter with 323 restaurants, a 22.8% increase year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA of $33.3 million, a $16.6 million increase over the first quarter of 2023; net income of $14 million, more than all of 2023; and $4.7 million in free cash flow.

我們第一季的亮點包括： CAVA 營收成長 30.3%； CAVA同店銷售額兩年成長2.3%或30.7%；淨新增餐廳 14 家，本季末餐廳數量達 323 家，較去年同期成長 22.8%；調整後 EBITDA 為 3,330 萬美元，比 2023 年第一季增加 1,660 萬美元；淨利達 1,400 萬美元，超過 2023 年全年；以及 470 萬美元的自由現金流。

After our recent Chicago opening in Q2, we now have a presence in 25 states and the District of Columbia, and our strong balance sheet and ability to self-fund growth puts us in a position of strength to continue gaining market share. With every new restaurant we build, CAVA is getting stronger. In April, we opened our first restaurant in Chicago in Wicker Park, marking our entry into the Upper Midwest. The restaurant is delivering exceptional results and generating significant buzz. Our team once again showed the power of our category-defining brand and how we are amplifying the passion of existing fans, engaging new consumers and rapidly converting them to customers.

繼第二季在芝加哥開業後，我們現在已在 25 個州和哥倫比亞特區開展業務，我們強大的資產負債表和自籌資金增長的能力使我們有能力繼續獲得市場份額。隨著我們每開設一家新餐廳，CAVA 變得越來越強大。 4 月，我們在芝加哥的 Wicker Park 開設了第一家餐廳，標誌著我們進入了中西部北部地區。該餐廳取得了非凡的成果並引起了巨大的轟動。我們的團隊再次展現了我們定義品類的品牌的力量，以及我們如何增強現有粉絲的熱情、吸引新消費者並迅速將他們轉化為客戶。

Our Chicago launch is a microcosm of what we see across the country. As CAVA grows, so does the passion for our brand, and we are increasingly becoming part of the cultural conversation. We recently had a TikTok creator visit one of our L.A. locations and asked one of our team members to make him their favorite bowl. Our team member, Grayson, didn't know the customer was a creator but recognized it was his first time visiting CAVA and that he was unsure about what to order. Grayson used the opportunity to hit the love button, a staple of our Mediterranean hospitality, which empowers team members to comp a guest meal.

我們在芝加哥的推出是我們在全國各地看到的縮影。隨著 CAVA 的發展，人們對我們品牌的熱情也在增長，我們也越來越成為文化對話的一部分。最近，我們邀請了一位 TikTok 創作者參觀了我們洛杉磯的一個地點，並要求我們的一位團隊成員為他製作他們最喜歡的碗。我們的團隊成員 Grayson 並不知道該客戶是創作者，但他承認這是他第一次造訪 CAVA，並且不確定該點什麼。格雷森利用這個機會按下了「愛心」按鈕，這是我們地中海待客之道的一個主要內容，它使團隊成員能夠免費享用賓客餐點。

The creator scored his meal a 10 out of 10 on food and experience and the video went viral. As of today, the post has more than 35 million views. It's great content and he's a popular creator, but we believe it's resonating because it tells an authentic story about how much people love our food and how much our team members care about our guests.

創作者在食物和體驗方面給他的飯菜打了 10 分（滿分 10 分），影片迅速走紅。截至今天，該貼文的瀏覽量已超過 3500 萬次。這是很棒的內容，而且他是一位受歡迎的創作者，但我們相信它能引起共鳴，因為它講述了一個真實的故事，講述了人們有多熱愛我們的食物以及我們的團隊成員有多麼關心我們的客人。

In a time when people are craving that kind of connection but also want convenience, our value proposition is meeting the moment. We don't think of value solely in terms of price or discounting. We view it as a combination of quality, relevance, convenience and experience. Consumers are responding to our robust convenient digital channels and our hospitable and experiential physical channels, paired with our differentiated, relevant, high-quality Mediterranean cuisine.

在人們渴望這種連結但也想要便利的時代，我們的價值主張就是滿足這一刻。我們不僅僅從價格或折扣角度考慮價值。我們將其視為品質、相關性、便利性和體驗的結合。消費者對我們強大且方便的數位管道和熱情好客、體驗式的實體管道以及我們差異化、相關的高品質地中海美食做出了回應。

To deliver on our value proposition and drive sustainable long-term results, we are executing across 4 key strategic pillars: one, expand our Mediterranean way in communities across the country; two, develop personal relationships with guests even as we scale; three, run great restaurants every location, every shift; and four, operate as a high-performing team.

為了實現我們的價值主張並推動可持續的長期成果，我們正在執行四個關鍵策略支柱：一是在全國各地的社區中擴展我們的地中海方式；第二，即使我們規模擴大，也要與客人發展個人關係；三、在每個地點、每個班次都經營出色的餐廳；第四，作為一個高績效的團隊運作。

Beginning with our strategy to expand our Mediterranean way in communities across the country, we opened 14 net new CAVA restaurants during Q1, with growth across new and existing markets in California, Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas and South Carolina. Thus far in the second quarter, we have opened an additional 5 restaurants. On the culinary front, I'm excited to announce that next week on June 3, we will launch our new grilled steak offering across the chain. Our exceptional culinary team, including my co-founders, have been working on this new main item for 2 years. As part of our disciplined stage-gate process, we have been testing steak in our Boston and Dallas markets since early December and are very pleased with the results.

從我們在全國各地社區拓展地中海風格的策略開始，我們在第一季淨開設了14 家CAVA 餐廳，加利福尼亞州、佛羅裡達州、馬裡蘭州、俄克拉荷馬州、德克薩斯州和南卡羅來納州的新市場和現有市場均出現成長。到目前為止，第二季我們又新開了 5 家餐廳。在烹飪方面，我很高興地宣布，下週 6 月 3 日，我們將在整個連鎖店推出新的烤牛排產品。我們傑出的烹飪團隊，包括我的聯合創始人，已經為這個新的主菜投入了兩年的時間。作為我們嚴格的階段性流程的一部分，自 12 月初以來，我們一直在波士頓和達拉斯市場測試牛排，並對結果感到非常滿意。

Grilled steak complements our existing mains, fills a perceived gap on our menu and enhances our already strong dinner occasion, which now makes up approximately 46% of our sales. With our Mediterranean take on this beloved protein, we have created a unique and highly differentiated offering. Our grass-fed, pasture-raised steak is fired on the grill, seasoned with bold, unique flavors like sun-dried tomato, herby oregano, and a touch of Aleppo pepper that come from our heritage and can't be found anywhere else. We expect steak to provide a tailwind to comp sales while delivering consistent penny profit. The updated guidance Tricia will share shortly incorporates some of the expected impacts from the steak launch.

烤牛排補充了我們現有的主菜，填補了我們菜單上的空白，並增強了我們本已強大的晚餐場合，目前晚餐場合約占我們銷售額的 46%。透過我們對這種深受喜愛的蛋白質的地中海風味，我們創造了一種獨特且高度差異化的產品。我們的草飼、牧場飼養的牛排在烤架上烤製，並以大膽、獨特的口味進行調味，如曬乾的番茄、草本牛至和一絲來自我們傳統的阿勒頗胡椒，在其他任何地方都找不到。我們預計牛排將為公司銷售提供動力，同時帶來穩定的利潤。 Tricia 即將分享的更新指南包含了牛排推出的一些預期影響。

Our second strategic pillar is develop personal relationship with guests even as we scale. Over the past decade, we completed a digital transformation that permeated through our business. With everything from an in-house highly scalable digital order ecosystem to second make lines for dedicated digital production to digital drive-through pickup lanes, we use technology to create a seamless multichannel experience. While we continue to innovate our digital capabilities, we believe we are now on the precipice of another decade of transformation. This time, data transformation.

