There are just a little more than 30 U.S. exchange-listed companies with market caps greater than $1 billion that more than doubled in the first half of this year. It’s fair to say that most of them won’t repeat the feat through the final six months of 2024. It doesn’t mean that all of them won’t deliver an encore performance.
Cava (NYSE: CAVA), Hims & Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS), and Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) are among handful of names that have already doubled this year. They have a shot at doubling again before the end of 2024. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Cava Group: Up 116%
Investors are often smart to steer clear of freshly minted IPOs, but Cava has proven to be a tasty exception to the rule. The fast-growing chain of Mediterranean fast-casual restaurants went public at $22 in the springtime of last year. It nearly doubled to $42.98 by the end of 2023. It has gone on to more than double this year, a four-bagger for those who got in on the IPO less than 13 months ago.
Cava closed out its latest fiscal quarter with 323 locations, but it’s less than a third of the way to its goal of having 1,000 locations open by 2032. The brand’s growing appeal and some of its unique product offerings have also translated well to the upscale grocery level as a seller of consumer packaged goods.
Image source: Getty Images.
Growth and top-line store-level performance have slowed since Cava’s first quarter as a public company when revenue soared 62% on the strength of brisk expansion and an 18.2% jump in comparable-store sales. Revenue in its latest report rose 30%, fueled largely by a 23% surge in its open locations. Comps rose a mere 2.3%, and a closer look could prove problematic. The modest comps figure is the result of a 3.5% increase from menu price and product mix, weighed down by a 1.2% decline in guest traffic.
This isn’t as problematic as it seems. For starters, Cava’s scalability has scored it better-than-expected profitability in every quarter as a public company. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) nearly doubled in its latest…
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