Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) shares tumbled 15.4% in premarket trading, falling to around $4.96 after the fast-casual restaurant chain released second-quarter 2026 results that fell well short of market expectations. Weaker-than-expected earnings, slowing sales and a reduced full-year outlook prompted investors to reassess the company’s near-term recovery prospects.
Revenue increased 3.8% year over year to $192.7 million but missed analyst forecasts. The company also reported a GAAP loss of $0.22 per share, significantly wider than the consensus estimate of a $0.13 loss.
Falling Restaurant Sales Weigh on Margins
The quarterly report highlighted continued pressure on Sweetgreen’s core business.
Comparable restaurant sales declined 6.2% during the period, reflecting a 2% fall in customer transactions and a 4.2% decline in product mix.
Restaurant-level profit margin also weakened considerably, dropping to 13.1% from 18.9% in the same quarter last year.
Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA was broadly at breakeven, compared with a profit of $6.4 million in the second quarter of 2025.
Company Cuts Full-Year EBITDA Forecast
Adding to investor concerns, Sweetgreen lowered its full-year EBITDA guidance to approximately negative $25 million at the midpoint, a substantial reduction from previous expectations and below analysts’ forecasts.
Management said the weaker outlook was partly driven by a cyclospora parasite outbreak that affected multiple US states and reduced customer traffic during the early summer period.
Stock Underperforms Despite Stable Market Conditions
The broader US market offered little explanation for the sharp decline, with the S&P 500 trading marginally higher and the Nasdaq posting modest gains in premarket trading.
Unlike Sweetgreen, other fast-casual restaurant operators, including Chipotle and CAVA, have not reported similar operational challenges, making Sweetgreen’s performance stand out within the sector.
The combination of weaker earnings, lower profitability, declining comparable sales, reduced guidance and the continuing impact of the cyclospora outbreak pushed the shares closer to their 52-week low of $4.49 as investors questioned the pace of the company’s path back to sustainable profitability.
Sweetgreen stock price