我們的第二個策略支柱是在規模擴大的同時與客人建立個人關係。在過去的十年裡，我們完成了滲透到我們業務的數位轉型。從內部高度可擴展的數位訂單生態系統到專用數位生產的第二條生產線，再到數位得來速取貨通道，我們利用技術創造無縫的多通路體驗。在我們不斷創新數位能力的同時，我們相信我們現在正處於下一個十年轉型的邊緣。這一次，數據轉換。

Whether restaurant operations, enterprise insights or relationships with our guests, we believe modern data technologies have the potential to unlock meaningful positive change in our business. One way to do that is by leveraging data to develop personal relationships with our guests even as we scale. A foundational component of that idea is our reimagined loyalty program. We believe this work can significantly grow our first-party audience, help us create more frequent relevant experiences that drive traffic, mix and check and share our Mediterranean warmth and hospitality across platforms and occasions in ways that resonate with guests on a personal level.

無論是餐廳營運、企業洞察還是與客人的關係，我們相信現代數據技術有潛力為我們的業務帶來有意義的積極變化。實現這一目標的一種方法是利用數據來發展與客人的個人關係，即使我們規模不斷擴大。這個想法的一個基本組成部分是我們重新設計的忠誠度計劃。我們相信這項工作可以顯著增加我們的第一方受眾，幫助我們創造更頻繁的相關體驗，從而推動流量、跨平台和場合混合、檢查和分享我們的地中海熱情和好客之道，從而在個人層面上與客人產生共鳴。

At the end of 2023, we transitioned all loyalty members to a bankable points model and, in the Houston market, began testing new types of rewards and new ways to engage guests. The test, which we recently expanded to the Carolinas, is showing early signs of the program's ability to drive frequency and increase revenue, and we continue to target a company-wide rollout by the end of this year.

2023 年底，我們將所有忠誠會員轉變為可銀行積分模式，並在休士頓市場開始測試新型獎勵和吸引客人的新方式。我們最近將測試擴展到卡羅萊納州，該測試顯示了該計劃提高頻率和增加收入能力的早期跡象，我們繼續計劃在今年年底前在全公司範圍內進行推廣。

Our third strategic pillar, run great restaurants every location, every shift, is focused on making our restaurants more efficient and easier to run. Our connected kitchen initiative is a multiyear journey focused on using data-driven and generative AI technologies to drive quality and consistency, increase order accuracy and boost speed of service. We believe these tools, used the right way, can simplify the complexities of restaurant operations and allow our team members to focus on great food, great service, and creating connections with guests. We are on schedule to begin a test pilot of this initiative later this year.

我們的第三個策略支柱是在每個地點、每個班次經營一流的餐廳，重點是讓我們的餐廳更有效率、更容易營運。我們的互聯廚房計畫是一個多年的旅程，專注於使用數據驅動和生成人工智慧技術來提高品質和一致性，提高訂單準確性並提高服務速度。我們相信，以正確的方式使用這些工具可以簡化餐廳營運的複雜性，讓我們的團隊成員專注於美味的食物、優質的服務以及與客人建立聯繫。我們計劃在今年稍後開始對該計劃進行試運行。

Additionally, our labor deployment test continues to progress with 30 restaurants now in pilot. This initiative is net neutral from a labor dollars and labor hours standpoint. The focus of this test is on reallocating hours to deliver better food, better hospitality and more efficient speed of service. Early results are promising, and we are hearing excellent feedback from the team, such as more time to coach and train, more time to interact with guests and an even more positive work environment. We expect to continue testing throughout 2024 with a company-wide rollout in 2025 if results meet our expectations.

此外，我們的勞動力部署測試仍在繼續進行，目前已在 30 家餐廳進行試點。從勞動力美元和工時的角度來看，這項措施是淨中性的。此次測試的重點是重新分配時間，以提供更好的食物、更好的招待和更有效率的服務速度。早期結果令人鼓舞，我們聽到了團隊的良好回饋，例如更多的指導和培訓時間、更多的時間與客人互動以及更積極的工作環境。如果結果符合我們的預期，我們預計將在 2024 年繼續進行測試，並於 2025 年在全公司範圍內推廣。

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 implementing programs and tools to further engage, retain, and connect our teams. As part of our restaurant health initiative, we have begun testing technology that gathers guest feedback proactively at the restaurant level and in nearly real time. This tool can help us keep our finger on the pulse of the business down to specific locations and support our teams in consistently delivering on an exceptional guest experience. We recently launched the test in 28 restaurants.

我們的第四個也是最後一個支柱是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，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。作為餐廳健康計劃的一部分，我們已經開始測試在餐廳層級主動收集客人回饋的技術，並且幾乎是即時。該工具可以幫助我們準確地掌握特定地點的業務脈搏，並支持我們的團隊始終如一地提供卓越的賓客體驗。我們最近在 28 家餐廳進行了測試。

Since our earliest days, we have been committed to investing in and developing team members, giving them not just a job but a pathway to a career. A great example of this is Sergio [Monsalve], who I ran into at our grand opening celebration in Chicago, where he was supporting our market launch. I first met Sergio when he was a general manager-in-training at our Jersey City location, and we talked about that if you had the will, and we work with us to develop the skill, he can become a general manager.

從成立之初起，我們就致力於投資和培養團隊成員，為他們提供的不僅僅是一份工作，更是一條通往職業生涯的道路。 Sergio [Monsalve] 就是一個很好的例子，我在芝加哥舉行的盛大開幕慶典上遇到了他，當時他正在支持我們的市場推出。我第一次見到塞爾吉奧時，他是我們澤西城工廠的實習總經理，我們談到，如果你有意願，並且我們與我們一起發展技能，他可以成為總經理。

Now 4 years later, he is running one of our Greenville, South Carolina restaurants. Sergio was excited to remind me of our conversation back in Jersey City and let me know that in the coming months, he is working to become certified as one of our Academy General Managers.

四年後的現在，他正在經營我們南卡羅來納州格林維爾的一家餐廳。塞爾吉奧很高興地提醒我我們在澤西城的談話，並讓我知道在接下來的幾個月裡，他正在努力成為我們學院總經理之一的認證。

Speaking of our Academy GMs, I was able to spend time with them at our annual Academy GM Summit in Dallas a few weeks ago. At this summit, we work with our leaders on professional development skills, including our 7 core competencies, as well as communication and leadership. Hearing about Sergio's progress and witnessing the growth, development and enthusiasm of our Academy leaders are inspiring reminders that CAVA's success will always be a byproduct of our team members' success.

說到我們的學院總經理，幾週前我有機會在達拉斯舉行的年度學院總經理高峰會上與他們共度時光。在本次高峰會上，我們與領導者共同探討專業發展技能，包括 7 項核心能力，以及溝通與領導。聽到 Sergio 的進步並見證我們學院領導的成長、發展和熱情，這些都鼓舞人心地提醒我們，CAVA 的成功將永遠是我們團隊成員成功的副產品。

Before wrapping up my remarks and turning the call over to Tricia, I want to welcome Jeff Gaul, who has joined our executive leadership team as our Chief Development Officer, a new role in the organization. Jeff has over 25 years of experience across real estate, store design, construction, and facilities with world-class retailers, most recently, Nike and Sephora. We are very excited to have Jeff leading our team to bring CAVA to more markets across the country.

在結束我的演講並將電話轉給 Tricia 之前，我要歡迎 Jeff Gaul，他加入我們的執行領導團隊，擔任我們的首席開發官，這是該組織中的一個新角色。 Jeff 在房地產、商店設計、施工和設施方面擁有超過 25 年的經驗，曾在世界級零售商（最近在 Nike 和 Sephora）任職。我們非常高興 Jeff 帶領我們的團隊將 CAVA 推向全國更多市場。

I want to finish by thanking our team members for their passion and commitment to delivering on our mission to bring heart, health and humanity to food every day. Our incredible start to 2024 is a testament to their authenticity, talent, and ability to operate at the highest level. As we define the next large-scale cultural cuisine category, we have a massive white space opportunity ahead of us. The passion for what we are building is clear and, as is evidenced by the incredible results from this quarter, we are not just scaling a business, we are creating long-term value for our guests, team members, and shareholders. With that, I'll let Tricia walk you through the financials.

