MeritValue

Sweetgreen, Inc.

SGdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Sweetgreen, Inc. earns about -50% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 325% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$339.9M1$470.1M2$584M3$676.8M3$679.5M3
Net income−$153.2M4−$190.4M5−$113.4M6−$90.4M6−$134.1M6
Operating cash flow−$64.5M7−$43.2M8$26.5M9$43.4M9−$12.7M9
Capital expenditure$84.5M10$96.9M11$89.7M12$84.5M12$106.5M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$149M7−$140.1M8−$63.2M9−$41.1M9−$119.2M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$472M13$331.6M14$257.2M15$214.8M16$89.2M16
Diluted shares27.8M110.1M111.9M114.3M118.0M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$30.19
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$11.37
Free cash flow it threw off
−$10.1
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $30.19 of net worth that earned you −$11.37 and generated −$10.1 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-50% avg · 5y
FY21 -67%FY22 -71%FY23 -40%FY24 -31%FY25 -40%

It earned an average -50% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+325% shares · 5y

Share count is up 325% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-26 · accession 0001628280-24-008066 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-25 · accession 0001628280-25-008367 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012520 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-26 · accession 0001628280-24-008066 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-25 · accession 0001628280-25-008367 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012520 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-26 · accession 0001628280-24-008066 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-25 · accession 0001628280-25-008367 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012520 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-26 · accession 0001628280-24-008066 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-25 · accession 0001628280-25-008367 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012520 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-26 · accession 0001628280-23-006351 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-25 · accession 0001628280-24-008066 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008367 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-29 · accession 0001628280-26-012520 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)