CAVA Group, Inc. vs SHAKE SHACK INC., two Restaurants stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Both CAVA and Shake Shack sell the fast-casual growth story, and both price it steeply. CAVA, the Mediterranean chain, trades at 160.67 times earnings on a 4.79% net margin and 7.61% return on equity. Shake Shack, the better-burger operator, sits at 58.1 times with a 2.76% margin and 7.43% return on equity. Cash generation is thin at both, CAVA at 0.39% and Shake Shack at 0.69% free cash flow yield. CAVA runs debt-free while Shake Shack carries 0.45 debt-to-equity. At $9.9B, CAVA is worth more than four times Shake Shack's $2.3B, though the two earn similar returns on equity.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CAVA | SHAK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $72.20 | $58.61 |
| Market cap | $8.5B | $2.4B |
| Sector | Restaurants | Restaurants |
| Stage | Growth | Growth |
| P/E | 138.8 | 59.8 |
| P/B | 10.55 | 4.26 |
| P/S | 6.64 | 1.58 |
| EV/EBITDA | 57.6 | 13.8 |
| Revenue growth | +23.3% | +16.2% |
| Operating margin | 5.8% | -0.7% |
| Net margin | 4.8% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 7.6% | 7.4% |
| Return on assets | 4.3% | 2.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 6.3% | 5.6% |
| FCF yield | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.45 |
| Current ratio | 2.65 | 1.69 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.97 | 1.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.