最後，我要感謝我們的團隊成員的熱情和承諾，他們致力於實現我們的使命，每天為食物帶來心靈、健康和人性。我們 2024 年令人難以置信的開局證明了他們的真誠、才華和最高水準的運作能力。當我們定義下一個大規模文化美食類別時，我們面臨著巨大的空白機會。我們對所建立的事業的熱情是顯而易見的，正如本季度令人難以置信的業績所證明的那樣，我們不僅僅是擴大業務，我們還在為我們的客人、團隊成員和股東創造長期價值。接下來，我將讓 Tricia 向您介紹財務狀況。

Thanks, Brett, and good afternoon, everyone. CAVA revenue in the first quarter of 2024 grew 30.3% year-over-year to $256.3 million. During the quarter, we opened 14 net new CAVA restaurants or 86 net new CAVA restaurants during or subsequent to the first quarter of 2023, bringing our total CAVA restaurant count to 323. We are pleased with our new restaurant openings, which are exceeding expectations in both top line and margin performance.

謝謝布雷特，大家下午好。 2024 年第一季 CAVA 營收年增 30.3% 至 2.563 億美元。本季度，我們淨新開14 家CAVA 餐廳，或2023 年第一季或後淨新開86 家CAVA 餐廳，使我們的CAVA 餐廳總數達到323 家。第一季的預期。

CAVA same-restaurant sales increased 2.3%, driven by a 3.5% increase from menu price and product mix, partially offset by a decline in traffic of 1.2%. On a 2-year stack basis, same-restaurant sales increased 30.7%, driven by traffic growth of 17.2%, trending up from approximately 13% in the fourth quarter of 2023. To achieve an optimal comparison of fiscal weeks in the CAVA same-restaurant sales calculation, given consideration of the holiday periods, each week of fiscal 2023 was shifted by 1 week. As a result of this shift, approximately $3.9 million of revenue is not included in CAVA's same-restaurant sales growth. Had this shift not been made, CAVA's same-restaurant sales growth would have been 4.3%.

CAVA 同餐廳銷售額成長 2.3%，主要是因為菜單價格和產品組合成長 3.5%，但部分被客流量下降 1.2% 所抵銷。以兩年為基礎，在客流量成長 17.2% 的推動下，同餐廳銷售額成長了 30.7%，較 2023 年第四季的約 13% 有所上升。考慮到假期，餐廳銷售額計算將2023 財年的每週調整1 週。由於這項轉變，CAVA 的同店銷售成長中不包括約 390 萬美元的收入。如果沒有進行這項轉變，CAVA 的同店銷售額成長率將為 4.3%。

CAVA restaurant-level profit in the first quarter was $64.6 million or 25.2% of revenue versus $50 million or 25.4% of revenue in the prior year, representing a 29.3% increase. The slight margin contraction in the quarter was largely the result of planned investments in labor, partially offset by lower food, beverage, and packaging costs as well as sales leverage.

第一季 CAVA 餐廳級利潤為 6,460 萬美元，佔營收的 25.2%，而去年同期為 5,000 萬美元，佔營收的 25.4%，成長 29.3%。本季利潤率略有下降，主要是由於計劃的勞動力投資的結果，部分被食品、飲料和包裝成本以及銷售槓桿的下降所抵消。

CAVA's food, beverage and packaging costs were 28.2% of revenue, lower than the first quarter of 2023 by 50 basis points due to the impact of higher sales and lower input costs. We anticipate CAVA's food, beverage and packaging costs to increase as a percent of revenue for the rest of the year as a result of our steak launch in June. CAVA labor and related costs were 26%, up 30 basis points from the first quarter of 2023. The increase reflects investments in our team member wages of 8% year-over-year that we discussed on prior calls, partially offset by leverage from increased sales compared to the prior year.

由於銷售量增加和投入成本降低的影響，CAVA的食品、飲料和包裝成本佔營收的28.2%，比2023年第一季下降50個基點。由於我們在 6 月推出了牛排，我們預計 CAVA 的食品、飲料和包裝成本將佔今年剩餘時間收入的百分比將會增加。 CAVA 勞動力及相關成本為26%，較2023 年第一季上升30 個基點。這一增長反映了我們在之前的電話會議上討論過的對團隊成員工資的投資同比增長8%，部分被增加的槓桿所抵銷。

CAVA occupancy and related expenses were 8% of revenue, an improvement of 20 basis points from the first quarter of 2023 due to increased sales leverage. CAVA other operating expenses were 12.7% of revenue, an increase of 70 basis points from the first quarter of 2023, reflecting further investments in the integrity of our physical spaces.

由於銷售槓桿增加，CAVA 入住率和相關費用佔收入的 8%，較 2023 年第一季提高了 20 個基點。 CAVA 其他營運支出佔收入的 12.7%，較 2023 年第一季增加 70 個基點，反映出我們對實體空間完整性的進一步投資。

Shifting to overall performance, our general and administrative expenses for the quarter, excluding stock-based compensation, were $28.7 million compared to $27.8 million in Q1 of 2023. This $900,000 increase is primarily driven by investments to support our growth and recurring public company costs, partially offset by higher performance-based incentive compensation in the prior year quarter. As a percentage of revenue, G&A excluding stock-based compensation was 11.1% in the current quarter, a decrease of 260 basis points from the prior year quarter, driven by lower performance-based incentive compensation in the current year and sales leverage.

轉向整體業績，我們本季的一般和管理費用（不包括股票薪酬）為2870 萬美元，而2023 年第一季為2780 萬美元。性上市公司成本推動的，部分被去年同期較高的基於績效的激勵薪酬所抵銷。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 11.1%，較上年同期下降 260 個基點，這是由於本年度基於績效的激勵薪酬和銷售槓桿較低所致。

Adjusted EBITDA, including the burden of preopening costs for the quarter, was $33.3 million, which was $16.6 million higher than Q1 of 2023. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was driven by 2.3% CAVA same-restaurant sales growth and the number and strength of the performance of new restaurant openings. We reported $14 million of net income compared with a net loss of $2.1 million in Q1 of 2023, representing an increase of $16.1 million. The power of the model is evident with net income in the first quarter of 2024 exceeding total net income generated in all of fiscal year 2023. We reported diluted earnings per share of $0.12 in the quarter compared with a diluted loss per share of $1.30 in Q1 of 2023.

調整後EBITDA（包括本季開業前成本負擔）為3,330 萬美元，比2023 年第一季高出1,660 萬美元。的。我們報告的淨利潤為 1,400 萬美元，而 2023 年第一季淨虧損為 210 萬美元，增加了 1,610 萬美元。該模型的力量是顯而易見的，2024 年第一季的淨利潤超過了2023 年全年的淨利潤總額。 1.30 美元2023 年。

Shifting to liquidity. At the end of the quarter, we had 0 debt outstanding, $329.1 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 $38.4 million for the quarter compared with $25.7 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily driven by our improved operations generating increased profitability across the fleet. Total company free cash flow was $4.7 million, the first quarter of positive free cash flow in CAVA company history.

轉向流動性。截至本季末，我們的未償債務為零，手頭現金為 3.291 億美元，並且可以使用 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。本季我們的營運現金流為 3,840 萬美元，而去年同期為 2,570 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於我們改進的營運提高了整個機隊的獲利能力。該公司自由現金流總額為 470 萬美元，這是 CAVA 公司歷史上自由現金流為正的第一季。

Now to look to our outlook for full year 2024, we expect the following: 50 to 54 net new CAVA restaurant openings; CAVA same-restaurant sales growth of 4.5% to 6.5%; CAVA restaurant-level profit margin between 23.7% and 24.3%; preopening costs between $12 million and $13 million; and adjusted EBITDA, including the burden of preopening costs, between $100 million and $105 million.

現在展望 2024 年全年，我們預期： 淨新開 50 至 54 家 CAVA 餐廳； CAVA同店銷售額成長4.5%至6.5%； CAVA餐廳級利潤率介於23.7%至24.3%之間；開業前費用在 1,200 萬至 1,300 萬美元之間；調整後的 EBITDA（包括開業前費用的負擔）在 1 億至 1.05 億美元之間。

I want to share some additional context related to our revised 2024 outlook. CAVA's same-restaurant sales growth of 4.5% to 6.5% implies a mid- to high single-digit same-restaurant sales for the remainder of the year. Additionally, same-restaurant sales guidance includes the current same-restaurant sales strength we are seeing, the expected mix impact of the steak rollout as well as the potential traffic headwind as we anniversary the IPO buzz in the summer of 2023. At this time, nothing is included in our outlook for loyalty, which we expect to roll out prior to the end of the year.

