Sharon Zackfia

Pointed to normal seasonality across GPU line items but declined line-by-line Q3 detail, deferring to overall guidance.

Described balancing optimal map placement vs where teams execute best, and noted the first fresh-build site is beginning, without a specific slate.

Ernie noted tax refunds were larger but coincided with Iran situation; hard to disentangle effects. Tax season conversion to vehicle demand was similar to or slightly softer than prior years.

Ernie declined to give precise GPU guidance but affirmed clear visibility to 13.5% EBITDA margin goal, acknowledging quarter-to-quarter noise but overall trajectory is intact.

Attributed to new sites with single lines, newer managers. Expects to be in better spot in 3-6 months. Team fired up by the miss, which should accelerate improvement.

Sebastian and AI tools enabling 30% retail/60% sell touchless transactions. Development speed improving materially. Business not subject to AI disruption given physical operations moat.

Attributed industry chatter to 2022-2023 cohorts. Carvana tightened credit in late 2023 and maintained tightness. Ally upsized agreement validates strong performance.

Described agreements as maturation of existing one-off relationships into formal programmatic sales with defined volume expectations and procedures.

Acknowledged having metrics but explicitly declined to share them, deflecting with humor.

Discussed awareness/understanding/trust framework and testing both direct and brand marketing. Declined to provide specific awareness metrics.

Explicitly stated no imminent margin reduction planned. Fundamental gains shared with customers through experience improvements, not just price cuts.

Indicated likely future communication on investment priorities but declined to commit to specific format or timing.

Declined to quantify conversion impact of delivery speed. Noted same-day delivery still at early stages and not yet staffed for maximization.

Confirmed targeting high end of 8-13.5% EBITDA margin range. Operations expense at $1,400 core plus $300 warranty. Majority of future gains to be shared with customers.

Scott shared anecdote of Freepotle campaign driving lines of ~20-year-olds out the door. Digital gamification and LTOs showing outsized performance with younger cohort. Adam confirmed protein menu and Red Chimichurri particularly resonating with younger consumers.

Scott confirmed protein launch drove both new customer acquisition and frequency/upsell. Extra protein adoption up 35% primarily as add-on purchases. Validates strategy of celebrating existing menu attributes.

Scott confirmed 175 restaurants live, another 100 this quarter. Seeing labor efficiency, better culinary/food scores, improved peak deployment and throughput. Declined to share specific metrics, saying all signs point up.

Adam confirmed 2 points of price rolling off in December. May test in small number of restaurants later in Q4. Strategy still fluid.

Scott confirmed no divergence by income, geography, or channel. Slowdown is broad-based across all segments, reinforcing macro thesis.

Scott noted marketplace holding steady but white-label delivery softening with shift to pickup and in-store. Described AI-powered welcome journey improvements.

Adam confirmed first-half pressure, second-half relief as portion investment offset takes hold. Produce slicers offset about half of remaining 50bps; supply chain efficiencies cover the rest.

Zack asked about catering and CAVA Core/Current; Schulman said a second catering market test launches this fall and cited support-center productivity gains from the data tools.

Direct: guidance assumes ~90% new restaurant productivity (vs >100% in 2025) and a low-to-mid-single-digit comp algorithm despite better recent trends.

Explained the 25-35 cohort is visiting less frequently on macro pressure, not a CAVA-specific challenge; loyalty (up 36%) drives trial and frequency.

CEO said the AGM rollout starts in November, reaching about two-thirds of restaurants over six months, serving both leadership-pipeline and operations-support goals, especially at high-volume units.

Brett explained the shift to an earn-and-bank-points model and the coming tiered structure, citing 340bps of loyalty revenue gain. Direct.

CFO framed G&A as growing below revenue and unit count ex-stock-comp, with deliberate investment ahead of growth.

Weinstein said advertising is about 3.5% of revenue and the company is actively adapting to AI-driven changes in consumer search behavior, reallocating marketing dollars accordingly.

Weinstein listed operational tweaks: ship scheduling optimization, more seating and umbrellas, more shading, addressing a rocky beach stretch, and F&B offering refinements.

Weinstein confirmed the program aims to improve customer engagement and lifetime value, noting too many loyal guests creates operational challenges for delivering benefits.

Weinstein said prebooked onboard spending is slightly above 35% but they don't have a specific target, focusing instead on providing guests multiple spending options.

Jason said app-based personalization to drive onboard spend will begin rolling out early next year, built on the company's guest data.

Naftali firmly stated no itinerary modifications due to fuel costs and no deferred spending. Cost improvements are sustained operational efficiencies, not deferrals, ensuring guest experience remains intact.

Michael Bayley explained Beach Clubs drive onboard/excursion revenue while Perfect Day drives ticket premium. Jason added Perfect Day Mexico will balance ticket and onboard, and Beach Clubs skew to onboard, all great margins and returns.

Meghan attributed e-com outperformance to a combination of consumer behavior shift and clearance activity, as markdowns are cleared more through e-commerce channels.

Frank detailed tariff exposure: approximately 3% of goods sourced from China, less than 0.5% from Mexico, nothing from Canada. Noted China and Mexico exposure likely below competitive landscape. Acknowledged broader tariffs on all country imports would have more significant impact, with the company evaluating P&L levers to manage.