First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis.

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

• First Watch reported solid Q1 results — $331M revenue (+17.3%), same-restaurant sales +2.8%, restaurant-level operating margin 18.5% (↑200 bps) and adjusted EBITDA +22.2% to $27.8M — and reiterated FY26 same-store (1–3%) and revenue (12–14%) guidance while raising the low end of adjusted EBITDA to $133–140M; system count is 648 restaurants after 16 openings.
• Management expanded digital marketing to ~75% of the base, says early analytics show a positive ROI (driving new and lapsed customers, higher engagement and brand awareness), and pulled several million of marketing spend into Q2 to accelerate read‑throughs.
• The system-wide rollout of the new core menu (late February) plus an extended 20-week seasonal menu is improving mix toward higher‑margin items, raising attachment rates and driving per‑person check growth incremental to carried pricing.
• Same-restaurant traffic declined 2% (weather accounted for ~100 bps) and the company reported a net loss of $2.7M; management still expects full‑year commodity inflation of 1–3% and labor inflation of 3–5%, and pulling marketing forward may raise near‑term G&A volatility.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG traded up $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $12.66. The stock had a trading volume of 109,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,649,268. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $10.09 and a twelve month high of $19.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $780.17 million, a PE ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.19 and a 200 day moving average of $15.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Insider Activity

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $59,575.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 239,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,009,639.50. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $88,104.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 232,091 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,025.69. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 68,013 shares of company stock valued at $853,606 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.58.

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.