Operations

Sweetgreen sales slip again in Q3, October comps turn positive

Photo: Sweetgreen

November 5, 2026

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Los Angeles-based Sweetgreen posted another quarter of falling same-store sales as a cyclosporiasis outbreak cut into traffic, but the salad chain said comparable sales turned positive in October.

Same-store sales fell 6.4% in the third quarter ended Sept. 27, compared with a 9.5% decline a year earlier, the company reported Thursday. Traffic dropped 4.9% and product mix fell 2.1%, partly offset by a 0.6% lift from menu price increases. Sweetgreen said the mix decline mainly reflected guests shifting toward wraps.

Total revenue rose 2.1% to $176 million, driven by 30 net new restaurants opened since the third quarter of 2025. Net loss narrowed to $30.7 million from $36.1 million, helped by lower general and administrative costs, according to a company press release.

Restaurant-level profit margin fell to 10.4% from 13.1%, which the company attributed mostly to lower sales and higher labor costs. Digital sales accounted for 66.1% of revenue, up from 61.8%.

"We believe our Sweet Growth Transformation Plan is beginning to take hold, with sales improving through the quarter and positive comparable sales in October, primarily driven by transaction growth," Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, said in the press release. "We are confident in our plan to build on this progress by investing in our restaurant teams, delivering a consistently great customer experience and expanding our menu with bold, craveable food. Our focus is clear: bring more customers into sweetgreen and give them more reasons to come back."

Pressing the brakes on growth

The chain is also slowing its growth. Sweetgreen opened three net new restaurants in the quarter, down from six a year earlier, and now expects about 10 net new openings for 2026, roughly half featuring its Infinite Kitchen. It expects about half as many openings in 2027.

For the full year, Sweetgreen now projects a same-store sales decline of about 5.5%, restaurant-level profit margin of 11% to 11.5% and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $20 million to $23 million.