earnings

Financing

Sweetgreen has a strong IPO. Now what?

The Bottom Line: The salad chain’s market debut was one of the year’s best in the industry. But skepticism about its long-term prospects remains.

Financing

Newly public Portillo’s feels the margin squeeze

The fast-casual chain’s margins dropped more than four percentage points over last year due to higher labor and commodity costs. But the company said its new restaurants are far exceeding expectations.

The conveyor belt sushi chain said its same-store sales are up 22% over 2019 so far this quarter. Its stock rose more than 25% on Friday.

The better-burger brand had planned to open up to 30 new restaurants this year. On Thursday, the fast casual revised that estimate to 18 new stores.

The company’s new rewards app has already proven popular among customers and it is looking for new capabilities to improve it further.

Sales at the burger chain returned to 2019 levels, and labor improvements are driving further growth.

The fast casual is recovering from the pandemic but it said its growth is being slowed in cities where it is having a hard time finding employees.

But the company said that “macroeconomic challenges” kept sales from meeting its expectations.

The Canadian fast casual’s same-store sales remain down more than 20% over pre-pandemic levels during the third quarter.

The doughnut chain raised prices in September, for the second time this year, to offset its higher costs.

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