Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) outlined its early progress under a “Sweet Growth Transformation Plan” while reporting a challenging fourth quarter and full-year 2025 marked by traffic pressure and margin deleverage. Management emphasized that the company is one quarter into its transformation effort and is focused on improving execution fundamentals, strengthening value perception, and investing selectively with return thresholds.
Full-year and fourth-quarter results showed continued traffic pressure
For fiscal 2025, Sweetgreen reported revenue of $679.5 million and comparable sales that declined 7.9%. The company opened 35 net new restaurants during the year and ended 2025 with 281 locations. Restaurant-level margin was 15.2%, and adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $11 million.
CFO Jamie McConnell said the fourth-quarter comp decline was driven by a 13.3% decrease in traffic and mix, partially offset by a 1.8% benefit from price increases. She also noted the impact of the company’s transition from Sweetpass+ to SG Rewards, which eliminated subscription revenue and introduced a loyalty deferral.
Transformation plan priorities: operations, food, personalization, brand, and disciplined investment
CEO Jonathan Neman said Sweetgreen’s transformation plan is organized around five priorities: operational excellence; food quality and menu innovation; personalized experience; brand relevance; and disciplined, profitable investments.
On operations, Neman highlighted “Project One Best Way,” a systemwide initiative launched over the summer to raise consistency through standards, leadership accountability, and internal audits. He said about two-thirds of restaurants are currently hitting the company’s “great bar” on internal operational audits, and the distribution has improved, with more restaurants exceeding standards and fewer falling below.
The company is also focused on throughput initiatives such as “Rush Ready Before Peak,” along with new real-time throughput visibility for field teams, and a restaurant scorecard tracking metrics including sales, throughput, customer satisfaction, labor, food quality, and people.
Menu updates and 2026 innovation pipeline, with wraps as a major expansion
Management described multiple food quality initiatives and menu development efforts, including an internal “Miso My Salmon” campaign to improve salmon execution and quality. Neman said salmon velocity increased by almost 20% after changes including longer marination times and refinements to cooking and presentation. He also cited recipe and preparation updates to chicken, rice, quinoa, and slaw.
Sweetgreen’s “Stage-Gate” innovation process, implemented in 2025, is intended to ensure new items are tested without disrupting restaurant operations. Neman said the company has its “most robust innovation pipeline” to diversify occasions and increase frequency.
Limited-time offerings introduced in early 2026 included a collaboration menu with Function Health and Dr. Mark Hyman (built entirely from existing ingredients) and a Winter Harvest Bowl menu launched February 3. The company also brought feta cheese back to the core lineup, describing it as a frequent customer request.
The largest planned 2026 menu expansion is wraps. Sweetgreen began testing wraps in eight Los Angeles restaurants in January and then expanded to a broader market pilot across select locations in Manhattan, the Midwest, and Los Angeles. The initial lineup includes Classic Chicken Caesar, Chicken Salad Bacon Club, and Chicken Jalapeño Ranch, with pricing starting at $10.95 at select New York City locations and priced below $15 across all markets for in-store and pickup orders.
Management described early wrap feedback as encouraging. Neman told analysts wraps are intended to address handheld occasions the company does not capture as a bowl-focused concept, and said “incidents” have increased almost daily since launch in the broader market test. The company expects wraps to be available across channels, not digital-only, and said the operational focus has been avoiding throughput drag. Neman added that wraps also work with Infinite Kitchen, with ingredients assembled by the system and team members wrapping at the finishing station.
Value, loyalty, and marketing: testing price architecture changes
Sweetgreen repeatedly emphasized improving value perception. Neman pointed to steps taken in 2025 such as increasing protein portions, reintroducing lower-priced seasonal offerings, launching “$12 Daily Greens,” and leaning into a $10 “‘Tis the Seasoned Harvest Bowl.” He said the $10 seasonal bowl, offered as a loyalty-exclusive in December, was Sweetgreen’s highest-performing reactivation promotion to date.
The company is building on that approach with “Craving of the Month,” a loyalty-exclusive limited-time offer, including a $10 chicken avocado ranch offer on February 9.
Management also discussed simplifying menu and pricing architecture. Sweetgreen is testing wraps pricing and “loyalty entry price drops,” and plans to test a redesigned “Create Your Own” platform aimed at clearer pricing and easier ordering, along with defined entry-price entrees across core categories. In Q&A, Neman said “Make Your Own” represents about a quarter of the business and described planned changes as “radically simplified,” though he said it is too early to share specifics.
On loyalty engagement, Neman said Scan to Pay now represents about 20% of in-store transactions and has doubled over the past two quarters. He also said loyalty members who transact digitally and in store visit nearly twice as frequently as digital-only customers.
Marketing-wise, management said it has reevaluated its mix and expects to increase top-of-funnel brand awareness efforts while maintaining lower-funnel efficiency, arguing brand salience can improve return on ad spend.
Infinite Kitchen expansion, Spyce sale, and 2026 outlook
Sweetgreen opened 15 net new restaurants in the fourth quarter, including eight Infinite Kitchens, and entered three new markets: Cincinnati, Sacramento (with two Infinite Kitchen restaurants), and Arkansas. The company ended 2025 with 30 Infinite Kitchen locations and said it has since opened two more in the first quarter, bringing the count to 32.
Neman said established Infinite Kitchens delivered higher average annual volumes and labor savings of more than 700 basis points versus classic counterparts of similar age, and cited benefits such as throughput, accuracy, and elevated food quality. Sweetgreen also opened its first “sweetlane” Infinite Kitchen location in Costa Mesa, California, designed for suburban markets and drive-thru occasions, which management said is performing well.
McConnell said Sweetgreen ended the quarter with $89.2 million in cash and that, at the beginning of fiscal 2026, the company closed the sale of Spyce and received $100 million in cash proceeds.
For fiscal 2026, Sweetgreen guided for same-store sales to decline 2% to 4%, with trends expected to improve as comparisons ease. The company also guided for restaurant-level margin of 14.2% to 14.7% and adjusted EBITDA of $1 million to $6 million. Unit growth is expected to be about 15 net new restaurants, with “nearly half” featuring Infinite Kitchen technology, and the company plans to enter Nashville and Salt Lake City. Management said the development pipeline is weighted to the back half of 2026 and includes some lease-end closures meant to strengthen nearby locations.
In Q&A, McConnell said pricing is not assumed in the company’s guidance and that management is “being cautious” given the consumer backdrop, with plans to reevaluate throughout the year. She also said the impact of storms to date in the first quarter was about 320 basis points, excluding a later storm affecting over 100 restaurants, and reiterated that the first quarter is expected to be the most challenging of the year.
About Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG)
Sweetgreen, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads, grain bowls and warm bowls that emphasize fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Since its founding in 2007 by Jonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, Sweetgreen has focused on sustainable agriculture, working with regional farmers across the United States to provide seasonal produce and promote environmentally responsible sourcing practices. The company’s menu features a variety of plant-forward options, including custom-build salads, chef-curated bowls and limited-time offerings that reflect changing harvests.
Sweetgreen operates a technology-driven service model that combines in-store experiences with digital ordering through its mobile app and website.
