# First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (FWRG) Informational only - not investment advice. CIK: 0001789940 SIC: 5812 Retail-Eating Places SIC breadcrumb: [Retail Trade](/division/G/) > [Eating And Drinking Places](/major-group/58/) > [SIC 5812 Retail-Eating Places](/industry/5812/) Latest 10-K filed: 2026-02-24 SEC page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1789940 Filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994026000014/fwrg-20251228.htm ## At a glance FY2025 · period end 2025-12-28 · filed 2026-02-24 · accession 0001789940-26-000014 · source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001789940.json | Metric | Value | FY | Provenance | | --- | ---: | ---: | --- | | Revenue | 1,222,501,000 USD | 2025 | verified | | Net income | 19,432,000 USD | 2025 | verified | | Assets | 1,742,029,000 USD | 2025 | verified | | Free cash flow | -30,994,000 USD | 2025 | computed | | Net margin | 1.59% | 2025 | computed | | Operating margin | 2.25% | 2025 | computed | | Revenue YoY | +20.34% | 2025 | computed | | ROE | 3.10% | 2025 | computed | Computed values are grepcent-computed from the verified facts above and may differ from ratios the company itself reports. Free cash flow = operating cash flow − capital expenditures. Net margin = net income ÷ revenue. Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Revenue YoY = FY2025 revenue ÷ FY2024 revenue − 1 (consecutive fiscal years only). ROE = net income ÷ period-end stockholders' equity. No market price, no rating, no forecast on this site. Not investment advice. ### Peer percentile fingerprint | Ratio | FWRG | Peer median | Percentile | N | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Net margin | 1.6% | 3.5% | 33 | 25 | | Operating margin | 2.3% | 5.0% | 23 | 23 | | Revenue growth | 20.3% | 5.4% | 92 | 25 | | FCF margin | -2.5% | 5.1% | 12 | 25 | | ROE | 3.1% | 8.6% | 29 | 18 | | ROA | 1.1% | 3.6% | 29 | 25 | | Liabilities / equity | 1.78 | 1.98 | 47 | 18 | | Current ratio | 0.29 | 0.81 | 8 | 25 | Percentile = share of the N covered peers reporting that ratio whose value is lower (ties counted half); computed among grepcent-covered companies in SIC industry 5812 Retail-Eating Places, not the whole market. A higher percentile means a higher value of the ratio, not a better company. Ratios with fewer than 8 reporting peers are omitted. Latest reported values per company; fiscal periods may differ. Descriptive arithmetic - not a score, rating, or ranking. ## Selected Fundamentals | Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed | | --- | ---: | --- | ---: | --- | | Revenue | 1222501000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 | | Net income | 19432000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 | | Assets | 1742029000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 | ## Financials Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-24. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001789940.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts. | Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Revenue | | 436,373,000 | 342,388,000 | 601,193,000 | 730,162,000 | 891,551,000 | 1,015,910,000 | 1,222,501,000 | | Net income | | -45,439,000 | -49,681,000 | -2,107,000 | 6,907,000 | 25,385,000 | 18,925,000 | 19,432,000 | | Operating income | | -37,556,000 | -47,222,000 | 22,243,000 | 16,913,000 | 41,267,000 | 38,907,000 | 27,511,000 | | Diluted EPS | | -1.01 | -1.10 | -0.04 | 0.11 | 0.41 | 0.30 | 0.31 | | Operating cash flow | | 21,465,000 | -18,364,000 | 62,971,000 | 62,937,000 | 95,338,000 | 115,673,000 | 125,912,000 | | Capital expenditures | | 59,169,000 | 26,749,000 | 35,311,000 | 62,219,000 | 83,329,000 | 127,915,000 | 156,906,000 | | Assets | | | 1,007,512,000 | 1,046,917,000 | 1,104,446,000 | 1,267,045,000 | 1,514,356,000 | 1,742,029,000 | | Liabilities | | | 686,646,000 | 542,488,000 | 581,311,000 | 705,761,000 | 918,967,000 | 1,115,750,000 | | Stockholders' equity | 374,674,000 | 329,797,000 | 320,866,000 | 504,429,000 | 523,135,000 | 561,284,000 | 595,389,000 | 626,279,000 | | Cash and cash equivalents | | | 38,846,000 | 51,864,000 | 49,672,000 | 49,632,000 | 33,312,000 | 21,246,000 | | Free cash flow | | -37,704,000 | -45,113,000 | 27,660,000 | 718,000 | 12,009,000 | -12,242,000 | -30,994,000 | ### Ratios ROE and ROA use period-end equity/assets. Liabilities / equity uses total liabilities divided by stockholders' equity. Current ratio uses current assets divided by current liabilities when both are reported. | Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Net margin | | -10.41% | -14.51% | -0.35% | 0.95% | 2.85% | 1.86% | 1.59% | | Operating margin | | -8.61% | -13.79% | 3.70% | 2.32% | 4.63% | 3.83% | 2.25% | | Return on equity | | -13.78% | -15.48% | -0.42% | 1.32% | 4.52% | 3.18% | 3.10% | | Return on assets | | | -4.93% | -0.20% | 0.63% | 2.00% | 1.25% | 1.12% | | Liabilities / equity | | | 2.14 | 1.08 | 1.11 | 1.26 | 1.54 | 1.78 | | Current ratio | | | 0.64 | 0.70 | 0.67 | 0.62 | 0.40 | 0.29 | ## As-reported value updates 1 tracked difference above grepcent's stated thresholds were found between the earliest XBRL-filed value and the value currently on file for the same fiscal period. Ledger: /company/FWRG/revisions/ ## Quarterly Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-08-04. