CAVA vs SBUX vs CMG Stock Comparison

Cava, Starbucks and Chipotle Mexican Grill Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAVA Cava Group, Inc.
$51.86 +0.5% 1M -17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.06B
P/E
99.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
1 win
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$103.04 +8.6% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$117.47B
P/E
59.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
2.41%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
$27.98 -10.7% 1M -31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$35.41B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.42B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Starbucks leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Starbucks 4, Chipotle Mexican Grill 4, Cava 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAVASBUXCMGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.06B $117.47B $35.41B SBUX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 99.0x 59.2x 25.2x CMG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 101.7x 41.9x 26.1x CMG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +4.5% +7.3% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% 5.2% 11.4% CMG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 31.4% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.41% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.6% +18.1% -31.9% SBUX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -1.9%/yr -4.7%/yr SBUX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.3% 27.6% 44.8% SBUX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 34/100 64/100 CMG

Percentile Scorecard

CAVASBUXCMG

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCAVASBUXCMG
Valuation 2 #49 of 50 6 #47 of 50 25 #38 of 50
Growth 91 #5 of 47 17 #39 of 47 41 #28 of 47
Profitability 42 #27 of 46 69 #15 of 46 91 #5 of 46
Financial Health 96 #3 of 51 42 #30 of 51 64 #19 of 51
Shareholder Returns – 34 #22 of 33 100 #1 of 33
Overall 58 34 64
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • CMG ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCAVASBUXCMGSPY
1 month +0.5%+8.6%-10.7% -0.2%
3 months -20.2%-0.1%-16.5% +3.9%
6 months -43.0%+5.9%-14.9% +8.2%
Year to date -11.6%+22.4%-24.4% +12.9%
1 year -17.6%+18.1%-31.9% +12.3%
3 years +64.0%+12.0%-25.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +17.9%+3.8%-9.5% +23.3%
5 years —-9.0%-21.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year —-1.9%-4.7% +10.9%
10 years —+92.3%+279.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+6.8%+14.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAVASBUXCMGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.3%27.6%44.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.1%25.0%50.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.530.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.300.66-0.71 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.1%-40.2%-59.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.8%-5.1%-31.9% -1.2%
52-week high $97.39$108.55$41.06 $779.14
52-week low $43.59$79.60$27.51 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCAVASBUXCMG
P/E now vs peer median 99.0xmedian 20.6x 59.2xmedian 20.6x 25.2xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 1.2x 3.1xmedian 1.2x 2.8xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 40.1xmedian 13.3x 27.4xmedian 13.3x 15.8xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 17.3x 32.3xmedian 17.3x 22.6xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 3.1x -15.3xmedian 3.1x 16.1xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.63median 1.07 -3.08median 1.07 2.21median 1.07

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCAVASBUXCMG
Revenue $1.22B $38.34B $12.42B
Gross profit $301.99M – –
Operating income $66.42M $2.98B $1.82B
Net income $61.05M $1.98B $1.42B
Free cash flow – $3.64B $1.57B
EPS (diluted) $0.52 $1.73 $1.11
Cash & equivalents $322.76M $3.45B $228.20M
Total debt – $13.28B –
Shares (diluted) 118.38M 1.14B 1.28B
Enterprise value $4.46B $105.10B $31.39B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXCMG
P/E 99.0x 59.2x 25.2x
P/FCF – 32.3x 22.6x
P/Operating cash flow – 23.6x 15.2x
P/S 5.0x 3.1x 2.8x
P/B 7.2x -15.3x 16.1x
P/Tangible book 7.2x -15.0x 16.1x
EV/EBITDA 40.1x 27.4x 15.8x
EV/EBIT 84.6x 42.7x 19.1x
EV/Revenue 4.6x 3.3x 2.8x
EV/FCF – 34.9x 22.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – 25.5x 14.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.63 -3.08 2.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXCMG
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 4.5% 7.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 23.5% 3.1% 10.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.3% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.1% -24.9% -5.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 63.5% -17.8% 8.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -56.6% -24.7% -7.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 62.8% -19.4% 8.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -56.6% -24.9% -2.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.7% -19.2% 11.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.7% 11.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -1.2% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 61.6% 7.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.9% 7.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXCMG
Gross margin 24.8% – –
EBITDA margin 11.5% 12.1% 17.7%
Operating margin 5.5% 7.8% 14.7%
Pretax margin 6.7% 8.0% 15.0%
Net margin 5.0% 5.2% 11.4%
FCF margin – 9.5% 12.6%
Operating cash flow margin – 13.0% 18.7%
Return on equity 7.5% – 61.6%
Return on assets 4.3% 6.7% 16.1%
Return on invested capital – 31.4% –
Return on capital employed 5.4% 15.3% 24.2%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.3x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.5x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXCMG
Debt / assets – 46.9% –
Debt / equity – -1.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.1x –
Debt / FCF – 3.6x –
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 127.1% 75.2%
Equity / assets 56.1% -27.1% 24.8%
Interest coverage – 5.4x –
Current ratio 2.5x 0.8x 0.7x
Quick ratio 2.4x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 6.51 3.14 5.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXCMG
Dividend yield – 2.4% –
Net buyback yield – -0.1% 7.9%
Shareholder yield – 2.3% 7.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCAVASBUXCMG
Forward P/E 101.7xFY2026 41.9xFY2026 26.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.51FY2026 $2.46FY2026 $1.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +15.5%FY2026 -8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +49.0% +21.5% +19.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.43BFY2026 $35.66BFY2026 $13.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026 +13.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +31.4% +5.4% +9.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAVASBUXCMG
Held by institutions 89.4% 85.6% 89.5%
Institutions holding 541 2,400 1,197
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.7% +4.9% +0.3%
Institutions buying 245 1,097 510
Institutions selling 209 991 527
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.11 0.97

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CAVASBUXCMG
CAVA 1.00 0.36 0.51
SBUX 0.36 1.00 0.34
CMG 0.51 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAVA, SBUX and CMG?

Starbucks (SBUX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cava (CAVA) $6.06B, Starbucks (SBUX) $117.47B, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) $35.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAVA, SBUX and CMG?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cava (CAVA) 99.0x, Starbucks (SBUX) 59.2x, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 25.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is cheapest (Cava (CAVA) 101.7x, Starbucks (SBUX) 41.9x, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 26.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cava (CAVA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cava (CAVA) +12.2%, Starbucks (SBUX) +4.5%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +7.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has the highest net margin (Cava (CAVA) 5.0%, Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 11.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Starbucks (SBUX) returned the most: Cava (CAVA) -17.6%, Starbucks (SBUX) +18.1%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -31.9%. Over five years, Starbucks (SBUX) compounded fastest (Starbucks (SBUX) -1.9%/yr, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Starbucks (SBUX) 2.41%. Cava (CAVA) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Starbucks (SBUX) has been the steadiest (Cava (CAVA) 59.3%, Starbucks (SBUX) 27.6%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 44.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAVA, SBUX and CMG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Starbucks (SBUX) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.