CAVA vs SBUX vs YUMC Stock Comparison

Cava, Starbucks and Yum China Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAVA Cava Group, Inc.
$54.28 +5.3% 1M -12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.95B
P/E
113.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
1 win
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$103.20 +8.3% 1M +20.8% 1Y
Market cap
$119.08B
P/E
60.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
YUMC Yum China Holdings, Inc.
$44.50 +8.3% 1M +2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$15.64B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.44B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Yum China Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Yum China Holdings 6, Starbucks 4, Cava 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAVASBUXYUMCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.95B $119.08B $15.64B SBUX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 113.9x 60.1x 16.0x YUMC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 106.4x 42.0x 14.6x YUMC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +4.5% +8.8% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% 5.2% 7.8% YUMC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 31.4% 16.5% SBUX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.1x -0.7x YUMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.6% +20.8% +2.0% SBUX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -0.5%/yr -4.9%/yr SBUX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.5% 27.5% 25.5% YUMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 36/100 75/100 YUMC

Percentile Scorecard

CAVASBUXYUMC

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

AxisCAVASBUXYUMC
Valuation 4 #48 of 50 6 #47 of 50 76 #13 of 50
Growth 94 #4 of 47 17 #39 of 47 50 #24 of 47
Profitability 42 #27 of 46 78 #11 of 46 67 #16 of 46
Financial Health 96 #3 of 51 42 #30 of 51 88 #7 of 51
Shareholder Returns – 36 #21 of 32 97 #2 of 32
Overall 59 36 75
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • YUMC ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAVASBUXYUMCSPY
1 month +5.3%+8.3%+8.3% +0.9%
3 months -17.0%-0.9%-2.9% +5.9%
6 months -40.4%-2.2%-8.6% +8.5%
Year to date -7.5%+22.6%-6.8% +13.3%
1 year -12.6%+20.8%+2.0% +12.4%
3 years +71.6%+12.1%-15.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +19.7%+3.9%-5.4% +23.5%
5 years —-2.7%-22.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year —-0.5%-4.9% +11.0%
10 years —+92.8%+82.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+6.8%+6.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCAVASBUXYUMCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.5%27.5%25.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.3%24.9%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.310.540.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.210.760.08 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.1%-40.2%-54.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.3%-4.9%-23.2% -0.9%
52-week high $97.39$108.55$57.95 $779.14
52-week low $43.59$79.60$39.98 $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.

MultipleCAVASBUXYUMC
P/E now vs peer median 103.7xmedian 20.8x 59.3xmedian 20.8x 15.9xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 1.1x 3.1xmedian 1.1x 1.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 42.1xmedian 13.0x 27.4xmedian 13.0x 7.6xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 17.6x 32.3xmedian 17.6x 16.3xmedian 17.6x
P/B now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 3.2x -15.3xmedian 3.2x 2.5xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.75median 1.08 -3.09median 1.08 0.96median 1.08

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 monthsCAVASBUXYUMC
Revenue $1.22B $38.34B $12.44B
Gross profit $301.99M – $2.14B
Operating income $66.42M $2.98B $1.38B
Net income $61.05M $1.98B $1.05B
Free cash flow – $3.64B $940.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.52 $1.73 $2.79
Cash & equivalents $322.76M $3.45B $485.00M
Total debt – $13.28B $66.00M
Shares (diluted) 118.38M 1.14B 349.00M
Enterprise value $5.35B $106.70B $9.30B

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
MetricCAVASBUXYUMC
P/E 103.7x 59.3x 15.9x
P/FCF – 32.3x 16.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 23.6x 9.7x
P/S 5.2x 3.1x 1.2x
P/B 7.5x -15.3x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 7.6x -15.0x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 42.1x 27.4x 7.6x
EV/EBIT 88.9x 42.8x 10.2x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 3.3x 1.1x
EV/FCF – 35.0x 14.9x
EV/Operating cash flow – 25.5x 8.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.75 -3.09 0.96

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXYUMC
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 4.5% 8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 23.5% 3.1% 6.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% – 9.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.3% – 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.1% -24.9% 12.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 63.5% -17.8% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -56.6% -24.7% 6.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 62.8% -19.4% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -56.6% -24.9% 13.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.7% -19.2% 16.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.7% 9.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -1.2% -3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 61.6% 12.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.9% -4.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXYUMC
Gross margin 24.8% – 17.2%
EBITDA margin 11.5% 12.1% 14.9%
Operating margin 5.5% 7.8% 11.1%
Pretax margin 6.7% 8.0% 11.5%
Net margin 5.0% 5.2% 7.8%
FCF margin – 9.5% 7.6%
Operating cash flow margin – 13.0% 12.7%
Return on equity 7.5% – 17.3%
Return on assets 4.3% 6.7% 9.7%
Return on invested capital – 31.4% 16.5%
Return on capital employed 5.4% 15.3% 16.4%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.3x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.5x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXYUMC
Debt / assets – 46.9% 0.6%
Debt / equity – -1.7x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.1x -0.7x
Debt / FCF – 3.6x 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 127.1% 44.2%
Equity / assets 56.1% -27.1% 55.8%
Interest coverage – 5.4x –
Current ratio 2.5x 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 2.4x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.4x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 6.77 3.14 3.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAVASBUXYUMC
Dividend yield – 2.4% 2.5%
Net buyback yield – -0.1% 8.5%
Shareholder yield – 2.3% 11.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 35.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 24.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 21.6%

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.

ConsensusCAVASBUXYUMC
Forward P/E 106.4xFY2026 42.0xFY2026 14.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.51FY2026 $2.46FY2026 $3.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +15.5%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +49.0% +21.5% +15.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.43BFY2026 $35.66BFY2026 $12.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +31.4% +5.4% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAVASBUXYUMC
Held by institutions 89.4% 85.6% 66.8%
Institutions holding 541 2,401 660
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.7% +4.9% +1.4%
Institutions buying 245 1,098 261
Institutions selling 209 991 231
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.11 1.13

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.

CAVASBUXYUMC
CAVA 1.00 0.36 0.29
SBUX 0.36 1.00 0.26
YUMC 0.29 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAVA, SBUX and YUMC?

Starbucks (SBUX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cava (CAVA) $6.95B, Starbucks (SBUX) $119.08B, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) $15.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAVA, SBUX and YUMC?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cava (CAVA) 113.9x, Starbucks (SBUX) 60.1x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is cheapest (Cava (CAVA) 106.4x, Starbucks (SBUX) 42.0x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 14.6x). 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%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has the highest net margin (Cava (CAVA) 5.0%, Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 7.8%). On return on invested capital, Starbucks (SBUX) leads (Starbucks (SBUX) 31.4%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Starbucks (SBUX) returned the most: Cava (CAVA) -12.6%, Starbucks (SBUX) +20.8%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +2.0%. Over five years, Starbucks (SBUX) compounded fastest (Starbucks (SBUX) -0.5%/yr, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) -4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cava (CAVA) 0.00%, Starbucks (SBUX) 0.00%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 0.02%. Cava (CAVA) and Starbucks (SBUX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has been the steadiest (Cava (CAVA) 59.5%, Starbucks (SBUX) 27.5%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 25.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) leads on 6. 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.