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001789940.json. Flow metrics use discrete quarter-length periods from 10-Q/10-Q/A filings. Q4 revenue and net income are derived only when annual FY and nine-month YTD facts exist for the same fiscal year; derived Q4 values are labeled. EPS Q4 is not derived. | Quarter | End date | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS | Method | | --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- | | 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-25 | | | 0.00 | reported discrete quarter | | 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-26 | | | 0.15 | reported discrete quarter | | 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-25 | | | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter | | 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-24 | 219,212,000 | 5,418,000 | 0.09 | reported discrete quarter | | 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 244,633,000 | 2,648,000 | | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | | 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 242,449,000 | 7,214,000 | 0.12 | reported discrete quarter | | 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | | 7,214,000 | | reported discrete quarter | | 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 258,561,000 | | 0.14 | reported discrete quarter | | 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | | 8,900,000 | | reported discrete quarter | | 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-29 | 251,609,000 | | 0.03 | reported discrete quarter | | 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-29 | 263,291,000 | 699,000 | | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | | 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-30 | 282,240,000 | -829,000 | -0.01 | reported discrete quarter | | 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-30 | | -829,000 | | reported discrete quarter | | 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-29 | 307,887,000 | | 0.03 | reported discrete quarter | | 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-29 | | 2,106,000 | | reported discrete quarter | | 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-28 | 316,022,000 | | 0.05 | reported discrete quarter | | 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-28 | 316,352,000 | 15,164,000 | | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | | 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-29 | 330,959,000 | -2,685,000 | -0.04 | reported discrete quarter | | 2026-Q2 | 2026-03-29 | | -2,685,000 | | reported discrete quarter | | 2026-Q2 | 2026-06-28 | 354,672,000 | | 0.04 | reported discrete quarter | ## Filed narrative (10-K & 10-Q) ## Business Verbatim Item 1 Business section from FWRG's latest 10-K: [/company/FWRG/business/](/company/FWRG/business/). ## Risk Factors Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from FWRG's latest 10-K: [/company/FWRG/risk-factors/](/company/FWRG/risk-factors/). ## Latest quarter (10-Q) Latest 10-Q source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994026000090/fwrg-20260628.htm Extracted structurally from real Item 2 body heading to real Item 3/4 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture. Confidence: high Filing date: 2026-08-04 Report date: 2026-06-28 Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Cautionary Statement The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q and our audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our 2025 Form 10-K. As discussed in the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may materially differ from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those identified in our 2025 Form 10-K, including under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in “Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Form 10-Q. References to “we,” “us,” “our” and “the Company” in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation (“MD&A”) refer to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., collectively with its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Overview First Watch is an award-winning Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using fresh ingredients. Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “FWRG.” A recipient of many local “Best Breakfast” and “Best Brunch” accolades, First Watch’s award-winning chef-driven menu includes elevated executions of classic favorites alongside innovative dishes and fresh juices. For four consecutive years, First Watch has been named a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace® by the Best Practice Institute, and in 2025, was named the #1 Most Loved Workplace for the second year in a row, as featured in The Wall Street Journal. We employ more than 18,000 employees, operate and franchise restaurants in 33 states under the “First Watch” trade name and, as of June 28, 2026, had 586 company-owned restaurants and 79 franchise-owned restaurants. Recent Developments Financial highlights for the thirteen weeks ended June 28, 2026 (“second quarter of 2026”) as compared, unless otherwise indicated below, to the thirteen weeks ended June 29, 2025 (“second quarter of 2025”) reflect the continued momentum of our operating performance and include the following: •Opened 18 system-wide restaurants in 15 states, with 1 planned closure, resulting in a total of 665 system-wide restaurants (586 company-owned and 79 franchise-owned) across 33 states as of June 28, 2026 •Total revenues increased 15.2% to $354.7 million from $307.9 million •System-wide sales increased 14.7% to $397.0 million from $346.2 million •Same-restaurant sales growth of 3.4% •Same-restaurant traffic growth of negative 0.4% •Income from operations margin decreased to 2.3% from 2.4% •Restaurant level operating profit margin* increased to 18.8% from 18.6% •Net income increased to $2.3 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, from net income of $2.1 million, or $0.03 per diluted share •Adjusted EBITDA* increased to $34.5 million from $30.4 million ___________________ * See Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliations section below. 