我想分享一些與我們修訂後的 2024 年展望相關的其他背景資訊。 CAVA 的同店銷售額成長 4.5% 至 6.5%，代表今年剩餘時間的同店銷售額將達到中高個位數。此外，同店銷售指引包括我們所看到的當前同店銷售實力、牛排推出的預期混合影響以及 2023 年夏季 IPO 週年紀念日時潛在的客流量逆風。其中並未包含任何內容。

CAVA restaurant-level profit margin guidance reflects the anticipated impact of the steak rollout in June and potential future restaurant-level investments to support our growth. As previously discussed, we expect steak to be a margin rate headwind while pricing will drive penny profit neutrality. Adjusted EBITDA guidance includes G&A spend as a percent of revenue on a full year basis to be slightly higher than the first quarter of 2024 due to additional investments to support growth and the timing of certain costs.

CAVA 餐廳級利潤率指引反映了 6 月推出牛排的預期影響以及未來支持我們成長的餐廳級潛在投資。如前所述，我們預期牛排將成為利潤率的阻力，而定價將推動利潤中立。調整後的 EBITDA 指引包括，由於支持成長的額外投資以及某些成本的時間安排，G&A 支出佔全年收入的百分比將略高於 2024 年第一季。

While our adjusted EBITDA guidance does not include the impact of stock-based compensation, the first quarter actual results included payroll tax impacts from vestings that reflect the strong performance of our stock. This will take place to a lesser extent again in Q2, and we expect the remainder of the year will be at a more normalized run rate.

雖然我們調整後的 EBITDA 指引不包括基於股票的薪酬的影響，但第一季的實際結果包括歸屬的工資稅影響，這反映了我們股票的強勁表現。這種情況將在第二季再次發生，但程度較小，我們預計今年剩餘時間的運行速度將更加正常化。

Our opportunity and the strength of our business is clear. In a difficult time for many in the restaurant space, our unique Mediterranean cuisine continues to resonate with consumers. And with our proven portable concept and powerful unit economics, we are getting stronger with every new restaurant we open and every new market we enter. Now I will turn the call back over to the operator and open it up for Q&A.

我們的機會和業務優勢是顯而易見的。在餐廳空間中許多人面臨困難的時期，我們獨特的地中海美食繼續引起消費者的共鳴。憑藉我們經過驗證的便攜式概念和強大的單位經濟效益，我們每開設一家新餐廳，進入每一個新市場，我們都會變得更強大。現在我會將電話轉回接線生並進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question is from Chris O'Cull from Stifel.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Chris O'Cull。

This is Patrick on for Chris. Tricia, I wanted to start with just the comp guidance and ask, if you even qualitatively disaggregate what you're building in for the steak step-up, how much different is the trend in what you were expecting from what you initially guided earlier in the year? And what are you seeing in the current business trends that give you confidence as you look at maybe the underlying traffic performance by income cohort or any other aspect that gives you confidence there? And is it stronger than what you had previously expected?

這是派崔克代替克里斯。特里西婭，我想從比較指導開始，然後問，如果你甚至定性地分解你為牛排升級而構建的內容，你所期望的趨勢與你最初指導的趨勢有多大不同那一年？當您查看收入群體的潛在流量表現或任何其他給您信心的方面時，您在當前的業務趨勢中看到了什麼給您信心？它比你之前預期的要強嗎？

Thank you for the question. So we said a little bit on the call and I'll add a little more color here, but our guidance reflects the strength that we're seeing in our results through the year. And what that means is that for the rest of the year, it implies a mid-single-digit to high single-digit same-restaurant sales guidance. So in fact, we raised our guidance, and the low end of the range is 200 basis points higher than what we reported in the first quarter.

感謝你的提問。因此，我們在電話會議上說了一點，我將在這裡添加更多色彩，但我們的指導反映了我們在全年業績中看到的實力。這意味著，在今年剩餘時間裡，同餐廳銷售指引將達到中個位數到高個位數。因此，事實上，我們提高了指導值，該範圍的下限比我們第一季報告的值高了 200 個基點。

What we're seeing around the low-income consumer is when we look at our restaurants and stratify them based on median household income, we're seeing strength across all categories. And in fact, when we look at the top decile of restaurants, we have representation from every income strata in that group of restaurants.

我們在低收入消費者中看到的是，當我們查看我們的餐廳並根據家庭收入中位數對它們進行分層時，我們看到所有類別的實力。事實上，當我們觀察排名前十分之一的餐廳時，我們可以看到該組餐廳中各個收入階層的代表。

So really seeing strong performance across the board. No real change over time in the strength and power of that lower-income strata. We're also not seeing any change in delivery mix, and we're certainly also seeing PPA, or per person average, strength even when adjusting for a normalized price.

所以確實看到了全面的強勁表現。隨著時間的推移，低收入階層的實力和權力並沒有真正的變化。我們也沒有看到交付組合有任何變化，即使在調整標準化價格時，我們當然也看到 PPA（或人均）的強度。

Your next question is from Andrew Charles from TD Cowen.

您的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Andrew Charles。

Brett, wanted to ask about the initial learnings on some steak test that leads you to be excited to roll this out through the system. It sounds like it skews more to dinner, but hoping you can help us understand things like incidence, incrementality and repeat usage.

布雷特（Brett）想詢問一些牛排測試的初步經驗，這些經驗會讓您興奮地通過系統推出這項測試。聽起來它更傾向於晚餐，但希望你能幫助我們理解諸如發生率、增量和重複使用之類的事情。

Andrew, really excited to launch this main item. It is a perceived gap on our menu since we took beef meatballs off the menu over a year ago. We've been working on steak for 2 years now, led by our excellent culinary team, including my co-founders. And we have been methodically testing this in a small market test and then expanded it to market tests in Boston and Dallas, where it's been testing for over 7 months now, and really pleased with the performance.

安德魯，非常高興能夠推出這個主要項目。自從我們一年多前將牛肉丸從菜單上取消以來，這是我們菜單上的一個明顯的空白。在我們優秀的烹飪團隊（包括我的共同創辦人）的領導下，我們在牛排方面的研究已經有兩年了。我們在小型市場測試中系統地進行了測試，然後將其擴展到波士頓和達拉斯的市場測試，目前已經測試了 7 個多月，並且對性能非常滿意。

It's obviously filling up the perceived gap on our menu. We are seeing a positive mix shift that Tricia referenced. We haven't spoken to necessarily incrementality, but it certainly helps lean into the dinner day part, which is now approximately 46% of our business. So we cook with fire, we roast, we grill, we braise. This is grilled steak, and we think this is not only an opportunity at lunch but certainly an opportunity to keep driving that dinner strength of that occasion.

它顯然填補了我們菜單上的空白。我們看到了特里西亞提到的積極的混合轉變。我們還沒有談到一定的增量，但它確實有助於專注於晚餐部分，目前該部分約占我們業務的 46%。所以我們用火煮飯，我們烤，我們燒烤，我們燉。這是烤牛排，我們認為這不僅是午餐的機會，而且肯定是繼續推動該場合晚餐強度的機會。

Your next question is from David Tarantino from Baird.

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

Tricia, I wanted to come back to the full year guidance as I'm not quite clear on how you're framing it up. So I guess the first question is maybe could you comment directionally on whether you're seeing a step-up in the business? Or whether you saw a step-up in the business exiting Q1 and into Q2, as maybe the comparison got a little less difficult?

特里西婭，我想回到全年指導，因為我不太清楚你是如何建造它的。所以我想第一個問題是你能否直接評論一下你是否看到了業務的進步？或者您看到退出第一季並進入第二季度的業務有所提升，因為比較可能變得不那麼困難了？

And then as part of that, maybe you can comment on whether the current run rate in the business would be enough to get you to that guidance range for the rest of the year? Or whether you need the lift from steak to get there? I guess I just wanted to get a clarification on that.

然後，作為其中的一部分，也許您可以評論該業務當前的運行率是否足以讓您在今年剩餘時間達到該指導範圍？或者您需要從牛排館乘坐電梯才能到達那裡？我想我只是想澄清這一點。

Sure, David. So as we've said before, we don't give inter- or intra-quarter guidance. But what we have communicated and what we're seeing is strength in our performance throughout the year itself, which gives us the confidence in our approach and the guidance of 4.5% to 6.5% on a full year basis. When we think about steak, what we've embedded in our guidance is only the mix impact related to steak and certainly reflective of what we're seeing in our test that Brett mentioned, but it's not a significant component of the overall increase in guidance overall.

