Shake Shack

SHAK · NYSE · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

SHAK · Last close · October 26, 2026

$64.89

Shake Shack's revenue rose 15.4% to $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 4.3%, up from 0.2% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $57 million, up 58.5%. The diluted share count fell 5.3%.

SHAKE SHACK INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 26, 2026 · 0001620533-26-000018 Updated October 11, 2026

Revenue

$1.4B

15.4%

Operating margin

4.3%

4.1 pts

Net income

$46M

348.0%

Free cash flow

$57M

58.5%

Return on capital

9.6%

9.1 pts

Market cap

$2.7B

Oct 26 close

P/E

68.3x

On $0.95 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.

What Shake Shack does

Shake Shack runs burger restaurants, which it calls Shacks. The menu centers on made-to-order Angus beef burgers, crispy chicken, fries, milkshakes, lemonades, beer and wine. It started as a hot dog cart in New York City's Madison Square Park and opened its first Shack there in 2004. Guests order in the Shack, at kiosks, through its app and website, or for delivery through services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash.

At the end of 2025 there were 659 Shacks: 373 run by the company and 286 run by licensees, including Shacks in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Dubai. Sales at its own Shacks made up 96.3% of revenue in 2025. The rest is licensing revenue: fees and sales-based royalties from partners that run licensed Shacks. Shake Shack says it competes with other fast casual, quick service and casual dining restaurants, and also with grocery stores and meal subscription services.

The company had 13,873 team members at the end of 2025, most of them hourly workers and Shack managers. In 2025 it opened 45 new company-run Shacks, and it says it has a target of about 1,500 company-run Shacks. A new Shack cost about $2.3 million on average to build in 2025.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Its growth depends on finding good locations and opening new Shacks on time and on good terms.
New Shacks may not make money and may take sales from its existing Shacks.
It relies on a few suppliers and one national distributor for most of its U.S. deliveries.
It has limited control over licensed Shacks, which could hurt its reputation.
Rising labor and food costs, and trouble hiring and keeping enough team members.

From Shake Shack's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

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

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 8.3% a year and net income 15.6% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 79% and diluted each share's earnings.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

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

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Shake Shack yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Shake Shack's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Shake Shack's cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025 (free cash flow before spending to grow: capital spending was 1.6 times depreciation, which holds its free cash flow down) of $116M, net cash of $97M at December 31, 2025 and 42 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Shake Shack: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 17.1% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 11%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Restaurants), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $2.7B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2022); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025: a rough guide to cash flow before spending to grow, for a company building heavily.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Shake Shack's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 8.5% then 5% a year, 2% after year 10, a 12% discount rate. Base: growth of 17% then 10% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 11% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 25% then 14% a year, 3% after year 10, a 10% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $64.89
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Shake Shack's earnings per share of $0.95 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 44.7×, the middle of Shake Shack's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 12%, 11% and 10%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to July 1, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: BJ's Restaurants, Dutch Bros, Cava Group, Papa John's.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Shake Shack's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 17.1% a year, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $64.89
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Shake Shack's P/E at the last close: 68.3×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Cava GroupCAVA	$51.53	$0.55	93.7×
Shake ShackSHAK	$64.89	$0.95	68.3×
Dutch BrosBROS	$42.02	$0.72	58.4×
BJ's RestaurantsBJRI	$57.91	$1.87	31.0×
Papa John'sPZZA	$18.23	$0.79	23.1×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	382	311	293	321	360
Debt incl. finance leases	251	251	258	259	263
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−132	−60	−35	−61	−97
Net debt to EBITDA	−3.1x	−1.3x	−0.4x	−0.6x	−0.6x
Debt to equity	0.6x	0.6x	0.6x	0.6x	0.5x
Interest coverage	−10.1x	−17.7x	3.5x	1.5x	28.9x
Current ratio	3.4x	2.3x	2.0x	2.0x	1.8x
Quick ratio	3.3x	2.3x	2.0x	1.9x	1.7x