20 Table of Contents Business Trends In the second quarter of 2026, we experienced same-restaurant sales growth of 3.4% and same-restaurant traffic growth of negative 0.4%. We expect annual same-restaurant sales growth to be between 1.5% to 3.0%. For the second quarter in a row, we experienced commodity deflation of 1.6%, primarily due to lower costs of eggs, avocados, and bacon, mostly offset by the demand for newly introduced higher cost beef offerings and an increase in coffee prices. We expect our full year commodity inflation to be approximately zero to 1.5%. Restaurant-level wage inflation during the second quarter of 2026 was 4.1% and full year inflation is expected to be approximately 3.5% to 4.5%. Key Performance Indicators Throughout “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” we discuss the following key operating metrics that we believe will drive our financial results and long-term growth model. We believe these metrics are useful to investors because Management uses these metrics to evaluate performance and assess the growth of our business as well as the effectiveness of our marketing and operational strategies. New Restaurant Openings (“NROs”): the number of new company-owned First Watch restaurants commencing operations during the period. Management reviews the number of new restaurants to assess new restaurant growth and company-owned restaurant sales. Franchise-owned New Restaurant Openings (“Franchise-owned NROs”): the number of new franchise-owned First Watch restaurants commencing operations during the period. Same-Restaurant Sales Growth: the percentage change in year-over-year restaurant sales (excluding gift card breakage) for the comparable restaurant base, which we define as the number of company-owned First Watch branded restaurants open for 18 months or longer as of the beginning of the fiscal year (“Comparable Restaurant Base”). For the thirteen and twenty-six weeks ended June 28, 2026 and June 29, 2025, there were 454 restaurants and 382 restaurants, respectively, in our Comparable Restaurant Base. Measuring our same-restaurant sales growth allows Management to evaluate the performance of our existing restaurant base. We believe this measure is useful for investors to provide a consistent comparison of restaurant sales results and trends across periods within our core, established restaurant base, unaffected by results of store openings, closings, and other transitional changes. Same-Restaurant Traffic Growth: the percentage change in year-over-year traffic counts using the Comparable Restaurant Base. Measuring our same-restaurant traffic growth allows Management to evaluate the performance of our existing restaurant base. We believe this measure is useful for investors because same-restaurant traffic provides an indicator as to the development of our brand and the effectiveness of our marketing strategy. System-wide restaurants: the total number of restaurants, including all company-owned and franchise-owned restaurants. System-wide sales: consists of restaurant sales from our company-owned restaurants and franchise-owned restaurants. We do not recognize the restaurant sales from our franchise-owned restaurants as revenue. 21 Table of Contents Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP measures, which present operating results on an adjusted basis: (i) Adjusted EBITDA, (ii) Adjusted EBITDA margin, (iii) Restaurant level operating profit and (iv) Restaurant level operating profit margin. Our presentation of these non-GAAP measures includes isolating the effects of some items that are either nonrecurring in nature or have no meaningful correlation to our ongoing core operating performance. These supplemental measures of performance are not required by or presented in accordance with GAAP. Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide investors with additional visibility into our operations, facilitate analysis and comparisons of our ongoing business operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our ongoing operating performance, help to identify operational trends and allow for greater transparency with respect to metrics used by Management in our financial and operational decision making. Our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and have important limitations as analytical tools. