Latest news with #ChrisTomasso
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First Watch reports Q2 growth and achieves busiest day in company history
You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. First Watch Restaurant Group Inc. reported a robust second quarter of sales and traffic growth, mainly driven by the company's continued development and franchise acquisition efforts, as well as a marketing push that began earlier this year. While First Watch's in-restaurant traffic was still negative for the second quarter ended June 29, same-store sales grew by 3.5% and the company recorded its busiest day in company history on Mother's Day 2025, with record-breaking same-store sales and traffic numbers on that day. 'I think Mother's Day and Father's Day were really just high points of what we experienced the whole quarter, which was sequential growth in all dayparts,' First Watch CEO Chris Tomasso told Nation's Restaurant News. 'From our conservatism around pricing, to increasing our brand awareness through marketing efforts, I think all of these things have set us up to outperform in a challenging environment.' First Watch began focusing more on marketing efforts and specifically on increasing brand awareness earlier this year. Tomasso said the company is working on conversions (or splitting wallet share) of people who are already daytime casual-dining customers. 'We're using everything from influencers to connected television to organic, digital and social media,' he said. 'If you have this cocktail of things that are working, then don't change it. … This is early innings for us. We're going to continue to learn and iterate as we go on and get better.' Beyond marketing initiatives, First Watch's second quarter was largely defined by continued growth. In the past quarter, the company entered its 31st state (Idaho) and opened 17 restaurants across eight states while achieving a 600-store milestone. Out of the 17 new restaurants, 15 are company-owned, which reflects the company's broader strategy of leaning away from a franchise-heavy portfolio. 'If you look historically at when high-growth restaurant companies stumbled, it's usually because they grew too fast,' Tomasso said. 'As we grow, we work hard to make our culture stronger and not get diluted because of growth and new people coming into the organization. … These [franchise] acquisitions have come in pockets when we've opened a lot of restaurants, then there's a little lull, we acquire [some franchised stores] and then we go back to growth.' Another avenue of growth for First Watch was third-party delivery, which Tomasso said during Tuesday's earnings call, helped contribute to improved traffic numbers. He said third-party delivery 'increased materially' in the second quarter as part of the company's efforts to improve that channel, regain some lost traffic, and 'generate incremental dollars.' For the second quarter ended June 29, First Watch reported a 19.1% increase in revenue to $307.9 million. Net income swung to a loss of $2.1 million, or three cents per diluted share, as compared with $8.9 million, or 14 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2024. First Watch operates 531 company-owned and 69 franchise-owned restaurants across 31 states. Contact Joanna at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First Watch plans for dozens of new restaurants in 2025. Here's where.
First Watch operates more than 580 restaurants in 31 states, and that number is expected to grow in 2025. The company said on its 2025 first quarter earnings call on May 6 it had opened 13 restaurants in 10 states in the first three months of the year, resulting in a total of 584 restaurants – 498 company-owned locations and 86 franchise-owned. Also on the earnings call, First Watch said it expects to open between 59 and 64 new restaurants in the 2025 fiscal year. "First quarter same restaurant traffic results are encouraging and continued the trends we experienced exiting 2024, demonstrating both the strength and the resilience of the First Watch brand," First Watch President and CEO Chris Tomasso said on the call. Tomasso said locations that opened in 2024 and 2025 have exceeded expectations despite "uncertainty" in the economic environment. Here's a look at where the chain has opened new restaurants so far in 2025 and where they are opening new locations the rest of the year. The company said it opened 13 new locations in 10 states in the first three months of the year: Alabama Florida Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts South Carolina Tennessee Virginia The Massachusetts location is the company's first-ever New England location, according to a First Watch spokesperson, and is located in Hanover. The company plans to open a second Massachusetts location, on Boylston Street in downtown Boston, later this year. 'This high-profile location in the heart of Boston is a major milestone as we continue our growth in New England and beyond,' said Chris Tomasso, First Watch CEO & President, in a news release on April 23. 'We're grateful for the warm welcome we received for our first Massachusetts location earlier this year and look forward to bringing First Watch's innovative menu and signature hospitality to the Back Bay.' The company also told USA TODAY it entered its 31st state – Idaho – in May. The company told USA TODAY it plans to open new locations in the following states in the back half of 2025: Alabama Arizona Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Missouri Nevada North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Wisconsin The company's new restaurant in Nevada will be located in Las Vegas and is scheduled to open this summer, a First Watch spokesperson told USA TODAY. Nevada will be the company's 32nd state with a location. Additionally, the company's first location in Memphis, Tennessee is slated for Sept. 2025. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First Watch opening dozens of new locations in 2025. See where.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FWRG Q1 Earnings Call: Margin Pressures Offset Traffic Improvements and Expansion
Breakfast restaurant chain First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) met Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 16.4% year on year to $282.2 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.01 per share was $0.03 below analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy FWRG? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $282.2 million vs analyst estimates of $283.5 million (16.4% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $0.01 vs analyst estimates of $0.03 ($0.03 miss) Adjusted EBITDA: $22.75 million vs analyst estimates of $25.81 million (8.1% margin, 11.9% miss) EBITDA guidance for the full year is $116.