當然，大衛。正如我們之前所說，我們不提供季度間或季度內的指導。但我們所傳達的以及我們所看到的是我們全年業績本身的優勢，這讓我們對我們的方法和全年 4.5% 至 6.5% 的指導充滿信心。當我們考慮牛排時，我們在指導中嵌入的只是與牛排相關的混合影響，當然反映了我們在布雷特提到的測試中看到的情況，但這並不是指導總體增加的重要組成部分全面的。

Your next question is from Sharon Zackfia from William Blair.

您的下一個問題來自威廉布萊爾的莎朗扎克菲亞。

I wanted to talk about new unit productivity because even if I adjust for the calendar shift, it looks like your new units are absolutely killing it, and killing it to an even greater extent than we saw in '23. I guess, Tricia, are you still kind of looking at $2.3 million in year 2 as the right bogey because it feels like that might be low, just given how new units are opening?

我想談談新單位的生產力，因為即使我根據日曆班次進行調整，看起來你們的新單位絕對會扼殺牠，而且扼殺牠的程度比我們在 23 年看到的還要大。我想，特里西婭，你是否仍然認為第二年的 230 萬美元是正確的柏忌，因為感覺這可能很低，考慮到新單位的開業情況？

And I also wanted to talk about kind of what you're learning in Chicago because God knows I can't get into the restaurant. I need a fast pass. So how does Chicago kind of inform how you think about new markets going forward?

我還想談談你在芝加哥學到的東西，因為上帝知道我不能進入餐廳。我需要一張快速通行證。那麼，芝加哥該如何告訴你如何看待未來的新市場呢？

Appreciate that, Sharon. So in fact, our new units are performing very well. One thing to keep in mind as we think about the first quarter, much of the new restaurant openings that we had were in the beginning of the quarter, so that has some impact when you're factoring in new unit productivity. But when you actually look at restaurant operating weeks themselves and look at it on that basis, yes, those new units are performing very well.

很欣賞這一點，莎倫。事實上，我們的新單位表現非常好。當我們考慮第一季時，需要記住一件事，我們開設的許多新餐廳都是在本季度初開設的，因此當您考慮新單位生產力時，這會產生一些影響。但當你實際觀察餐廳的營業週本身並在此基礎上觀察時，是的，這些新單位的表現非常好。

At this point, we haven't changed our overall view on year 1 and year 2, the $2.3 million in AUV that you mentioned. But we're keeping a close eye on it and monitoring their performance as they go into their second year. And as we learn more and understand if that's a more normalized run rate, we'll certainly communicate and change our expectations going forward.

目前，我們還沒有改變對第一年和第二年的整體看法，即您提到的 230 萬美元的 AUV。但我們會密切關注他們的表現，並在他們進入第二年時監控他們的表現。隨著我們了解更多並了解這是否是一個更加標準化的運作率，我們肯定會溝通並改變我們未來的期望。

But right now, very pleased with what we're seeing. Certainly, the Chicago performance has been phenomenal. Brett and I were both there with many others for the opening of the market. And if that's an indication of what greenfield markets can give to CAVA, we'll share more as we move on, but that could influence the approach as we move forward.

但現在，我們對所看到的感到非常滿意。當然，芝加哥的表現非常出色。布雷特和我以及其他許多人都出席了市場的開盤儀式。如果這表明了綠地市場可以為 CAVA 帶來什麼，我們將在繼續前進時分享更多信息，但這可能會影響我們前進的方法。

Your next question is from John Ivankoe from JPMorgan.

您的下一個問題來自摩根大通的約翰·伊万科。

Two parts, if I may. Perhaps, the results speak for themselves. But I was wondering if you could comment on your changing competitive intensity in some of your legacy urban markets, whether positive or negative. Just as the competitive landscape is changing, how that might be influencing CAVA, is the first question.

如果可以的話，分為兩部分。或許，結果不言而喻。但我想知道您是否可以評論一下您在一些傳統城市市場中不斷變化的競爭強度，無論是積極的還是消極的。正如競爭格局正在改變一樣，這可能會如何影響 CAVA，這是第一個問題。

And secondly, as you do kind of pursue a much more tilted suburban development and do look to drive-throughs, I wanted to get a sense of some of the initial performance around your drive-through units, how that mix might be evolving in '24, '25, the cost of those units relative to your expectations and, very importantly, the sales lift of those units just as we, again, think about new unit volumes for maybe a changing mix towards drive-throughs.

其次，當你確實追求更傾斜的郊區開發並尋求免下車服務時，我想了解一下你的免下車服務單位的一些初始表現，以及這種組合在“ 25 年2 月24 日，這些單位的成本相對於您的期望，以及非常重要的是，這些單位的銷售提升，正如我們再次考慮新的單位數量，以可能改變汽車餐廳的組合。

John, it's Brett. I'll take the first part of your question and hand it to Tricia for the second part of the question. What we've seen in the urban environment is a sense of that we're getting a larger piece of a smaller historical pie as it relates to pre-COVID, with return to office still creeping back pretty slowly. And so as we've stated, we're kind of a 90-10 pipeline, 90% suburban, 10% urban, and being very thoughtful about where we take advantage of our urban opportunities because they do exist, they are there.

約翰，這是布雷特。我將把你問題的第一部分交給 Tricia 回答問題的第二部分。我們在城市環境中看到的是，我們正在從一個較小的歷史蛋糕中分得更大的一塊，因為它與新冠疫情之前有關，而重返辦公室的速度仍然相當緩慢。正如我們所說，我們是一個 90-10 的管道，90% 是郊區，10% 是城市，並且非常仔細地考慮我們在哪裡利用城市機會，因為它們確實存在，就在那裡。

Our location in Chicago that we opened that's been a big success is an urban environment. It's not an office-dependent location. We've never been office-dependent even in our urban locations. So we look to take advantage where there is some residential component. I think again, there's been less historical competition in the past couple of years coming out of the pandemic as I think most of the capacity that came out of the restaurant industry happened more in the urban market than the suburban market.

我們在芝加哥開設的分店取得了巨大成功，它擁有城市環境。這不是一個依賴辦公室的地點。即使在城市地區，我們也從未依賴過辦公室。因此，我們希望利用有住宅部分的地方。我再次認為，在過去幾年中，由於大流行，歷史上的競爭較少，因為我認為餐飲業產生的大部分產能更多地發生在城市市場而不是郊區市場。

So again, looking with our leadership in Mediterranean to continue to take advantage of those opportunities in the urban core while leaning into our suburban expansion. And I'll hand it to Tricia for the drive-through question.

再次強調，我們在地中海的領導地位將繼續利用城市核心的這些機會，同時傾向於郊區擴張。我會將其交給 Tricia 解答免下車問題。

John, so at the end of Q1, we had 38 -- actually, as of today, we have 38 pickup lanes that are open, and so really pleased with that performance. Very similar to what we've talked to in the past, 10% to 15% higher AUVs, slightly higher restaurant-level margins in those pickup lanes. And we want to continue to add them to the portfolio, and we'll just be very opportunistic as we do.

約翰，所以在第一季末，我們有 38 條——實際上，截至今天，我們有 38 條皮卡車道開放，我們對這一表現非常滿意。與我們過去討論過的情況非常相似，AUV 增加 10% 到 15%，這些接送通道的餐廳利潤率略高。我們希望繼續將它們添加到投資組合中，我們將非常投機取巧。

I may have mentioned this before, we don't want to get into bidding wars or get into competing with others that have higher opportunities for underwriting, so the likes of Chick-fil-A or Raising Cane's, when you're looking at those locations. And so when I look at mix in '25 and '26, it will become an increasingly higher portion of our mix but not chasing a specific target overall as a percent of mix for pickup lanes in total.