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP as they may not provide a complete understanding of our performance. These non-GAAP measures should be reviewed in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. We use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin (i) as factors in evaluating Management’s performance when determining incentive compensation, (ii) to evaluate our operating results and the effectiveness of our business strategies and (iii) internally as benchmarks to compare our performance to that of our competitors. We use Restaurant level operating profit and Restaurant level operating profit margin (i) to evaluate the performance and profitability of operating restaurants, individually and in the aggregate, and (ii) to make decisions regarding future spending and other operational decisions. Adjusted EBITDA: represents Net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, interest expense, income taxes, and items that we do not consider in our evaluation of ongoing core operating performance as identified in the reconciliation of Net income (loss), the most directly comparable measure in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, included in the section Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: represents Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues. See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below for a reconciliation to Net income (loss) margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Restaurant Level Operating Profit: represents restaurant sales, less restaurant operating expenses, which include food and beverage costs, labor and other related expenses, other restaurant operating expenses, pre-opening expenses and occupancy expenses. Restaurant level operating profit excludes corporate-level expenses and other items that we do not consider in the evaluation of the ongoing core operating performance of our restaurants as identified in the reconciliation of Income from operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to Restaurant level operating profit, included in the section Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below. Restaurant Level Operating Profit Margin: represents Restaurant level operating profit as a percentage of restaurant sales. See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below for a reconciliation to Income from operations margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Selected Operating Data [[GREPCENT_TABLE]] [["","THIRTEEN WEEKS ENDED JUNE 28, 2026"],["","COMPANY-OWNED","","FRANCHISE-OWNED","","TOTAL"],["Beginning of period","572","","76","","648"],["New restaurant openings","14","","4","","","18"],["Closures","\u2014","","","(1)","","","(1)"],["End of period","586","","79","","665"]] [[/GREPCENT_TABLE]] 22 Table of Contents [[GREPCENT_TABLE]] [["","TWENTY-SIX WEEKS ENDED JUNE 28, 2026"],["","COMPANY-OWNED","","FRANCHISE-OWNED","","TOTAL"],["Beginning of period","560","","73","","633"],["New restaurant openings","27","","7","","","34"],["Closures","(1)","","","(1)","","","(2)"],["End of period","586","","79","","665"]] [[/GREPCENT_TABLE]] [Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.] ## Latest 10-K MD&A (excerpt) Latest 10-K Item 7 source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994026000014/fwrg-20251228.htm Complete FY 2025 MD&A: /company/FWRG/mda/fy2025/ Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture. Confidence: high Filing date: 2026-02-24 Report date: 2025-12-28 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Overview First Watch is an award-winning Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch using fresh ingredients. Our common stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “FWRG.” A recipient of many local “Best Breakfast” and “Best Brunch” accolades, First Watch’s award-winning chef-driven menu includes elevated executions of classic favorites for breakfast, brunch and lunch. For four consecutive years, First Watch has been named a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace® by the Best Practice Institute, and in 2025, was named the #1 Most Loved Workplace for the second year in a row, featured in The Wall Street Journal. Also, in 2025, First Watch was named one of Yelp’s Most-Loved Brands nationwide. We operate and franchise restaurants in 32 states under the “First Watch” trade name and as of December 28, 2025, had 560 company-owned restaurants and 73 franchise-owned restaurants. We do not operate outside of the United States. Our 52- or 53-week fiscal years end on the last Sunday of each calendar year. Our fiscal quarters are comprised of 13 weeks each and end on the 13th Sunday of each quarter, except for 53-week years, during which the fourth quarter ends on the 14th Sunday of the fourth quarter. All references to 2025 and 2024 reflect the results of the 52-week fiscal years ended December 28, 2025 and December 29, 2024, respectively. All references to 2023 reflect the results of the 53-week fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 unless otherwise stated. We report financial and operating information in one segment. This section of this Annual Report on the Form 10-K generally discusses Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024 and year-over-year comparisons between Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024. A discussion of Fiscal 2023 and year-over-year comparisons between Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on March 5, 2024. Key Performance Indicators Throughout this“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” we commonly discuss the following key operating metrics that we believe will drive our financial results and long-term growth model. We believe these metrics are useful to investors because our Management uses these metrics to evaluate performance and assess the growth of our business as well as the effectiveness of our marketing and operational strategies. New Restaurant Openings (“NROs”): the number of new company-owned First Watch restaurants