CMG vs YUMC vs CAVA Stock Comparison

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Yum China Holdings and Cava Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 wins
YUMC Yum China Holdings, Inc.
$45.41 +12.2% 1M +2.2% 1Y
Market cap
$15.67B
P/E
16.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.44B
Div. yield
2.44%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
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

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Yum China Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Yum China Holdings 5, Chipotle Mexican Grill 3, Cava 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMGYUMCCAVALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $35.41B $15.67B $6.06B CMG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.2x 16.2x 99.0x YUMC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.1x 14.9x 101.7x YUMC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.3% +8.8% +12.2% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 7.8% 5.0% CMG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 16.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.7x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.44% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.9% +2.2% -17.6% YUMC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.7%/yr -4.7%/yr — CMG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.8% 25.5% 59.3% YUMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 75/100 58/100 YUMC

Percentile Scorecard

CMGYUMCCAVA

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

AxisCMGYUMCCAVA
Valuation 25 #38 of 50 78 #12 of 50 2 #49 of 50
Growth 41 #28 of 47 50 #24 of 47 91 #5 of 47
Profitability 91 #5 of 46 64 #17 of 46 42 #27 of 46
Financial Health 64 #19 of 51 88 #7 of 51 96 #3 of 51
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 33 94 #3 of 33 –
Overall 64 75 58
  • CMG ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • YUMC ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCMGYUMCCAVASPY
1 month -10.7%+12.2%+0.5% -0.2%
3 months -16.5%-0.3%-20.2% +3.9%
6 months -14.9%-4.1%-43.0% +8.2%
Year to date -24.4%-4.9%-11.6% +12.9%
1 year -31.9%+2.2%-17.6% +12.3%
3 years -25.9%-13.5%+64.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year -9.5%-4.7%+17.9% +23.3%
5 years -21.3%-21.6%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.7%-4.7%— +10.9%
10 years +279.6%+82.9%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.3%+6.2%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCMGYUMCCAVASPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.8%25.5%59.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 50.3%24.1%54.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.610.271.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.710.09-0.30 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.9%-54.6%-71.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.9%-21.6%-46.8% -1.2%
52-week high $41.06$57.95$97.39 $779.14
52-week low $27.51$39.98$43.59 $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.

MultipleCMGYUMCCAVA
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 20.6x 16.2xmedian 20.6x 99.0xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.2x 1.3xmedian 1.2x 5.0xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 13.3x 7.8xmedian 13.3x 40.1xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 17.3x 16.7xmedian 17.3x —median 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 3.1x 2.6xmedian 3.1x 7.2xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.21median 1.07 0.98median 1.07 2.63median 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 monthsCMGYUMCCAVA
Revenue $12.42B $12.44B $1.22B
Gross profit – $2.14B $301.99M
Operating income $1.82B $1.38B $66.42M
Net income $1.42B $1.05B $61.05M
Free cash flow $1.57B $940.00M –
EPS (diluted) $1.11 $2.79 $0.52
Cash & equivalents $228.20M $485.00M $322.76M
Total debt – $66.00M –
Shares (diluted) 1.28B 349.00M 118.38M
Enterprise value $31.39B $10.03B $4.46B

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
MetricCMGYUMCCAVA
P/E 25.2x 16.2x 99.0x
P/FCF 22.6x 16.7x –
P/Operating cash flow 15.2x 9.9x –
P/S 2.8x 1.3x 5.0x
P/B 16.1x 2.6x 7.2x
P/Tangible book 16.1x 2.7x 7.2x
EV/EBITDA 15.8x 7.8x 40.1x
EV/EBIT 19.1x 10.4x 84.6x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 1.2x 4.6x
EV/FCF 22.1x 15.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 14.9x 9.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.21 0.98 2.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMGYUMCCAVA
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.3% 8.8% 12.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 6.3% 23.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 9.7% 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 5.6% 27.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -5.6% 12.8% 25.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 10.3% 63.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -7.9% 6.3% -56.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 9.0% 62.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -2.8% 13.7% -56.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 16.5% 37.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 11.3% 9.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.1% -3.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.0% 12.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% -4.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMGYUMCCAVA
Gross margin – 17.2% 24.8%
EBITDA margin 17.7% 14.9% 11.5%
Operating margin 14.7% 11.1% 5.5%
Pretax margin 15.0% 11.5% 6.7%
Net margin 11.4% 7.8% 5.0%
FCF margin 12.6% 7.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 18.7% 12.7% –
Return on equity 61.6% 17.3% 7.5%
Return on assets 16.1% 9.7% 4.3%
Return on invested capital – 16.5% –
Return on capital employed 24.2% 16.4% 5.4%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.5x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMGYUMCCAVA
Debt / assets – 0.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.7x –
Debt / FCF – 0.1x –
Liabilities / assets 75.2% 44.2% 43.9%
Equity / assets 24.8% 55.8% 56.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.7x 1.0x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 2.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.6x 2.3x
Altman Z-score 5.21 3.73 6.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMGYUMCCAVA
Dividend yield – 2.4% –
Net buyback yield 7.9% 8.3% –
Shareholder yield 7.9% 10.8% –
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.

ConsensusCMGYUMCCAVA
Forward P/E 26.1xFY2026 14.9xFY2026 101.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.07FY2026 $3.04FY2026 $0.51FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -8.5%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.6% +15.5% +49.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.54BFY2026 $12.37BFY2026 $1.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.5%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +20.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +6.3% +31.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMGYUMCCAVA
Held by institutions 89.5% 66.8% 89.4%
Institutions holding 1,197 660 541
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +1.4% -6.7%
Institutions buying 510 261 245
Institutions selling 527 231 209
Buyers to sellers 0.97 1.13 1.17

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.

CMGYUMCCAVA
CMG 1.00 0.26 0.51
YUMC 0.26 1.00 0.30
CAVA 0.51 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMG, YUMC and CAVA?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) $35.41B, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) $15.67B, Cava (CAVA) $6.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, CMG, YUMC and CAVA?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 25.2x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.2x, Cava (CAVA) 99.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is cheapest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 26.1x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 14.9x, Cava (CAVA) 101.7x). 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: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +7.3%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +8.8%, Cava (CAVA) +12.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has the highest net margin (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 11.4%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 7.8%, Cava (CAVA) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Yum China Holdings (YUMC) returned the most: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -31.9%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +2.2%, Cava (CAVA) -17.6%. Over five years, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) compounded fastest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -4.7%/yr, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) -4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 2.44%. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Cava (CAVA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has been the steadiest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 44.8%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 25.5%, Cava (CAVA) 59.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.