我之前可能已經提到過這一點，我們不想捲入競購戰或與其他有更高承保機會的公司競爭，所以像 Chick-fil-A 或 Raising Cane's 這樣的公司，當你看到這些的時候地點。因此，當我查看“25”和“26”的混合時，它將成為我們混合中越來越高的部分，但不會追求總體上特定的目標，即佔皮卡車道總混合的百分比。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question is from Ivan Yu from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Ivan Yu。

Just wanted to touch on labor. You guys had mentioned some incremental wage investments being made. I guess maybe outside of price, could you expand on some of the workings just within the 4 walls where you're seeing some offset on the dollars that you mentioned? Is it throughput? Is it connected kitchen? And then would you be able to parse out the impact just in California with the recent mandated wage increases?

只是想談談勞動。你們提到了一些增量薪資投資。我想也許除了價格之外，你能否擴大 4 堵牆內的一些工作，你看到你提到的美元有一些抵消？是吞吐量嗎？是連通廚房嗎？那麼您是否能夠分析出最近強制加薪對加州的影響？

Yes. Ivan, from a labor perspective, we have increased average wages 8% year-over-year. We talked about that as it related to the fourth quarter investments we made last year. And we continue to evaluate our wages on a quarterly basis to make sure that we're really maintaining that employer of choice competitiveness in the marketplace. And so while we said we want to make sure that we continue to leave an opportunity for investments in our people, there's nothing significant planned in the rest of the year. But I just want to underscore how important it is for us, particularly in this stage of growth, to make those reinvestments in our team members and our guests, which we believe will drive long-term value for investors as well.

是的。伊万，從勞動力角度來看，我們的平均薪資年增了8%。我們討論了這一點，因為它與我們去年第四季的投資有關。我們繼續按季度評估我們的工資，以確保我們真正保持首選雇主在市場上的競爭力。因此，雖然我們說我們希望確保繼續為我們的員工留下投資機會，但今年剩餘時間沒有任何重大計劃。但我只是想強調，對我們的團隊成員和客人進行再投資對我們來說非常重要，特別是在這個成長階段，我們相信這也將為投資者帶來長期價值。

And so when you -- you also mentioned California. So as you know, wages went up in California in April. Fortunately, we had been making investments in wages across the country and in California. So there wasn't a large gap to fill. And as a result, we did not increase pricing in California to offset the impact. And while the impact had some overall impact overall, we're certainly seeing a strong performance in California and really seeing the consumers respond in a very positive way, it appears, based on our maintenance of menu pricing there.

所以當你——你也提到了加州。如您所知，四月加州的工資上漲了。幸運的是，我們一直在全國和加州的工資方面進行投資。所以沒有太大的空白需要填補。因此，我們沒有提高加州的定價來抵消影響。雖然這一影響總體上產生了一些總體影響，但根據我們對加州菜單定價的維護，我們確實看到了加州的強勁表現，並且確實看到消費者以非常積極的方式做出了反應。

And then you asked about throughput and connected kitchen. And why don't I turn it to Brett to share a little bit more about those initiatives?

然後您詢問吞吐量和互聯廚房。我為什麼不請 Brett 分享更多有關這些舉措的資訊呢？

Yes, Ivan. We have a labor deployment initiative that is going through our stage-gate process. It's in 29 restaurants now. We've gotten great response, as Tricia noted, from our GMs. Really, a reallocation of hours, so the same net hours, same net dollars, but much more effective and efficient in their deployment. And that's freed up our team members to be much more forward-facing during peak lunch, be able to coach and train, our shift leaders being able to coach and train. And that ultimately drives a better guest experience, drives better speed of service. We're seeing good results in that test.

是的，伊万。我們有一項勞動力部署計劃，目前正在進入階段性流程。現在有 29 家餐廳。正如 Tricia 指出的，我們從我們的總經理那裡得到了很好的回應。實際上，是對時間的重新分配，因此相同的淨時間、相同的淨美元，但其部署更加有效和有效率。這讓我們的團隊成員在午餐高峰期間更有前瞻性，能夠進行指導和培訓，我們的值班領導也能夠進行指導和培訓。這最終會帶來更好的賓客體驗、更快的服務速度。我們在那次測試中看到了良好的結果。

So we are expanding that test to another roughly 30 restaurants in the next month. And then if the test continues to progress on its current track, we would roll that out across the fleet around the end of the year, early beginning of next year. So again, we're looking at that. We're looking at connected kitchen, which we will launch a 4-restaurant pilot before the end of the summer. So that's kind of the first stage of this stage-gate as far as operations tests.

因此，我們將在下個月將測試範圍擴大到另外約 30 家餐廳。然後，如果測試繼續在當前軌道上取得進展，我們將在今年年底、明年初在整個機隊中推廣該測試。我們再次關注這一點。我們正在研究互聯廚房，我們將在夏末之前推出一個包含 4 家餐廳的試點計畫。就操作測試而言，這是該階段的第一階段。

And again, these are all initiatives looking to support our team members, take some of the complexity off their plate, put them in the right role, in the right position, the right deployments and have the right predictive ordering, predictive prep to be able to then deliver that great guest service, that great hospitality as well as improve the speed of service and the accuracy of service. So excited at the progress on these initiatives.

再說一次，這些都是旨在支持我們的團隊成員的舉措，消除了他們的一些複雜性，讓他們處於正確的角色、正確的位置、正確的部署，並有正確的預測順序、預測準備，以便能夠然後提供優質的賓客服務、熱情的款待以及提高服務速度和服務準確性。對這些舉措的進展感到非常興奮。

The connected kitchen is a multiyear initiative. We're just getting started on our first 4-restaurant pilot. That will come behind the labor deployment, which is more formative, as I mentioned. We'll be in 59 restaurants in the next month or so. And then if things go well, we'll roll that out across the fleet.

互聯廚房是一項持續多年的舉措。我們的第一個 4 家餐廳試點剛剛開始。正如我所提到的，這將是勞動力部署的背後，這更具形成性。下個月左右我們將去 59 家餐廳。如果一切順利，我們將在整個機隊中推廣該技術。

Your next question is from Brian Harbour from Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的布萊恩哈伯。

Tricia, can you just talk more generally about store margins? So on the commodity side, you explained the steak thing. But is there any change in kind of underlying food cost trends as we think through the balance of the year? With the comment about investments, is that just anything you'd potentially do on labor? Is there anything kind of in the other operating expense line that we should consider? I know that's been up a little bit year-over-year. Would that kind of continue through this year?

Tricia，您能更籠統地談談商店利潤嗎？所以在商品方面，你解釋了牛排的事情。但是，當我們思考今年剩餘時間時，潛在的食品成本趨勢是否有任何變化？關於投資的評論，這是否是您可能在勞動力方面做的事情？我們應該考慮其他營運費用項目中的任何內容嗎？我知道這個數字比去年同期有所上升。這種情況會持續到今年嗎？

Sure, Brian. Happy to. So when we think about restaurant-level margins, I'll start with COGS first. We're not anticipating significant inflation within COGS. I did mention that steak itself has been priced to deliver penny profit neutrality, but that will have some headwinds as it relates to COGS itself as a percentage of revenue.

當然，布萊恩。高興。因此，當我們考慮餐廳層面的利潤時，我將首先從銷貨成本開始。我們預計銷貨成本不會大幅通膨。我確實提到，牛排本身的定價是為了實現利潤中性，但這會帶來一些阻力，因為它與銷貨成本本身佔收入的百分比有關。

We are seeing a little bit of pressure in the chicken space. Despite being under contract, there's strong demand for our chicken and there's lower-than-expected production. So that may have a very modest impact overall on COGS for a short period of time. Overall, when you're thinking about the other line items, we talked about labor a little bit already, and then other operating expenses have been a little higher. We're continuing to invest in the integrity of our physical spaces, and we see an opportunity to continue to do that for the rest of the year.

我們看到雞肉領域面臨一些壓力。儘管簽訂了合同，但對我們的雞肉的需求強勁，而且產量低於預期。因此，這可能會在短期內對銷貨成本產生整體影響。總體而言，當您考慮其他項目時，我們已經討論了一點勞動力，然後其他營運費用有點高。我們將繼續投資於實體空間的完整性，並且我們看到了在今年剩餘時間內繼續這樣做的機會。

But the other thing I'd like to keep in mind as we think about restaurant-level margins, and we've said this before, but when you're thinking about restaurant-level margins, I would look at the shape of the restaurant-level margin by quarter in 2023 and then layer in the steak impact to understand how we're thinking about restaurant-level margins on a quarterly basis in 2024. And remember that Q1 now has less weather sensitivity as it relates to margins, given the shifting geographic portfolio that we have. We're weighted more across the Sunbelt than our historic Northeast presence in the past.

