CAVA vs YUM vs QSR Stock Comparison

Cava, Yum Brands and Restaurant Brands International Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAVA Cava Group, Inc.
$51.50 -0.2% 1M -19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.05B
P/E
99.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
YUM Yum Brands Inc
$149.39 +7.8% 1M +4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$41.09B
P/E
18.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.72B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Yum Brands leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Yum Brands 5, Restaurant Brands International 4, Cava 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAVAYUMQSRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.05B $41.09B $25.75B YUM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 99.1x 18.5x 20.2x YUM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 101.0x 23.8x 18.8x QSR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +10.3% +6.5% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% 25.4% 13.1% YUM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 54.9% 12.1% YUM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.9x 4.2x YUM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -19.0% +4.2% +10.4% QSR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +3.5%/yr +5.7%/yr QSR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.5% 25.5% 25.0% QSR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 52/100 52/100 CAVA

Percentile Scorecard

CAVAYUMQSR

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

AxisCAVAYUMQSR
Valuation 2 #49 of 50 20 #40 of 50 43 #29 of 50
Growth 91 #5 of 47 65 #17 of 47 63 #18 of 47
Profitability 42 #27 of 46 98 #2 of 46 67 #16 of 46
Financial Health 96 #3 of 51 16 #43 of 51 30 #36 of 51
Shareholder Returns – 63 #13 of 33 56 #15 of 33
Overall 58 52 52
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • YUM ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • QSR ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAVAYUMQSRSPY
1 month -0.2%+7.8%+3.9% -0.8%
3 months -20.2%+1.1%+0.0% +3.5%
6 months -45.3%-3.7%-5.6% +7.0%
Year to date -12.3%-1.2%+9.1% +12.2%
1 year -19.0%+4.2%+10.4% +13.0%
3 years +62.8%+25.1%+13.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +17.7%+7.7%+4.2% +23.1%
5 years —+18.8%+31.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+3.5%+5.7% +11.0%
10 years —+142.4%+72.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+9.3%+5.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCAVAYUMQSRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.5%25.5%25.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.1%25.0%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.010.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.320.170.42 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.1%-24.2%-27.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.1%-11.2%-8.8% -1.8%
52-week high $97.39$168.16$81.67 $779.14
52-week low $43.59$135.80$65.69 $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.

MultipleCAVAYUMQSR
P/E now vs peer median 98.4xmedian 20.5x 18.5xmedian 20.5x 20.4xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 1.1x 4.7xmedian 1.1x 2.7xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 39.8xmedian 13.3x 17.8xmedian 13.3x 13.0xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 17.5x 24.3xmedian 17.5x 15.9xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 3.1x -5.7xmedian 3.1x 4.8xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.61median 1.07 1.07median 1.07 2.70median 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 monthsCAVAYUMQSR
Revenue $1.22B $8.72B $9.70B
Gross profit $301.99M $5.94B $5.24B
Operating income $66.42M $2.70B $2.61B
Net income $61.05M $2.22B $1.70B
Free cash flow – $1.68B $1.63B
EPS (diluted) $0.52 $8.00 $2.77
Cash & equivalents $322.76M $674.00M $1.06B
Total debt – $12.28B $13.29B
Shares (diluted) 118.38M 277.00M 460.00M
Enterprise value $4.45B $37.98B $21.31B

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
MetricCAVAYUMQSR
P/E 98.4x 18.5x 20.4x
P/FCF – 24.3x 15.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 19.6x 13.7x
P/S 4.9x 4.7x 2.7x
P/B 7.2x -5.7x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 7.2x -5.2x -4.7x
EV/EBITDA 39.8x 17.8x 13.0x
EV/EBIT 84.0x 19.4x 14.7x
EV/Revenue 4.6x 6.0x 3.9x
EV/FCF – 31.2x 23.4x
EV/Operating cash flow – 25.1x 20.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.61 1.07 2.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMQSR
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 10.3% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 23.5% 7.7% 12.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% 6.5% 5.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.3% 4.3% 6.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.1% 10.5% 22.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 63.5% 6.8% 11.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -56.6% 54.8% 41.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 62.8% 16.0% 4.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -56.6% 57.1% 47.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.7% 17.3% 7.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 13.6% 19.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% 13.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 9.5% 20.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 9.5% 11.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMQSR
Gross margin 24.8% 68.1% 54.0%
EBITDA margin 11.5% 33.7% 30.3%
Operating margin 5.5% 31.0% 26.9%
Pretax margin 6.7% 25.2% 21.7%
Net margin 5.0% 25.4% 13.1%
FCF margin – 19.3% 16.8%
Operating cash flow margin – 23.9% 19.6%
Return on equity 7.5% – 31.8%
Return on assets 4.3% 26.2% 6.8%
Return on invested capital – 54.9% 12.1%
Return on capital employed 5.4% 65.1% 11.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.9x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMQSR
Debt / assets – 141.4% 53.1%
Debt / equity – -1.7x 2.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.9x 4.2x
Debt / FCF – 7.3x 8.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 181.9% 78.4%
Equity / assets 56.1% -81.9% 21.6%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.5x 0.6x 1.0x
Quick ratio 2.4x 0.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 6.47 2.24 1.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMQSR
Dividend yield – 2.0% 3.5%
Net buyback yield – 2.2% 0.5%
Shareholder yield – 4.2% 3.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 36.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 48.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.9% –

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.

ConsensusCAVAYUMQSR
Forward P/E 101.0xFY2026 23.8xFY2026 18.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.51FY2026 $6.29FY2026 $3.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +49.0% +16.7% +8.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.43BFY2026 $9.06BFY2026 $10.27BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 +10.3%FY2026 +8.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +31.4% -4.0% -10.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAVAYUMQSR
Held by institutions 89.4% 88.7% 92.2%
Institutions holding 541 1,435 575
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.7% +3.6% +6.5%
Institutions buying 245 626 319
Institutions selling 209 488 165
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.28 1.93

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.

CAVAYUMQSR
CAVA 1.00 0.24 0.26
YUM 0.24 1.00 0.39
QSR 0.26 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAVA, YUM and QSR?

Yum Brands (YUM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cava (CAVA) $6.05B, Yum Brands (YUM) $41.09B, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) $25.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAVA, YUM and QSR?

Yum Brands (YUM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cava (CAVA) 99.1x, Yum Brands (YUM) 18.5x, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 20.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) is cheapest (Cava (CAVA) 101.0x, Yum Brands (YUM) 23.8x, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 18.8x). 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%, Yum Brands (YUM) +10.3%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Yum Brands (YUM) has the highest net margin (Cava (CAVA) 5.0%, Yum Brands (YUM) 25.4%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 13.1%). On return on invested capital, Yum Brands (YUM) leads (Yum Brands (YUM) 54.9%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 12.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Restaurant Brands International (QSR) returned the most: Cava (CAVA) -19.0%, Yum Brands (YUM) +4.2%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +10.4%. Over five years, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) compounded fastest (Yum Brands (YUM) +3.5%/yr, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +5.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cava (CAVA) 0.00%, Yum Brands (YUM) 0.02%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 0.00%. Cava (CAVA) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) has been the steadiest (Cava (CAVA) 59.5%, Yum Brands (YUM) 25.5%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 25.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAVA, YUM and QSR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Yum Brands (YUM) leads on 5. 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.