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $125.2 million Operating Margin: 0.4%, down from 5.1% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow was -$16.42 million compared to -$3.6 million in the same quarter last year Locations: 584 at quarter end, up from 531 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales were flat year on year, in line with the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $975.3 million First Watch's first quarter results reflected a mix of steady top-line growth and mounting cost pressures. Management attributed revenue gains to positive traffic trends in key periods, continued expansion into new markets with 13 restaurant openings, and targeted marketing campaigns that improved customer engagement. CEO Chris Tomasso cited sequential improvements in restaurant traffic, particularly in March and April, as well as operational investments that drove further efficiency and lower employee turnover. Looking ahead, management signaled that persistent inflation in core food commodities and higher labor and benefit costs will weigh on margins throughout the year. CFO Mel Hope flagged that four of the company's top five commodities are experiencing high inflation, and that new tariffs and selective customer-facing initiatives are expected to continue pressuring profitability. Despite these headwinds, Tomasso emphasized the company's confidence in its unit growth strategy and its ongoing marketing efforts to support traffic, while acknowledging that margin recovery will depend on relief from commodity costs and careful cost management. Management's remarks outlined several operational and market factors that shaped the quarter's results, highlighting the interplay between growth initiatives and profit headwinds. Traffic Trend Recovery: Sequential improvements in restaurant traffic, with April achieving the best monthly result in over two years, supported optimism for sustained traffic growth in upcoming quarters. Marketing and Customer Engagement: Enhanced digital and targeted marketing campaigns, initiated in March, led to stronger brand awareness and customer frequency, particularly in select geographies. These efforts are expected to scale further in 2025. Third-Party Delivery Optimization: Strategic changes with delivery partners resulted in a reversal of negative traffic trends in that channel, though at lower per-order margins. Commodity and Labor Cost Pressures: Higher costs in eggs, bacon, coffee, and avocados, as well as increased health benefits and labor, drove margin compression. Management cited these as largely transitory but significant in the current environment. Expansion into New Markets: Openings in new states, such as Massachusetts and Idaho, demonstrated the brand's geographic portability and provided evidence for management's long-term growth target of over 2,200 U.S. locations. Management's outlook for the remainder of 2025 focuses on driving top-line growth through new restaurant openings and marketing, while navigating cost inflation and macro uncertainty. Inflation and Tariff Impact: Ongoing high-single-digit inflation in key commodities and new tariffs are expected to pressure margins, with peak cost impact anticipated in the second quarter before some relief later in the year. Growth Through New Units: Continued double-digit percentage growth in restaurant openings, especially in untapped markets, is viewed as the primary engine for revenue expansion. Customer-Facing Initiatives: Programs like 'surprise and delight' and increased portion sizes are intended to build loyalty and frequency, but may continue to affect short-term profitability if not carefully managed. Andrew Charles (TD Cowen): Asked about the sustainability of positive traffic trends and the trade-offs between driving traffic at lower margins; management expressed confidence in the approach, citing encouraging recent results. Jim Salera (Stephens Inc.): Inquired about learnings from increased media spend and engagement; leadership noted early positive impacts and ongoing adjustments to optimize effectiveness across markets. Sara Senatore (BofA): Sought clarity on planned restaurant closures and the margin impact of customer loyalty programs; management described closures as routine and emphasized the long-term value of loyalty investments despite near-term cost pressures. Brian Mullan (Piper Sandler): Asked for updates on menu innovation and beverage expansion; management confirmed continued testing of new beverage options to drive incremental sales. Gregory Francfort (Guggenheim Securities): Queried long-term margin targets and third-party delivery dynamics; management reiterated a restaurant-level margin target of 18-20% and discussed partnership benefits in off-premise channels. In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will track (1) whether traffic trends remain positive in both dine-in and delivery channels, (2) if commodity and labor cost inflation begin to ease as anticipated in the second half of the year, and (3) the success of new market entries and continued restaurant expansion. The effectiveness of marketing initiatives in driving repeat visits and the impact of loyalty programs on customer retention will also be important indicators of progress. First Watch currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 40.8×. At this valuation, is it a buy or sell post earnings? The answer lies in our free research report. Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs. While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years. Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Sterling Infrastructure (+1,096% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First Watch's (NASDAQ:FWRG) Q1 Earnings Results: Revenue In Line With Expectations But Stock Drops
Breakfast restaurant chain First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) met Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 16.4% year on year to $282.2 million. Its GAAP loss of $0.01 per share was significantly below analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy First Watch? Find out in our full research report. First Watch (FWRG) Q1 CY2025 Highlights: Revenue: $282.2 million vs analyst estimates of $283.5 million (16.4% year-on-year growth, in line) EPS (GAAP): -$0.01 vs analyst estimates of $0.03 (significant miss) Adjusted EBITDA: $22.75 million vs analyst estimates of $25.81 million (8.1% margin, 11.9% miss) EBITDA guidance for the full year is $116.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $125 million Operating Margin: 0.4%, down from 5.1% in the same quarter last year Locations: 584 at quarter end, up from 531 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales were flat year on year, in line with the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.13 billion "First quarter same restaurant traffic results are encouraging and continued the trends we experienced exiting 2024, demonstrating both the strength and the resilience of the First Watch brand,' said Chris Tomasso, CEO and President of First Watch. Company Overview Based on a nautical reference to the first work shift aboard a ship, First Watch (NASDAQ:FWRG) is a chain of breakfast and brunch restaurants whose menu is heavily-focused on eggs and griddle items such as pancakes. Sales Growth Examining a company's long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. With $1.06 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, First Watch is a mid-sized restaurant chain, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale. On the bright side, it can still flex high growth rates because it's working from a smaller revenue base. As you can see below, First Watch grew its sales at an exceptional 19.2% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years (we compare to 2019 to normalize for COVID-19 impacts) as it opened new restaurants and increased sales at existing, established dining locations. First Watch Quarterly Revenue This quarter, First Watch's year-on-year revenue growth was 16.4%, and its $282.2 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street's estimates. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 20% over the next 12 months, similar to its five-year rate. This projection is admirable and suggests the market is baking in success for its menu offerings.
