First Watch Restaurant Group

FWRG · Nasdaq · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2019 to 2025

FWRG · Last close · November 6, 2026

$12.86

Value First Watch Restaurant Group yourself

First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue rose 20.3% to $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 2.2%, down from 3.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$31 million. The diluted share count rose 0.8%.

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. Latest fiscal year ended December 28, 2025 10-K filed February 24, 2026 · 0001789940-26-000014 Updated November 9, 2026

Revenue

$1.2B

20.3%

Operating margin

2.2%

1.6 pts

Net income

$19M

2.7%

Free cash flow

−$31M

Return on capital

3.3%

0.4 pts

Market cap

$805M

Nov 6 close

P/E

40.2x

On $0.32 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What First Watch Restaurant Group does

First Watch runs restaurants that serve made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch, and it calls this Daytime Dining. Its restaurants do not serve dinner. It uses no microwave ovens, heat lamps or deep fryers, and its menu changes four to five times a year with the seasons. It also sells fresh juices.

It makes money from sales at its company-owned restaurants and from franchisees, who own and run others under its name. At the end of 2025 it had 633 restaurants in 32 states, 560 of them company-owned and 73 franchised. Its average restaurant took in $2.3 million in 2025, while open only 7.5 hours a day.

Each restaurant has a staff of about 30 team members led by general managers. The company says its focus on one daytime shift helps it hire employees who want to avoid night work. Most of its restaurants are in the southeastern part of the United States.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Changes in the economy and in what diners prefer to eat.
Not opening new restaurants on schedule or profitably, which its growth plan depends on.
Higher food costs and reliance on a limited number of suppliers and distributors.
Franchisees whose results and conduct it has limited control over.
Food safety problems and bad publicity that could hurt its reputation.

From First Watch Restaurant Group's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2022 to 2025, earnings per share grew 41.3% a year and net income 41.1% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 4% and diluted each share's earnings.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	52	50	50	33	21
Debt incl. finance leases	103	101	125	198	282
Net debt (negative means net cash)	51	51	76	165	261
Net debt to EBITDA	0.9x	1.0x	0.9x	1.7x	2.5x
Debt to equity	0.2x	0.2x	0.2x	0.3x	0.5x
Interest coverage	1.1x	3.2x	5.1x	3.1x	1.6x
Current ratio	0.7x	0.7x	0.6x	0.4x	0.3x
Quick ratio	0.7x	0.6x	0.6x	0.4x	0.2x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open First Watch Restaurant Group's projections

What First Watch Restaurant Group says to expect

Fiscal 2026: capital expendituresCapital expenditures of ~$145.0 million invested primarily in new restaurant projects and planned remodels (3)

The company's own words, from its earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), filed November 3, 2026. They are its expectations, not ours, and not a forecast or price target from The Filing Desk. Replaced when the next release is out.

Insider trades

No officer, director or 10% owner of First Watch Restaurant Group reported buying or selling its shares on the open market between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026.

From Form 4 filings with the SEC. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	5 of 8	3 of 8	4 of 8
Rule of 40	23.4%	12.7%	17.8%
Altman Z''	0.64	0.38	0.19
Accruals ratio	−5.9%	−7.0%	−6.5%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Fail	Pass
F-score	5 of 8	3 of 8	4 of 8

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put First Watch Restaurant Group side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
First Watch Restaurant Group	FY25	20.3%	2.2%	−2.5%	3.3%	2.5x	4
Cava Group	FY25	22.4%	4.7%	2.2%	13.9%	−3.0x	4	Compare
BJ's Restaurants	FY25	3.1%	3.3%	2.9%	11.1%	0.5x	7	Compare
Shake Shack	FY25	15.4%	4.3%	3.9%	9.6%	−0.6x	7	Compare
Jack in the Box	FY25	−6.8%	−1.2%	5.1%	−1.8%	41.1x	5	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

7 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	436	342	601	730	892	1,016	1,222
Revenue growth	—	−21.5%	75.6%	21.4%	22.1%	13.9%	20.3%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	−38	−47	22	17	41	39	28
Net income	−45	−50	−2	7	25	19	19
Diluted EPS (US$)	−1.01	−1.10	−0.04	0.11	0.41	0.30	0.31
Diluted shares (millions)	45	45	48	60	61	62	63
Cash flow
Cash from operations	22	−18	63	63	95	116	126
Capital expenditure	59	27	35	62	83	128	157
Free cash flow	−38	−45	28	1	12	−12	−31
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	23	0	0	0	40	79	56
Stock-based compensation	1	1	9	10	8	8	11
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	11	39	52	50	50	33	21
Debt incl. finance leases	—	290	103	101	125	198	282
Total assets	—	1,008	1,047	1,104	1,267	1,514	1,742
Total liabilities	—	687	542	581	706	919	1,116
Shareholders' equity	330	321	504	523	561	595	626
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	−8.6%	−13.8%	3.7%	2.3%	4.6%	3.8%	2.2%
Net margin	−10.4%	−14.5%	−0.3%	0.9%	2.9%	1.9%	1.6%
Free cash flow margin	−8.6%	−13.2%	4.6%	0.1%	1.4%	−1.2%	−2.5%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	—	−34.7%	80.2%	21.6%	23.4%	12.7%	17.8%
Return on capital	—	—	2.0%	1.6%	4.8%	3.8%	3.3%
Return on equity	—	—	−0.5%	1.3%	4.7%	3.3%	3.2%
Return on assets	—	—	−0.2%	0.6%	2.1%	1.4%	1.2%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	0.9x	1.0x	0.9x	1.7x	2.5x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: First Watch Restaurant Group's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with First Watch Restaurant Group.