Sweetgreen Q3 2026: Revenue Beat Clouded by Outbreak and Slower Growth

Sweetgreen posted Q3 2026 revenue of $176.0 million, clearing the $170.1 million consensus by 3.5% and rising 2.1% year over year. The top-line beat was largely driven by $13.8 million in incremental sales from 30 net new restaurant openings since the year-ago period, which helped offset a $10.7 million decline in revenue from the comparable restaurant base.

A cyclosporiasis food-safety outbreak was the defining event of the quarter. Same-store sales fell 6.4%, with customer traffic down 4.9% tied directly to the outbreak. Restaurant-level profit margin contracted 270 basis points to 10.4% as sales deleverage combined with higher labor costs squeezed the unit economics.

On the bottom line, GAAP earnings per share came in at negative $0.26, missing the negative $0.2507 consensus estimate by 3.7%. The reported figure includes impairment and closure costs of $2.05 million, restructuring charges of $0.50 million, and stock-based compensation of $3.34 million.

Management did offer a forward-looking bright spot: comparable sales turned positive in October, driven by transaction growth. CEO Jonathan Neman attributed the improvement to the company's Sweet Growth Transformation Plan, saying it is "beginning to take hold, with sales improving through the quarter and positive comparable sales in October, primarily driven by transaction growth."

The full-year outlook, however, reflects the damage done. Sweetgreen now guides for a same-store sales change of roughly negative 5.5% for fiscal 2026, adjusted EBITDA between negative $23.0 million and negative $20.0 million, and approximately 10 net new restaurant openings. Beyond 2026, the company expects unit growth to slow further, with fiscal 2027 openings projected at roughly half the pace of this year.