commencing operations during the period. Management reviews the number of new restaurants to assess new restaurant growth and company-owned restaurant sales. Franchise-owned New Restaurant Openings (“Franchise-owned NROs”): the number of new franchise-owned First Watch restaurants commencing operations during the period. Same-Restaurant Sales Growth: the percentage change in year-over-year restaurant sales (excluding gift card breakage) for the comparable restaurant base, which we define as the number of company-owned First Watch branded restaurants open for 18 months or longer as of the beginning of the fiscal year (“Comparable Restaurant Base”). This operating metric compares the 52-week periods ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023, rather than, the 53-week fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, in order to compare like-for-like periods. For the 52-weeks ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023 there were 381, 344 and 327 restaurants, in our Comparable Restaurant Base, respectively. Measuring our same-restaurant sales growth allows Management to evaluate the performance of our existing restaurant base. We believe this measure is useful for investors to provide a consistent comparison of restaurant sales results and trends across periods within our core, established restaurant base, unaffected by results of store openings, closings and other transitional changes. Same-Restaurant Traffic Growth: the percentage change in year-over-year traffic counts using the Comparable Restaurant Base. This operating metric compares the 52-week periods ended December 28, 2025, December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023, - (rather than the 53-week fiscal year ended December 31, 2023), in order to compare like-for-like periods. Measuring our same-restaurant traffic growth allows our Management to evaluate the performance of our existing 38 Table of Contents restaurant base. We believe this measure is useful for investors because same-restaurant traffic provides an indicator as to the development of our brand and the effectiveness of our marketing strategy. Average Unit Volume (“AUV”): the total restaurant sales (excluding gift card breakage) recognized in the Comparable Restaurant Base, divided by the number of restaurants in the Comparable Restaurant Base during the period. This measurement allows Management to assess changes in consumer spending patterns at our restaurants and the overall performance of our restaurant base. System-wide restaurants: the total number of restaurants, including all company-owned and franchise-owned restaurants. System-wide sales: consists of restaurant sales from our company-owned restaurants and franchise-owned restaurants. We do not recognize the restaurant sales from our franchise-owned restaurants as revenue. Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP measures, which present operating results on an adjusted basis: (i) Adjusted EBITDA, (ii) Adjusted EBITDA margin, (iii) Restaurant level operating profit and (iv) Restaurant level operating profit margin. Our presentation of these non-GAAP measures includes isolating the effects of some items that are either nonrecurring in nature or have no meaningful correlation to our ongoing core operating performance. These supplemental measures of performance are not required by or presented in accordance with GAAP. Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide investors with additional visibility into our operations, facilitate analysis and comparisons of our ongoing business operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our ongoing operating performance, help to identify operational trends and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by Management in our financial and operational decision making. Our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and have important limitations as analytical tools. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP as they may not provide a complete understanding of our performance. These non-GAAP measures should be reviewed in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. We use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin (i) as factors in evaluating management’s performance when determining incentive compensation, (ii) to evaluate our operating results and the effectiveness of our business strategies and (iii) internally as benchmarks to compare our performance to that of our competitors. We use Restaurant level operating profit and Restaurant level operating profit margin (i) to evaluate the performance and profitability of operating restaurants, individually and in the aggregate, and (ii) to make decisions regarding future spending and other operational decisions. Adjusted EBITDA: represents Net income before depreciation and amortization, interest expense, income taxes and items that we do not consider in our evaluation of ongoing core operating performance as identified in the reconciliation of Net income, the most directly comparable measure in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, included in the section Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: represents Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues. See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below for a reconciliation to Net income margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Restaurant Level Operating Profit: represents restaurant sales, less