但當我們考慮餐廳層面的利潤時，我想記住另一件事，我們之前已經說過，但是當你考慮餐廳層面的利潤時，我會看看餐廳的形狀- 2023 年按季度的利潤率水平，然後分層考慮牛排影響，以了解我們如何考慮2024 年按季度的餐廳水平利潤率。率相關改變我們擁有的地理投資組合。我們在陽光地帶的權重比過去歷史悠久的東北地區的權重更大。

Your next question is from Jon Tower from Citigroup.

您的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Jon Tower。

Just a couple maybe. In terms of the success you're seeing today in Chicago, I know it's very early days, but in terms of your thinking about new market mix going forward, does this alter perhaps where you think you can go or open new stores in future windows? Perhaps, not the balance of '24 but into '25 and '26?

也許只是一對。就您今天在芝加哥看到的成功而言，我知道現在還為時過早，但就您對未來新市場組合的思考而言，這是否會改變您認為可以去的地方或在未來的窗口中開設新商店？也許，不是'24的平衡，而是'25和'26的平衡？

And then second part of the question is on throughput. I'm curious where you could -- if you could speak to where the brand is today with respect to entrees per peak [15] and where you think the opportunity is there over time. I'm assuming some of this labor shift will help you improve that.

問題的第二部分是關於吞吐量。我很好奇你能在哪裡——如果你能談談該品牌目前在每個高峰期的主菜方面的情況[15]，以及你認為隨著時間的推移，機會在哪裡。我假設這種勞動力轉移會幫助你改善這一點。

Jon, it's Brett. Certainly, the strength of the opening in Chicago and what we've seen, as Tricia noted earlier, on the strength of new openings in general that we've seen, that trend continues to persist. And the growing awareness, that we've seen in the past 18 months, helps drive those unit openings, gives us the optionality as we go into late '25 and '26 to think about the weighting of our portfolio and our pipeline as we build it and maybe potentially have a greater weighting on the greenfield side because we are seeing improved efficiency of the unit productivity out of the gate. So we'll continue to monitor the data and see how those trends unfold over the next year and help that inform whether we take advantage of that opportunity in our expansion plans.

喬恩，這是布雷特。當然，正如特里西婭之前指出的那樣，芝加哥開業的力度以及我們所看到的，以及我們所看到的新開業的總體力度，這種趨勢將繼續持續下去。我們在過去 18 個月中看到，人們的意識不斷增強，這有助於推動這些單位的空缺，讓我們在進入 25 世紀末和 26 世紀末時可以選擇考慮我們的投資組合和管道的權重。在綠地方面具有更大的權重，因為我們看到單位生產率的效率明顯提高。因此，我們將繼續監控數據，看看這些趨勢在明年如何展開，並幫助我們了解是否在擴張計劃中利用這一機會。

As it relates to your second question on speed of service, look, we know we've got latent demand at a lot of restaurants. We've seen even in our labor deployment tests some of the most effective restaurants in the test group have been high-volume units that have unlocked another level of volume with the labor deployment test. So we know it's out there, but we really want to focus on in our brand-building phase guest experience.

因為這涉及到你關於服務速度的第二個問題，所以我們知道很多餐廳都有潛在需求。即使在我們的勞動力部署測試中，我們也發現測試組中一些最有效的餐廳是高產量單位，它們透過勞動力部署測試解鎖了另一個水平的產量。所以我們知道它就在那裡，但我們真的想在品牌建立階段專注於客戶體驗。

What we don't want to get into is as speed of service increases, guest experience metrics decrease. So we're very focused on that balance, and we want to take a thoughtful approach, which is why we're moving the labor deployment to the next stage of the stage-gate and bringing connected kitchen behind it, to really equip our team with the tools to create a seamless experience for our guests, improve that speed of service but not at the expense of guest satisfaction.

我們不想看到的是，隨著服務速度的提高，客戶體驗指標會下降。因此，我們非常注重這種平衡，我們希望採取深思熟慮的方法，這就是為什麼我們將勞動力部署轉移到階段門的下一階段，並在其後面引入互聯廚房，以真正裝備我們的團隊使用為客人創造無縫體驗的工具，提高服務速度，但不以犧牲客人滿意度為代價。

Your next question is from Jeffrey Bernstein from Barclays.

您的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的傑弗裡·伯恩斯坦。

Just following up on the top line trends. I know you mentioned there's been no sign of change in consumer behavior despite, Brett, you noting, I guess, the consumer perhaps being more discerning more broadly, so encouraging that you're not seeing it. But if you were to see a change or if maybe traffic didn't revert back positive, what levers would you pull, if any, to drive traffic? Is that something that you would consider doing? Or would you kind of let it ride without looking to change your approach?

只是跟進最重要的趨勢。我知道你提到消費者行為沒有任何變化的跡象，儘管布雷特，你注意到，我想，消費者可能在更廣泛的範圍內更具洞察力，所以令人鼓舞的是你沒有看到這一點。但是，如果您看到變化，或者流量沒有恢復正常，您會使用什麼槓桿（如果有的話）來推動流量？您會考慮這樣做嗎？或者你會順其自然而不改變你的方法嗎？

And just within that, as you say, the '24 guidance for comps has been increased. I'm just wondering if you can share the components of that assumption for the new comp guidance in terms of traffic, pricing, mix. Any color there would be great.

正如您所說，就在其中，'24 的比較指南有所增加。我只是想知道您是否可以在流量、定價和組合方面分享新的補償指南的假設組成部分。任何顏色都會很棒。

Yes, thanks for the question. I'll take the first part and hand the second part over to Tricia for the complexion of the mix. What we don't -- haven't done historically and what we don't plan to do is to get into discounting. We try and put the best everyday value proposition forward to our guests, the best quality of food, the best quality of service, the best value and bang for the buck. And we'll continue to do that, and we'll continue to lean into the activities in our strategic plan to be able to deliver that to guests.

是的，謝謝你的提問。我將拍攝第一部分，並將第二部分交給 Tricia 負責混合的膚色。我們歷史上沒有做過、也不打算做的是打折。我們努力為客人提供最佳的日常價值主張、最優質的食物、最優質的服務、最超值且物超所值的服務。我們將繼續這樣做，我們將繼續致力於我們策略計劃中的活動，以便能夠向客人提供這些服務。

We opened our new production facility this quarter, fully operational, that is able to produce our chef-crafted dips and spreads using fresh dill, fresh garlic, fresh cucumber, these ingredients at scale that take that complexity out of the 4 walls of our restaurants that allow us to deliver it across the country with quality, cost effectiveness and consistency at scale. So I think what we've really seen, getting back to my comment about the consumer being discerning, we've seen challenges of the full-service model struggle to deliver a relevant value proposition to modern consumer.

我們的新生產設施於本季開業，全面投入運營，能夠使用新鮮蒔蘿、新鮮大蒜、新鮮黃瓜生產廚師精心製作的蘸醬和塗抹醬，這些原料規模化，使我們餐廳的4 堵牆不再那麼複雜。因此，我認為我們真正看到的是，回到我對消費者挑剔的評論，我們已經看到全方位服務模式難以向現代消費者提供相關價值主張的挑戰。

That's why we're leaning into Project Soul. We think we see 64%, 63% of our guests coming into our dining rooms, coming into our restaurants, wanting that physical experience. And we see CAVA as being a great dinner option and some trade-down from full-service dining. And then we see -- there was a survey out today from LendingTree, where 78% of guests said fast food, traditional fast food, has gotten expensive and it's become a luxury. And as those prices have gotten closer to our prices, it's made -- it's increased our value proposition, and we've seen trade-up from a healthfulness, from a food quality standpoint.

