First Watch Restaurant Group
Serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch on a single morning-to-midafternoon restaurant shift.
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Profile
Runs breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurants on a single daily shift that closes before dinner, with company-operated locations concentrated in Florida and the wider Southeast alongside a smaller franchise network. The company has added new restaurants steadily since its 2021 Nasdaq listing and reports its results as a single business segment.
One restaurant concept runs a single daily shift, serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch from morning through midafternoon before closing. Kitchens use made-to-order cooking rather than pre-heated holding equipment, and a seasonal menu rotates several times a year alongside the core lineup.
The chain has grown to 633 restaurants across dozens of states, concentrated in Florida and the wider Southeast, with additional density in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, and Arizona. Most locations are company-operated, with new openings driving most recent growth alongside occasional buybacks of franchise-run restaurants.
Operations are reported as a single segment at the consolidated level and depend on a handful of suppliers for eggs, coffee, and pork. The concept traces to a 1983 California café; the one-shift schedule functions as a hiring advantage, and trading began on Nasdaq in 2021 after a series of private-equity owners.
Company facts
Categories
Key statistics
Year to date −18.5% · Average volume (30d) 1.1M
Analysts
Ratings
Target range
Latest analyst notes
| Date | Firm | Action | Prior rating | Rating | Prior target | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2026 | Stifel Nicolaus | Target | $17 | $14 | ||
| Feb 24, 2026 | Piper Sandler | Target | $20 | $19 | ||
| Jan 7, 2026 | Barclays | Reiterate | Overweight | $24 | $19 | |
| Apr 1, 2025 | TD Securities | Upgrade | Hold | Buy |
Earnings
EPS
Revenue
History
| Report date | EPS est | EPS | Surprise | Revenue est | Revenue | Surprise | Next session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2026Q2 FY26 | $0.05 | $0.04 | −24.0% | $351.6M | $354.7M | +0.9% | +2.40% |
| May 5, 2026Q1 FY26 | −$0.02 | −$0.04 | −100.0% | $329.3M | $331.0M | +0.5% | −0.08% |
| Feb 24, 2026Q4 FY25 | $0.08 | $0.24 | +200.0% | $316.3M | $316.4M | 0.0% | +1.70% |
| Nov 4, 2025Q3 FY25 | $0.08 | $0.05 | −37.5% | $317.5M | $316.0M | −0.5% | +1.93% |
Financial highlights
| 12 quarters | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $282.2M | $307.9M | $316.0M | $316.4M | $331.0M | $354.7M | |
| Gross profit | $215.6M | $59.7M | $67.9M | $61.9M | $42.3M | $272.1M | |
| Operating income | $1.1M | $7.3M | $10.1M | $9.5M | $2.7M | $33.8M | |
| Net income | −$2.2M | $2.1M | $3.0M | $15.2M | −$2.7M | $2.3M | |
| Diluted EPS | −$0.01 | $0.03 | $0.05 | $0.24 | −$0.04 | $0.04 | |
| Gross margin | 76.4% | 19.4% | 21.5% | 19.6% | 12.8% | 76.7% | |
| Operating margin | 0.4% | 2.4% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 0.8% | 9.5% |
Fiscal years (4-quarter sums)FY21 $601.2M · FY22 $730.2M · FY23 $891.6M · FY24 $1.02B · FY25 $1.22B
Revenue by product · Q2 FY26
Balance sheet, Jun 28, 2026Cash & short-term investments $20.5M · Total debt $1.07B · Total assets $1.82B · Shareholders' equity $634.2M
Dividends
No dividends on record.
Ownership
A 13F quarter can total more than the shares outstanding — sub-advisers file the same block twice, and a filer's own share count can be a quarter stale. No split is drawn from it.
Shares outstanding 61.71M · Float 60.30M · 97.7% free float
Top shareholders13F · 13D/G · Form 4
| Holder | Shares | % outstanding | Form | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advent International, L.P. · 10 percent owner | 5.29M | 8.57% | Form 4 | Sep 10, 2025 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 4.53M | 7.35% | 13F | Aug 7, 2026 |
| Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, the | 3.82M | 6.20% | 13F | Aug 14, 2026 |
| Bank of New York Mellon Corp | 3.72M | 6.03% | 13F | Aug 6, 2026 |
| Integrated Core Strategies (US) LLC | 3.07M | 5.00% | 13G | Mar 31, 2026 |
Insider tradesForm 4
| Date | Insider | Role | Shares | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 2026 | Matthew Eisenacher | officer: Chief Brand Officer | −2,760 | $12.52 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Jay Anthony Wolszczak | officer: Chief Legal Officer, GC & Secy | −3,161 | $12.52 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | H. Melville Iii Hope | officer: CFO and Treasurer | −3,878 | $12.52 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Laura Anne Sorensen | officer: Chief People Officer | −1,697 | $12.52 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Christopher Anthony Tomasso | director, officer: President and CEO | −25,062 | $12.52 |
Peers
- Dine Brands
Pancake-heavy breakfast full-service overlaps via ~1,800-unit IHOP chain
- Cracker Barrel
Overlaps on all-day breakfast via Southern full-service dining chain
- BJ's Restaurants
Overlaps on weekend brunch via deep-dish pizza and craft-beer casual dining
- Bloomin' Brands
Shares Southeast footprint via dinner-focused, multi-brand casual dining
CompareAfter-hours close
| Company | Price | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Watch Restaurant Group | $12.51 | −0.08% | $772.0M | 44.1 | 50.6 | 0.6 | +15.2% |
| Dine Brands | $33.60 | +0.24% | $426.2M | 68.6 | 7.7 | 0.5 | +4.4% |
| Cracker Barrel | $55.70 | −0.02% | $1.24B | 48.1 | 68.5 | 0.4 | −2.9% |
| BJ's Restaurants | $65.12 | +0.08% | $1.37B | 34.4 | 24.9 | 1.0 | +6.4% |
| Bloomin' Brands | $10.52 | −0.66% | $905.8M | 34.1 | 11.4 | 0.2 | +1.3% |
| Median | 41.3 | 18.2 | 0.4 | +2.9% |