restaurant operating expenses, which include food and beverage costs, labor and other related expenses, other restaurant operating expenses, pre-opening expenses and occupancy expenses. Restaurant level operating profit excludes corporate-level expenses and other items that we do not consider in the evaluation of the ongoing core operating performance of our restaurants as identified in the reconciliation of Income from operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to Restaurant level operating profit, included in the section Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below. Restaurant Level Operating Profit Margin: represents Restaurant level operating profit as a percentage of restaurant sales. See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations below for a reconciliation to Income from operations margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. 39 Table of Contents Financial Highlights The financial results of 2025 reflect the continued growth of the Company. In 2025, we executed our growth strategy with 55 new restaurant openings and the acquisition of 19 operating restaurants from our franchisees. Financial highlights for 2025 as compared to 2024 include the following: •Total revenues increased 20.3% to $1.2 billion from $1.0 billion in 2024 •System-wide sales increased to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion in 2024 •Same-restaurant sales growth of 3.6% •Same-restaurant traffic growth of 0.5% •Income from operations decreased to $27.5 million from $38.9 million in 2024 •Income from operations margin decreased to 2.3% from 3.9% in 2024 •Restaurant level operating profit* increased to $224.1 million from $201.8 million in 2024 •Restaurant level operating profit margin* decreased to 18.5% from 20.1% in 2024 •Net income increased to $19.4 million from $18.9 million in 2024 •Adjusted EBITDA* increased to $120.9 million from $113.8 million in 2024 •Opened 64 system-wide restaurants (55 company-owned and 9 franchise-owned) across 23 states, resulting in a total of 633 system-wide restaurants (560 company-owned and 73 franchise-owned) across 32 states ___________________ * See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section below. Business Trends During 2025, our same-restaurant sales growth was 3.6% with positive traffic growth. We expect annual same-restaurant sales growth in 2026 to be between 1% and 3%. Commodity inflation was 5.0% in 2025, largely driven by eggs, coffee, avocado and bacon. We expect 2026 commodity prices to increase approximately 1% to 3% as compared to the prior year, primarily related to coffee. Restaurant level labor inflation during 2025 was 3.7%, largely offset by price increases. At year end, we were staffed with over 100 managers to lead and operate future new company-owned restaurants. We expect 3% to 5% labor inflation in 2026. Continuing our growth strategy, we intend to open 59 to 63 net new system-wide restaurants in 2026. Development Highlights During 2025, we had a total of 64 new system-wide restaurants in 23 states. Three company-owned restaurants closed in 2025. We also acquired 19 operating restaurants from our franchisees in the execution of our growth strategy. See Note 3, Business Acquisitions, in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information. At December 28, 2025, the Company had a total of 633 system-wide restaura [Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.] Read the full FY 2025 MD&A: /company/FWRG/mda/fy2025/ All MD&A years: /company/FWRG/mda/ ## MD&A history Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. Each year's full verbatim text is on its own sub-page. - [FY 2024 MD&A](/company/FWRG/mda/fy2024/): filed 2025-03-11; accession 0001789940-25-000010 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994025000010/fwrg-20241229.htm) - [FY 2023 MD&A](/company/FWRG/mda/fy2023/): filed 2024-03-05; accession 0001789940-24-000012 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994024000012/fwrg-20231231.htm) - [FY 2022 MD&A](/company/FWRG/mda/fy2022/): filed 2023-03-07; accession 0001789940-23-000011 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994023000011/fwrg-20221225.htm) - [FY 2021 MD&A](/company/FWRG/mda/fy2021/): filed 2022-03-23; accession 0001789940-22-000012 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1789940/000178994022000012/fwrg-20211226.htm) ## Macro cross-references Indicators mapped to this company's SIC classification (industry 5812 Retail-Eating Places) by grepcent's deterministic macro-sector crosswalk. A navigational mapping, not a statistical or causal claim. - [PCE](/indicator/PCE/): Personal Consumption Expenditures - [DSPIC96](/indicator/DSPIC96/): Real Disposable Personal Income - [PSAVERT](/indicator/PSAVERT/): Personal Saving Rate - [PAYEMS](/indicator/PAYEMS/): All Employees, Total Nonfarm Macro-to-micro threads including this sector: [Inflation (CPI / PCE / PPI)](/thread/inflation-cpi-pce-ppi/), [US labor market](/thread/us-labor-market/), [Growth & output](/thread/growth-output/), [Sector employment](/thread/sector-employment/), [Industrial orders & inventories](/thread/industrial-orders/), [Trade & external](/thread/trade-external/). All macro indicators: /indicators/ ## For LLMs & downloads Markdown twin: /company/FWRG.md · JSON record: /company/FWRG.json · verified financials: /company/FWRG/financials.json / /company/FWRG/financials.csv · machine TOC for the whole site: /llms.txt