這就是我們傾向於靈魂計劃的原因。我們認為我們看到 64%、63% 的客人進入我們的餐廳、進入我們的餐廳，想要這種實際體驗。我們認為 CAVA 是一種不錯的晚餐選擇，也是全方位餐飲的一些折衷選擇。然後我們看到，LendingTree 今天進行了一項調查，其中 78% 的客人表示快餐，傳統的快餐，已經變得昂貴並且已經成為一種奢侈品。隨著這些價格越來越接近我們的價格，它增加了我們的價值主張，我們從健康、食品品質的角度看到了升級。

So we're going to continue to lean into those equities, lean into our differentiated Mediterranean cuisine, and that's proven to be the best driver of traffic over the long term for us.

因此，我們將繼續關注這些股票，並關注我們差異化的地中海美食，事實證明，從長遠來看，這對我們來說是最好的流量驅動因素。

As it relates to the components of our guidance, we don't share the breakdown between price, traffic, and mix. But what I will say is that we took less than 3% in price at the beginning of this year, and we don't have any plans to take additional price at this time in the rest of 2024. So the rest of that mid- to high single digits expectation, as it relates to same-restaurant sales for the rest of the year, is a combination of traffic and mix.

由於它與我們指南的組成部分相關，因此我們不會分享價格、流量和組合之間的細目。但我要說的是，我們在今年年初的價格上漲了不到 3%，而且我們沒有任何計劃在 2024 年剩餘時間內的此時採取額外的價格。剩餘時間的同餐廳銷售有關，是客流量和組合的結合。

Your next question is from Brian Mullan from Piper Sandler.

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

My question is on catering. I know you referenced it a little bit in the prepared remarks. Just hoping you could expand a bit on this piece of the business. I believe you're looking at this in various different store formats. Just wondering if you could update us there and if you're zeroing in at all on what you think the optimal way to approach this is. And if not, maybe what you're still evaluating.

我的問題是關於餐飲。我知道你在準備好的評論中提到了一點。只是希望你能在這方面有所擴展。我相信您正在以各種不同的商店形式看待這個問題。只是想知道您是否可以向我們提供最新信息，以及您是否完全專注於您認為解決此問題的最佳方法是什麼。如果沒有，也許您仍在評估什麼。

Yes, Brian, it's Brett. Thanks for the question. We're very pleased with the progress of our catering test. We're being very patient with it. We've learned a ton. We've expanded our test of regular CAVA restaurants to understand daily capacity, any potential hot-holding or ancillary equipment that we need to add to units or what are the thresholds of certain AUVs from a catering weekly sales capacity standpoint.

是的，布萊恩，我是布雷特。謝謝你的提問。我們對餐飲測試的進展感到非常滿意。我們對此非常有耐心。我們學到了很多。我們擴大了對常規 CAVA 餐廳的測試，以了解每日容量、我們需要添加到單位的任何潛在的保溫或輔助設備，或者從餐飲每週銷售能力的角度來看某些 AUV 的閾值是什麼。

So we've seen the hubs. We've learned a ton about our hybrid and our digital kitchens. We have a really good read on how we want to utilize them. Now it's that last layer of understanding how the mainline CAVAs interact with those hubs, and we're parallel pathing other aspects of the initiative, including packaging and technology, that are progressing well. And we have not spoken to a date on full national rollout, but we continue to see this go through the stage-gate process as expected.

我們已經看到了集線器。我們對混合廚房和數位廚房有了很多了解。我們對如何利用它們有很好的了解。現在這是了解主線 CAVA 如何與這些中心互動的最後一層，我們正在並行推進該計劃的其他方面，包括包裝和技術，進展順利。我們還沒有談到在全國全面推廣的日期，但我們繼續看到它按預期經歷階段性過程。

And look, I think we've catered now every Major League Baseball team. And we're getting teams that now when they're on the road, they want us to cater them. Many professional sports and college teams, let alone office headquarters and schools. So clearly, this -- our food is a great fit for the catering channel, and we want to make sure that when we roll it out on a wider scale, that we've got our operators ready from a production capacity standpoint, are able to deliver that great CAVA experience that they get when they interact with us in our 4 walls or through our digital channels.

看，我想我們現在已經為美國職棒大聯盟的每支球隊提供了服務。我們的團隊現在當他們在路上時，他們希望我們為他們提供服務。許多專業運動隊和大學隊，更不用說辦公總部和學校了。很明顯，我們的食物非常適合餐飲管道，我們希望確保當我們更​​廣泛地推出它時，我們已經讓我們的操作員從產能的角度做好了準備，能夠為他們提供在我們的4 面牆或透過我們的數位管道與我們互動時獲得的出色CAVA 體驗。

Your next question is from Maggie Juarez from Raymond James.

您的下一個問題來自雷蒙德詹姆斯的瑪吉華雷斯。

This is Maggie Juarez on for Brian Vaccaro. So our question is just on your 1Q sales performance. It looks like average [group] sales were up high single digits, and you talked about your new unit performance. Could you also help us understand the sales lift you're seeing in the converted [sales units] you completed in '21 and '22? Or could you help us with where the absolute AUVs are in some of those conversions completed versus the de novo CAVA units?

我是瑪吉·華雷斯 (Maggie Juarez) 替補布萊恩·瓦卡羅 (Brian Vaccaro)。所以我們的問題只是關於你們第一季的銷售業績。看起來平均[集團]銷售額增長了高個位數，並且您談到了新單位的業績。您能否幫助我們了解您在 21 年和 22 年完成的轉換[銷售單位]中看到的銷售提升？或者您能否幫助我們了解一些已完成的轉換中的絕對 AUV 與 de novo CAVA 單元的比較？

Yes, Maggie, our conversions are actually performing fairly consistent with the -- a de novo trend. Our conversions were slightly lower in their initial year of opening but see a similar ramp, and that slight lower AUV was largely a result of how we entered markets with many locations in one market at the same time. So really no discernible differences between the performance. Very pleased with our new openings, whether they're de novo units or conversion locations.

是的，瑪吉，我們的轉換實際上與從頭趨勢相當一致。我們的轉換率在開業第一年略低，但也出現了類似的成長，而 AUV 略低主要是由於我們同時進入一個市場中有多個地點的市場的結果。所以性能之間確實沒有明顯的差異。我們對我們的新開業感到非常滿意，無論是新開業的單位還是改造地點。

And keep in mind, all of the conversions are complete. We completed them last year and there were a number of them that entered into the same-restaurant sales base in Q1, but very few changes going forward.

請記住，所有轉換均已完成。我們去年完成了這些工作，其中有許多在第一季進入了同一餐廳的銷售基礎，但未來的變化很少。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand the call back to Brett Schulman, CEO and Co-Founder, for the closing remarks.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題。現在，我將把電話轉交給執行長兼聯合創始人布雷特舒爾曼 (Brett Schulman)，讓其結束語。

Thanks, everyone, for joining the call today. Before we sign off, I want to reiterate how pleased we are with our Q1 results, how proud I am of our team, and how excited we are about the year ahead. With 2-year same-restaurant sales growth of 30.7%, quarterly net income that was higher than all of the prior year, and our first-ever quarter of positive free cash flow, we once again demonstrated the strength of our Mediterranean category-defining brand.

感謝大家今天加入電話會議。在我們結束之前，我想重申我們對第一季的業績感到多麼滿意，我為我們的團隊感到多麼自豪，以及我們對未來的一年感到多麼興奮。兩年同餐廳銷售額成長 30.7%，季度淨利潤高於上年同期，以及我們有史以來第一個季度的正自由現金流，我們再次證明了我們地中海類別定義的實力品牌。

We're making thoughtful investments to support our growth, and our powerful unit economic engine continues to drive impressive results. As we expand our presence across the country and execute across our 4 strategic pillars, we're in a strong position to capitalize on the significant white space opportunity in front of us and to deliver growth, profitability, and shareholder value over the long term. Thanks again for joining us. Have a happy summer, and I look forward to speaking with you next quarter.

我們正在進行深思熟慮的投資來支持我們的成長，我們強大的單位經濟引擎繼續推動令人印象深刻的業績。隨著我們在全國範圍內擴大業務並執行四大戰略支柱，我們處於有利地位，可以利用擺在我們面前的重大空白機遇，並實現長期增長、盈利能力和股東價值。再次感謝您加入我們。祝你夏天愉快，我期待下個季度與您交談。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the conference has now ended. Thank you all for joining. You may all disconnect.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，會議現已結束。感謝大家的加入。你們都可以斷開連線。