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.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 6 insiders bought $3.2 million of Shake Shack shares on the open market, and 1 insider sold $178,081, all of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
May 15, 2026	Daniel Harris MeyerDirector, 10% owner	Bought	32,258	$61.88	$2.0 million	Form 4
May 15, 2026	Josh SilvermanDirector	Bought	8,290	$60.38	$500,551	Form 4
May 15, 2026	Robert LynchChief Executive Officer, Director	Bought	5,000	$60.39	$301,950	Form 4
May 15, 2026	Sumaiya BalbaleDirector	Bought	4,068	$61.42	$249,857	Form 4
May 15, 2026	Charles J Chapman IIIDirector	Bought	2,000	$61.36	$122,726	Form 4
May 15, 2026	Jeffrey FlugDirector, 10% owner	Bought	1,000	$61.30	$61,300	Form 4
Apr 15, 2026	Stephanie Ann SentellChief Operations Officer	Sold plan	258	$102.21	$26,370	Form 4
Mar 6, 2026	Stephanie Ann SentellChief Operations Officer	Sold plan	225	$93.60	$21,060	Form 4
Jan 20, 2026	Stephanie Ann SentellChief Operations Officer	Sold plan	200	$99.19	$19,838	Form 4
Dec 19, 2025	Stephanie Ann SentellChief Operations Officer	Sold plan	200	$85.78	$17,156	Form 4
Nov 25, 2025	Stephanie Ann SentellChief Operations Officer	Sold plan	1,100	$85.14	$93,657	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

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	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	6 of 8	5 of 8	7 of 8
Accruals ratio	−7.2%	−9.8%	−9.8%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Shake Shack 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
Shake Shack	FY25	15.4%	4.3%	3.9%	9.6%	−0.6x	7
BJ's Restaurants	FY25	3.1%	3.3%	2.9%	11.1%	0.5x	7	Compare
Dutch Bros	FY25	27.9%	9.8%	3.3%	11.9%	1.3x	5	Compare
Cava Group	FY25	22.4%	4.7%	2.2%	13.9%	−3.0x	4	Compare
Papa John's	FY25	−0.3%	4.3%	3.0%	19.3%	4.0x	4	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 above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	268	359	459	594	523	740	900	1,088	1,253	1,445
Revenue growth	40.9%	33.6%	28.0%	29.4%	−12.1%	41.5%	21.7%	20.8%	15.2%	15.4%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	28	34	32	26	−44	−16	−27	6	3	62
Net income	12	−0	15	20	−42	−5	−21	20	10	46
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.53	−0.01	0.52	0.61	−1.14	−0.12	−0.54	0.48	0.24	1.09
Diluted shares (millions)	23	26	29	32	37	39	39	44	44	42
Cash flow
Cash from operations	54	71	85	90	37	58	77	132	171	222
Capital expenditure	54	62	88	106	69	102	143	146	136	166
Free cash flow	−0	9	−2	−17	−32	−43	−66	−14	36	57
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	5	6	6	8	6	9	13	15	16	20
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	74	84	87	74	184	382	311	293	321	360
Debt incl. finance leases	0	0	0	6	6	251	251	258	259	263
Total assets	538	471	610	968	1,145	1,472	1,512	1,606	1,697	1,896
Total liabilities	337	246	337	646	711	1,022	1,075	1,136	1,203	1,342
Shareholders' equity	152	170	226	299	407	410	412	443	470	525
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	10.4%	9.4%	6.9%	4.3%	−8.4%	−2.1%	−3.0%	0.5%	0.2%	4.3%
Net margin	4.6%	−0.1%	3.3%	3.3%	−8.1%	−0.6%	−2.4%	1.9%	0.8%	3.2%
Free cash flow margin	−0.1%	2.6%	−0.5%	−2.8%	−6.1%	−5.8%	−7.3%	−1.3%	2.9%	3.9%
Return on capital	20.2%	12.6%	13.8%	10.2%	−13.3%	−4.3%	−6.1%	1.5%	0.5%	9.6%
Return on equity	9.8%	−0.2%	7.7%	7.5%	−11.9%	−1.1%	−5.2%	4.7%	2.2%	9.2%
Return on assets	2.7%	−0.1%	2.8%	2.5%	−4.0%	−0.3%	−1.4%	1.3%	0.6%	2.5%
Net debt to EBITDA	−1.7x	−1.5x	−1.4x	−1.0x	−36.2x	−3.1x	−1.3x	−0.4x	−0.6x	−0.6x

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: Shake Shack's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Shake Shack.