First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.83% and a net margin of 0.42%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from First Watch Restaurant Group’s conference call:

• Strong 2025 operating performance: Total revenue grew more than 20% and full-year same-restaurant sales rose ~3.6%, the company opened a record 64 restaurants (ending 2025 with 633 locations) and Q4 adjusted EBITDA increased 38.7% to $33.7 million.
• New-restaurant strength and pipeline: The 2025 restaurant class is tracking ~19% above underwriting, management entered five major new markets with up to a 155-unit opportunity, and the company reiterates long-term expansion toward a 2,200-unit opportunity.
• Menu and marketing initiatives to drive traffic: A systemwide rollout of a redesigned core menu (first major overhaul in ~10 years) plus expanded data-driven digital marketing—which produced several-hundred-basis-point traffic lifts in tests—will be scaled to the majority of the comp base in 2026.
• Cost and pricing headwinds for 2026: Management expects commodity inflation of 1%–3% and restaurant-level labor inflation of 3%–5%, elected not to take early-year pricing (guidance assumes ~2% blended pricing for the year), which could pressure margins if not offset.
• 2026 guidance and corporate items: The company guides same-restaurant sales +1%–3%, total revenue growth 12%–14%, adjusted EBITDA $132M–$140M and CapEx $150M–$160M; CFO Mel Hope will retire later this year with a planned transition and expanded equity awards will increase non-cash G&A charges.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $15.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $945.97 million, a P/E ratio of 193.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.88. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $21.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,834. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17,042.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: FWRG) operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company’s casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.