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Companies / Consumer Discretionary / First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.
FWRG

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.

Consumer DiscretionaryRestaurants
Ticker FWRGBRADENTON, FLFiscal year ends DecemberBook value per share $10.32Diluted shares 61.5M

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: FWRG) operates a chain of daytime dining restaurants specializing in made-to-order breakfast, brunch, and lunch service. The company's website is www.firstwatch.com. From the company’s description.

Fiscal year 2025 · ends 12-28Changes are against fiscal 2024The amber dot is the latest twelve months, to 2026-06-28
Sales & profitability
$1.22B
+20.3% year over year
Last 12 mo $1.32B
2.25%
−1.6 percentage points
Last 12 mo 2.14%
$19.43M
+2.7% year over year
Last 12 mo $17.81M
3.22%
No change, year over year
Last 12 mo 2.81%
Cash & financing
$125.91M
+8.9% year over year
Last 12 mo $128.24M
$-30.99M
−152.5% year over year
Last 12 mo $-20.83M
0.45
Was 0.33× a year earlier
Last 12 mo 0.46
62.8M
+0.8% year over year
Last 12 mo 61.5M

Margins and return on equity change in ; everything else in percent. Fewer shares and less debt are shown plainly, not as bad news — it depends what you make of buybacks. Dotted labels explain each measure. is shown separately from the annual figures.

What First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. does

In the company’s own words

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: FWRG) operates a chain of daytime dining restaurants specializing in made-to-order breakfast, brunch, and lunch service. The company's website is www.firstwatch.com.

As of December 28, 2025, First Watch operates 633 restaurants across 32 states, comprising 560 company-owned locations and 73 franchise-owned restaurants. The company employs more than 17,500 restaurant employees and generates an average unit volume of $2.3 million per restaurant operating only 7.5 hours daily from 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Off-premises sales, including takeout and third-party delivery, accounted for 19.0 percent of total restaurant sales in 2025.

The company's core competitive advantage centers on its "Follow the Sun" culinary philosophy, which features a seasonally rotating menu that changes four to five times annually. All menu items are made-to-order using fresh ingredients prepared without microwave ovens, heat lamps, or deep fryers. The menu includes elevated breakfast and brunch classics alongside fresh juices prepared daily, shareables, alcoholic beverages, and premium iced coffees.

First Watch's organizational culture, branded as "You First," emphasizes employee empowerment and customer service. The company has received recognition as a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace for four consecutive years and was named the number one Most Loved Workplace in 2025. The company's single-shift operating model provides employees with work-life balance and attracts hospitality-focused talent.

The company's growth strategy encompasses opening new restaurants in existing and new markets, acquiring franchise-owned restaurants to convert to company operations, and driving traffic through menu innovation, technology enhancements, and targeted digital marketing. First Watch has identified potential for more than 2,200 restaurants in the continental United States. In 2025, the company opened 64 new system-wide restaurants across 23 states and acquired 19 operating restaurants from franchisees.

First Watch was incorporated in Delaware in 2017 and completed its initial public offering in October 2021. The company operates a franchise program with nine franchisees holding 17 total new restaurant development obligations.

Company details
Sector
Consumer Discretionary
Industry
Restaurants
Headquarters
BRADENTON, FL
Fiscal year end
December
CIK
1789940
SIC
5812

Financial performance, year by year

Fiscal 2021–2025 · USD
$-134.12M$261.92M$657.95M$1.05B$1.45B20212022202320242025Last 12 moLast 12 monthsLast 12 months

The full income statement, balance sheet and cash flow for each of these years — every figure traceable to its filing — is on the Financials tab with a free account.

Ownership

Who owns First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. — and what changed

Funds as of 2026Q2 · superinvestors as of 2026-06-30

189
funds hold it
0 of 35
superinvestors hold it
$331.84M
held by funds, at market
41.8%
of shares held by funds

Largest fund holders · First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc.’s weight in each

Small Cap Core Fund
JCCIX · John Hancock Investment Trust
1.81%of fund net assets
Neuberger Long Short Fund
NLSAX · NEUBERGER BERMAN ALTERNATIVE FUNDS
0.32%of fund net assets
VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET INDEX FUND
VTI · VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS
0.00%of fund net assets
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
IWM · iShares Trust
0.02%of fund net assets
BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund
SDSCX · BNY Mellon Investment Funds I
2.02%of fund net assets

Fund ownership is a floor, not a census — pensions, insurers and people holding shares directly are not visible here.

Fund ownership counts N-PORT filers only, so it is a floor rather than a census — pensions, insurers and direct holders are not visible here, and the remainder is not “held by individuals”.

Could not be determined for this company: bond issues.

Every fund and institutional holder, quarter by quarter, is on the Ownership tab with a free account.

Connected research

Put this business in context.

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