Business Upturn
23-04-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
First Watch Announces Flagship Location in Heart of Downtown Boston
BOSTON, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FWRG) ('First Watch' or the 'Company'), the leading daytime restaurant serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, announced it will open its first downtown Boston location in late 2025, marking First Watch's continued expansion in New England. The popular breakfast spot celebrated its entry into Massachusetts earlier this year with the opening of its first greater Boston-area location in Hanover in January. The new restaurant will be located at 777 Boylston St. in the iconic Back Bay neighborhood, bringing First Watch's fresh, chef-driven menu to the heart of the city. 'This high-profile location in the heart of Boston is a major milestone as we continue our growth in New England and beyond,' said Chris Tomasso, First Watch CEO & President. 'We're grateful for the warm welcome we received for our first Massachusetts location earlier this year and look forward to bringing First Watch's innovative menu and signature hospitality to the Back Bay.' First Watch is widely beloved for its modern take on breakfast and brunch classics showcasing high quality ingredients like cage-free eggs, organic mixed greens, all-natural chicken and fresh – never frozen – breakfast potatoes. All dishes are made to order using fresh ingredients in a kitchen without heat lamps, microwaves or deep fryers, and its seasonal menu rotates five times per year. The diverse menu offers classics, such as The Traditional breakfast, benedicts, omelets and Avocado Toast, as well as curated hashes and bowls, including fan favorites like Farmhouse Hash and Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl, plus Instagrammable shareables, like Million Dollar Bacon. The restaurant also offers a robust lunch menu of sandwiches and salads, including Superfood Kale Salad, the Ham and Gruyere Melt and its popular 'Two for You' lunch combination. The Boylston team will start each morning by juicing fresh fruits and vegetables like kale, apple and cucumber for an array of juices, including Morning Meditation and Kale Tonic. The restaurant also takes immense pride in its socially responsible Project Sunrise coffee, sourced from women-owned coffee farms based in South America. The Boylston flagship location design will represent the community it serves and complement the surrounding historic district, including a one-of-a-kind, Boston-inspired mural specially designed and painted by a local artist. The restaurant will also feature a welcoming outdoor dining patio. The weekend prior to opening, the restaurant will raise money to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund's mission to defy cancer – a continuation of the partnership started at Hanover earlier this year. The Boston opening will create approximately 30 new jobs for the local community. Recently recognized as the '#1 Most Loved Workplace in America' by Newsweek and the Best Practice Institute, First Watch prides itself on its 'No Night Shifts Ever' policy, which prioritizes employee wellbeing, allowing all staff to enjoy their evenings off. Open positions will be posted to First Watch's Careers site this Fall. First Watch is open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit , and connect on Instagram and Facebook with @FirstWatch. About First Watch First Watch is the leading Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using fresh ingredients. A recipient of hundreds of local 'Best Breakfast' and 'Best Brunch' accolades, First Watch's chef-driven menu rotates five times a year and includes elevated executions of classic favorites alongside specialties such as its Quinoa Power Bowl, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Chickichanga, Morning Meditation fresh juice and signature Million Dollar Bacon. After first appearing on the list in 2022 and 2023, First Watch was named 2024's #1 Most Loved Workplace® in America by Newsweek and the Best Practice Institute. In 2023, First Watch was named the top restaurant brand in Yelp's inaugural list of the top 50 most-loved brands in the U.S. In 2022, First Watch was awarded a sought-after MenuMasters honor by Nation's Restaurant News for its seasonal Braised Short Rib Omelet. First Watch operates more than 570 First Watch restaurants in 30 states. For more information, visit . Media Contact: [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
